Eisenkot Gains Edge as United Torah Judaism Refuses to Back Any Candidate
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Gadi Eisenkot is the leading candidate to get the mandate to form a coalition, after United Torah Judaism declined to recommend anyone following the October 27 election.
President Isaac Herzog began a second day of consultations with parties after Israel's October 27 election, after neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor former military chief Gadi Eisenkot secured a clear majority. While the president may appoint any lawmaker to try forming a government, tradition favors the person recommended by the most parties, putting Eisenkot in the lead.
United Torah Judaism, which supported Netanyahu in the previous five elections, informed Herzog that it would not recommend any Knesset member to form a government, according to a statement from the president's office. The party, representing ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews, and Shas, which represents Sephardic ultra-Orthodox communities, have both backed Netanyahu's position on preserving exemptions from military service for religious students.
"In whatever government is next formed, our immediate item is sorting out the status of Torah students," United Torah Judaism lawmaker Isaac Pindrus said.
Eisenkot has signaled a willingness to end these exemptions, a stance criticized by some coalition partners who argue that the ultra-Orthodox community is a fiscal burden. The Raam list, led by Arab-Israeli lawmaker Mansour Abbas, also recommended Eisenkot, raising the prospect of an Arab-Israeli bloc playing a decisive role in any coalition.
Netanyahu's bloc, including United Torah Judaism, holds 53 seats, compared with 48 for Eisenkot's bloc. If tasked, Eisenkot would have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to assemble a governing coalition; failure would prompt Herzog to assign the mandate to another lawmaker.