Gadi Eisenkot "hasn't finished his rise" in the polls after his party, Yashar, has overtaken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party for several weeks in a row, while the potential coalition of opposition parties is soaring past that of the current government, said Haaretz columnist Dahlia Scheindlin, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.

Scheindlin, a veteran political strategist and analyst, noted that even the right-wing pollsters, who are heavily biased in favor of Netanyahu's coalition, are showing numbers that point to "a decline ever since the ceasefire and the war with Iran," reflecting perceptions among supporters who once "saw him as a great global statesperson."

The podcast panel, including Haaretz correspondent Nagham Zbeedat and host Allison Kaplan Sommer, reviewed the noteworthy political events of the past week, most prominently the intriguing news that could shake up the coalition mathematics: the Arab Islamist Ra'am Party's plans to invite a former senior police officer and centrist Jewish politician to claim the number two position on its list.

"Having a Jewish Israeli politician join an Arab party, especially an Islamist political party," would represent a "significant milestone," Zbeedat said, predicting that the move would boost support for Ra'am and increase the chances that an anti-Netanyahu coalition would invite the party into a coalition, which could well be its key to winning power.

Zbeedat herself, however, is not lending her vote to Ra'am or any other political party. She explained on the podcast why, like many other Palestinian citizens of Israel, she chooses not to participate in elections. She does not believe, she said, in taking part in a "performance" of democracy and granting "legitimacy" to a government that "enables the daily occupation struggles" and "doesn't accept my existence."

Read more: 

Game Changer? What if This Jewish Lawmaker Joins an Israeli Arab Party

Why I, a Palestinian Citizen, Don't Vote in Israeli Elections

Arab Parties Are Talking Unity. Their Voters Have Much Bigger Issues

With Confidence, Conviction and Even Talking Occupation: The Democrats Are a New Sight in Israeli Politics

How Arab Party Leader Mansour Abbas Changed Israel's Political Game

Gadi Eisenkot "hasn't finished his rise" in the polls after his party, Yashar, has overtaken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party for several weeks in a row, while the potential coalition of opposition parties is soaring past that of the current government, said Haaretz columnist Dahlia Scheindlin, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
Scheindlin, a veteran political strategist and analyst, noted that even the right-wing pollsters, who are heavily biased in favor of Netanyahu's coalition, are showing numbers that point to "a decline ever since the ceasefire and the war with Iran," reflecting perceptions among supporters who once "saw him as a great global statesperson."
The podcast panel, including Haaretz correspondent Nagham Zbeedat and host Allison Kaplan Sommer, reviewed the noteworthy political events of the past week, most prominently the intriguing news that could shake up the coalition mathematics: the Arab Islamist Ra'am Party's plans to invite a former senior police officer and centrist Jewish politician to claim the number two position on its list.
"Having a Jewish Israeli politician join an Arab party, especially an Islamist political party," would represent a "significant milestone," Zbeedat said, predicting that the move would boost support for Ra'am and increase the chances that an anti-Netanyahu coalition would invite the party into a coalition, which could well be its key to winning power.
Zbeedat herself, however, is not lending her vote to Ra'am or any other political party. She explained on the podcast why, like many other Palestinian citizens of Israel, she chooses not to participate in elections. She does not believe, she said, in taking part in a "performance" of democracy and granting "legitimacy" to a government that "enables the daily occupation struggles" and "doesn't accept my existence."
Read more:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-08-03/ty-article/.premium/game-changer-what-if-this-jewish-lawmaker-joins-an-israeli-arab-party/0000019f-c52f-d3b5-a99f-edefdd2d0000">Game Changer? What if This Jewish Lawmaker Joins an Israeli Arab Party</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2026-01-07/ty-article/.highlight/why-i-a-palestinian-citizen-dont-vote-in-israeli-elections/0000019b-9916-dd67-a9ff-9b17f9340000">Why I, a Palestinian Citizen, Don't Vote in Israeli Elections</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-06-16/ty-article-magazine/.premium/arab-parties-are-talking-unity-their-voters-have-much-bigger-issues/0000019e-cf4a-d142-a19e-ffcbfa0c0000">Arab Parties Are Talking Unity. Their Voters Have Much Bigger Issues</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-07-20/ty-article-magazine/.premium/talking-about-the-occupation-the-democrats-are-a-new-sight-in-israeli-politics/0000019f-7eb8-dc5f-ad9f-febbf6ed0000">With Confidence, Conviction and Even Talking Occupation:&nbsp;The Democrats Are a New Sight in Israeli Politics</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-07-26/ty-article-opinion/.premium/how-arab-party-leader-mansour-abbas-changed-israels-political-game/0000019f-9a90-db22-a5df-ff929d620000">How Arab Party Leader Mansour Abbas Changed Israel's Political Game</a>

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.