What is true in life is also true in politics: you only get one chance to make a first impression.
Former government minister and IDF chief-of-staff Gadi Eisenkot must have been reminded of that on Tuesday, when his announcement of the formation of a new party, Yashar! With Eisenkot hardly dominated the news cycle.
For instance, Israel Hayom placed a small story on page 7, Maariv on page 9, and Yediot Aharonot buried a brief item on page 10.
This stands in marked contrast to the buzz Eisenkot generated in 2022 when he first burst onto the political scene and joined Benny Gantz and Gideon Sa’ar to form the National Unity Party.
At that time – with Israel heading to its fifth election in 43 months – he was viewed as a fresh, principled, untainted, likable figure who might break the country’s political logjam.
He didn’t.
Eisenkot's party announcement flops
In the three years since, Eisenkot has served in the Knesset, joined the government as a minister, quit the government as a minister, and then abandoned his party.
The muted public reaction this time to his relaunch may be because Eisenkot now appears to represent more of the same politics Israelis have grown accustomed to and weary of.
It’s a well-worn tale: a former IDF chief of staff, admired by much of the public simply by virtue of his rank, in a country generally very fond of its generals, enters politics.
He speaks the familiar language of putting Israel above all else and wanting only what is best for the country. Yet, as with others before him, his break with the party he joined was not over discernible ideological differences – there are few between Eisenkot and Gantz – but seemingly over ambition; over not being no.1.
That is politics as usual, unlikely to stir much excitement, even if Eisenkot is regarded as a man of integrity whose personal pain in this war – he has lost both a son and a nephew – resonates deeply with the public.
If Eisenkot’s political journey feels familiar and worn, something is refreshing in some of the names he presented as those standing behind him and perhaps soon to be on his Knesset list.
The most interesting candidates are not the recycled figures who have hopped from party to party searching for political relevance – such as Matan Kahana, now on his fourth, or Manuel Trajtenberg, on his second – but rather newcomers to politics like Wix President Nir Zohar and Shir Siegel, daughter of former Hamas hostage Keith Siegel.
By selecting Siegel and Zohar, Eisenkot is tapping into a widespread sentiment in Israel: a yearning to see new faces untainted by October 7 and carrying a message of unity enter national leadership.
Business leaders, bereaved families, relatives of hostages, and high-profile reservists are likely to be added to various party lists – not for their political résumés but for what they represent.
As for those who will complain that such figures lack the experience needed to govern, the reply will be obvious: those responsible for October 7 – from the prime minister on down, in both government and the military – had decades of experience. How well did that work out?
As in 2022, when both Gantz and Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid vied to bring Eisenkot into their camps, so too this time expect a similar bidding war for the former army chief, who has already signaled his willingness to merge with other non-religious Zionist parties not named Likud.
Naftali Bennett has met with him and would undoubtedly like him on his list, and Lapid is surely interested in what Eisenkot could bring to his party. But all would do well to temper their expectations.
It is tempting to hope for a white knight who will ride in and save both party and country. That works in fairy tales. Reality, however, is far messier.
Reality is shaped less by those who merely traffic in negativity – declaring the government a disaster or insisting that the prime minister must go, as Eisenkot has often done – than by those who can articulate a clear, positive vision of what they stand for, not just what they oppose.
Simply saying “change” is not enough. Change to what?
Eisenkot, let’s hear the details.