The left bloc tried to present leadership – and got a support group

The five leaders of the left bloc gathered at Lapid's home and pledged to stop mutual attacks, but left the central questions open: who will lead, what the government will look like, and what the place of the Arab parties will be. Instead of deciding on a candidate for prime minister, joint working groups were established.

The five leaders of the left bloc — Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan — gathered this evening (Saturday) at Lapid's home in Tel Aviv in an attempt to present a picture of unity a month before the elections. They published a joint principles document and pledged to stop mutual attacks, following days of clashes over Eisenkot's "big party" campaign. However, the decision on who would be the candidate for prime minister was left until after the elections. Instead of a decision, joint working groups were established on increasing voter turnout, formulating basic guidelines, and coordinating messages. Mansour Abbas, chairman of Ra'am, was not invited to the meeting, and the question of relations with the Arab parties remained outside the document — an issue directly affecting the bloc's ability to form a majority. The analysis on Channel 14 emphasizes that the event provided a joint picture but fewer answers, and presents the bloc as five leaders around one table with a lot of desire to present unity and many open questions.