Dimona's former Netanyahu loyalists turn to Eisenkot as battle for final undecided voters heats up

In Dimona, former Likud supporters are campaigning for Gadi Eisenkot ahead of Tuesday's election. The city, hit by an Iranian missile in March, is a battleground. Polls show 13% of Israeli voters undecided, with only 55% of 2022 Likud voters planning to vote Likud again. Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff, appeals to Likud's traditional Mizrahi electorate.

In the southern Israeli city of Dimona, former supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are campaigning for rival candidate Gadi Eisenkot in the days leading up to Tuesday's election. The ballot is Israel's first since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, which saw Likud's popularity plummet. Opinion polls have predicted for months that Netanyahu's coalition will lose its majority, but Eisenkot's Yashar party has no clear path to power either, and the race has tightened. Dimona, where an Iranian missile wounded dozens in March, has become a political battleground. Yossi Assayag, 74, a lifelong Likud supporter, said, "Bibi has brought disaster to Israel." Eisenkot's party is neck and neck with Likud in the polls. Some 13% of Israeli voters are still undecided, according to the Israel Democracy Institute. Of those who voted for Likud in 2022, only 55% now say they will vote for the party again. Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and child of Moroccan immigrants, appeals to Likud's traditional Mizrahi electorate. The article notes that while Netanyahu has a substantial base, undecided voters who recognize a state of crisis are open to persuasion.