Victims' Families Protest as Netanyahu Faces Eisenkot in Election
Families of October 7 victims will protest at polling stations on October 27 as Benjamin Netanyahu faces a challenge from Gadi Eisenkot.
Israel is preparing for a consequential election on October 27 to fill 120 seats in the Knesset. The race is primarily a contest between incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the new Yashar party and former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. While Netanyahu's Likud party has traditionally relied on the Mizrahi Jewish population, Eisenkot is campaigning to attract moderate Mizrahi voters with a platform focused on fighting corruption, universal service, and a state commission of inquiry into the failures of October 7.
Amidst this political competition, families of victims from the October 7, 2023, attacks plan to stand outside polling stations across the country on election day. Organizers, including Yocheved Lifshitz and Gil Dickmann, describe the initiative as a non-partisan effort to ensure voters remember those killed, abducted, and lost during the onslaught and subsequent war.
The protests follow an open letter from relatives of 17 hostages killed in Gaza. These relatives accused Netanyahu and the Likud party of using deceased hostages for election propaganda and demanded the government stop claiming all hostages were brought home, noting that 46 individuals abducted alive returned in coffins. With 37 parties competing, recent polling suggests no single bloc is likely to secure a parliamentary majority.
