Israel is on an election footing. Last week with his government having reached the end of its four-year term, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu dissolved parliament.
Polls show that a new and credible challenger has emerged in Israel’s complex multiparty political landscape.
Career soldier Gadi Eisenkot (66), a former head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) left the army to join Netanyahu‘s post-October 7th military council to plan and execute the brutal response in Gaza.
Last year he went out on his own forming the centrist Yashar party, and he has now emerged as the most serious challenger to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
But how much change does Israel really want. Why is Palestine and Gaza not an election issue? And what are Eisenkot’s views on one of the most contentious issues in Israel: why ultra-Orthodox Jews are exempt from military service at a time when Israel is fighting wars on many fronts and is running out soldiers.
Mark Weiss reports on the mood in Jerusalem as campaigning gets under way.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
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