![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303710286-scaled-1.avif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIsraeli President Isaac Herzog tasks Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government in a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, on November 8. (Saeed Qaq\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cYashar Leader Gadi Eisenkot, I expect you to do everything in your power to establish a government that will serve the entire people, those who supported it and those who did not, and that will be a responsible and decent address for all sectors, faiths, ways of life, and worldviews,\u201d Herzog said in a televised ceremony held at his residence in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
Eisenkot has up to six weeks to assemble a coalition, a step that typically includes at least 61 seats out of 120 in Israel\u2019s parliament, the Knesset. If he fails to do so within that time, then the president can give another Knesset member the opportunity to form a government.<\/p>\n
In his speech on Sunday, Eisenkot said that Israeli democracy was \u201cat one of its most vulnerable moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe campaign to undermine the legitimacy of our democracy, together with the growing distrust in state institutions, fueled daily, has brought us to an extremely dangerous point,\u201d he said, adding that continuing on this path Israel would reach the \u201cpoint of no return.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe formal consultations held here, at the President\u2019s Residence, have revealed a clear picture: an absolute majority of Knesset members, representing the Israeli public, support change and support me as prime minister,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some 67 members of the Knesset recommended Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, for prime minister during those consultations. Meanwhile, 46 members of Knesset recommended incumbent Prime Minister and Likud Leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. One faction, United Torah Judaism, with seven members of Knesset, refrained from recommending any candidate.<\/p>\n
The consultations, Herzog said, \u201cbrought to the surface the disputes, the painful points, and of course, the multitude of voices within Israeli society and politics.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the differences \u201creminded us all that every citizen of Israel has an equal voice, from every side, every view, every way of life, and every faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eisenkot said he would work to bridge those divisions and attempt to form a national emergency government, even if it required \u201ccreative and unconventional political initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael cannot afford delay or yet another cycle of endless elections,\u201d he said, inviting elected parties and individual members of Knesset to join him in setting up the next government.<\/p>\n