Former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, who hopes to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday’s elections, is touting the “deep bonds” between Israel and the US at a time when American support for the Jewish state is under severe strain.
Eisenkot, a leading potential challenger to Netanyahu, has suffered devastating personal losses in the Gaza war. His 25-year-old son, Gal Meir Eisenkot, was killed fighting in Gaza, followed by the deaths of two nephews, Yogev Pazi and Maor Cohen Eisenkot.
Now Eisenkot, who leads in the polls in Israel, is stressing the strategic value Israel brings to the US, as public support for the Jewish state has fallen to 37% in a Pew poll in April, compared to 55% four years earlier.
“My message to the American public is about the importance of the deep bond between Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, and the United States, and the values we share,” Eisenkot told The Post. “As the IDF chief of staff, I also saw firsthand that Israel is a tremendous strategic asset, including through our regional contribution to the fight against ISIS.”
The stakes are high, he said.
“These are the most critical elections since the founding of the state, when the foundations of Israeli democracy were laid,” Eisenkot said.. “These elections are about the identity of the State of Israel and the direction it will take the day after. I am convinced that we will win.
Israelis vote for parties, rather than individuals in national elections. After the votes come in, the Israeli president selects the parties best suited to form a government in the Knesset. The block then has 28 days to try to form a government, meaning it’s possible Eisenkot won’t be the next PM even if his party gets the most seats.
Eisenkot also praised President Trump, who has forged close ties with Netanyahu and endorsed the Israeli premier’s reelection this week. Trump, meanwhile, faces political headwinds of his own ahead of November’s midterm elections, with rising gas prices linked to the US and Israeli attacks on Iran adding to the pressure.
“President Trump made enormous positive contributions to the Middle East, and the alliance between the US and Israel is very important,” Eisenkot said of Trump.
His own story has elements that could have been ripped from Greek tragedy – or the Old Testament: A national leader entrusted with making the most difficult decisions, sending soldiers into battle — including his own son, who is ultimately killed in that war.
Those close to Eisenkot see the loss as a turning point that helped propel him toward a run for prime minister after he left Netanyahu’s government.
The man who Netanyahu chose to be the IDF chief of staff after the horrific Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, and served as a minister in his government, has now emerged as the Israeli premier’s most formidable political rival.
He may be the only candidate capable of defeating Netanyahu, who has survived political setbacks and probes, at the ballot box.
One person from Eisenkot’s inner circle described him and Trump as “bullet brothers.”
Both leaders were struck by bullets to the head while serving their countries. Trump survived a 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. Eisenkot was seriously wounded as a young soldier when a bullet entered through his mouth. He recovered and returned to military service.
“I very much agree with Trump’s approach of ‘peace through strength,’” Eisenkot said. “Trump’s decision to strike Iran together with Israel, exceeded anything one could have imagined. That military campaign and the operation were courageous.”
“The question of what comes next is absolutely critical, as the Iranians seek to break through to nuclear weapons capability and want to become another North Korea,” he said.
He warned that Hezbollah and Hamas “have developed a doctrine known as ‘victory through not losing.’
Eisenkot said there was a time for identifying areas of potential agreement. “I fear we may have moved beyond that point. In fact, the economic pressure Trump is applying is helping, giving the Iranians a sense of defeat,” he said.
He talked up Trump’s 20-point plan to rebuild Gaza while promising a “realistic” approach.
“What I can tell the American people is that a future Israeli government will know how to act decisively on security, but it will pursue a much more realistic policy than the current government,” he said.
Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of stalling and undermining US-backed frameworks for Gaza for political reasons, after committing to the initial ceasefire and exchange of hostages.
“He committed to sending Gazans to Egypt for training so they could return as a police force in Gaza. He committed to allowing a technocratic government to begin a phased reconstruction process. And, of course, he committed to a withdrawal in exchange for the disarmament of Hamas. I will ensure that Israel fulfills its commitments to the United States,” he said.
The former IDF chief, who repeatedly called for negotiations and a temporary ceasefire to free hostages held by Hamas, cited Trump’s “enormous contribution” to freeing them.
“Without him, it would not have happened. Without Trump’s involvement, that agreement would never have materialized,” he said.
Netanyahu did not want to reach an agreement, he said, rather seeking “to continue his policy of ambiguity.”
He said Netanyahu was “effectively a hostage to his coalition partners” and that “without them, he was certain he would lose power.”
Eisenkot called for further progress on the Abraham Accords and normalization agreements with moderate Sunni states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
He proposed what he called a “kind of Middle Eastern NATO, under an American umbrella, with Israel maintaining a low profile. From there, we can continue advancing normalization and peace agreements.”
Eisenkot also praised US envoy Steve Witkoff, whose son died in 2011, for supporting families of Israeli hostages.
He said Witkoff offered hostage families “comforting shoulder and a sympathetic ear, and they have nothing but praise for him.”
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has 120 seats, and parties submit ranked lists of candidates ahead of each election. In the symbolic 120th spot on Eisenkot’s party list is Ohad Ben Ami, a survivor of Hamas captivity who was released in February 2025 in the first Trump hostage deal, after 491 days as a hostage in Gaza.
His daughter, Ella, wrote on Instagram about Eisenkot’s support for her family, in another sign of how tragedy and loss are woven into Israeli politics.
“Eisenkot was like a father to me during that time, and I will be grateful for it forever,” she wrote.