In Israel's parliamentary election, the opposition bloc is giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition a neck-and-neck fight. This time, the opposition alliance is led by the Yesh Atid party, headed by former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot.
One of Eisenkot's biggest strengths in this electoral battle is a simple yet undeniable fact: he is not Benjamin Netanyahu. In what is widely considered one of the most critical elections in Israeli history, that single factor may be reason enough for many voters to cast their ballots for him.
According to exit polls following Tuesday's parliamentary vote, Netanyahu's right-wing alliance is projected to win 52 seats, while the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot is expected to secure 49 seats. Meanwhile, the coalition of Israeli Arab parties, Arab List, is projected to win 19 seats, according to reports by Channel 12 cited by Al Jazeera.
Eisenkot is of Mizrahi-Moroccan descent. Longstanding social divides have existed between European-descended Jews and those originating from the Middle East. For years, many Mizrahi voters have traditionally supported Netanyahu's Likud party. However, the 66-year-old Eisenkot—the son of immigrants from Morocco who grew up in Tiberias and Eilat—broke the mold as a former top general now challenging the political establishment.
