16% of Israel’s 1st-time voters back Eisenkot’s party: Poll

An Israeli public opinion poll showed Wednesday that 16% of young people voting for the first time support the opposition Yashar party, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, compared with 14% who support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, Anadolu reports.

The poll, conducted by Israel’s Channel 12 in coordination with Midgam, a private research institute, surveyed 1,521 people and had a margin of error of 4.4%.

The channel said the survey focused on young people eligible to vote for the first time, a group of about 550,000 men and women age 18-22.

Overall, 39% of first-time voters said they favored opposition parties, compared with 37% who favored parties in the governing coalition, while the remainder supported other parties.

Among parties in Eisenkot’s opposition camp, Naftali Bennett’s Together party received 10% support, followed by the Democrats, led by Yair Golan, with 7% and Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Liberman, with 6%.

Among parties in Netanyahu’s camp, United Torah Judaism received 9%, while the Religious Zionism Party received 6%, Jewish Power received 5%, and Shas received 3%.

The Reservists-Economic party, led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha, received 4%, while Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party received 3%.

The poll also showed that 74% of young respondents identified as right-wing or center-right, compared with 23% who identified as left-wing or center-left.

READ: Israeli election committee bars candidate from Knesset race over Gaza war opposition

On who would be more suitable to serve as prime minister, 46% chose Netanyahu compared with 34% for Bennett, while 47% preferred Netanyahu over Eisenkot, who received 37%.

The findings came a day after a separate Channel 12 poll showed the opposition bloc with 54 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with 50 for Netanyahu’s coalition.

The earlier poll, conducted by Sample research and consulting firm among 2,498 respondents, also showed that neither bloc would reach the 61 seats required to form a government, while Arab parties would secure 12 seats.

In that poll, Eisenkot’s Yashar was projected to win 23 seats, followed by Likud with 20, while Bennett’s Together was projected to win 13.

Israel’s general election is scheduled for Oct. 27.

A total of 38 lists have registered to contest the upcoming Knesset elections, while polls indicate that 13 are expected to win parliamentary representation.

A government requires the support of at least 61 members of the 120-seat Knesset.

Netanyahu has headed the current government since December 2022.

He is facing corruption charges, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

READ: Poll shows 48% of Israelis prefer Eisenkot as premier, compared with 40% for Netanyahu