Yashar

Hebrew: יָשָׁר (“Straight/Honest”) — full name “Straight! With Eisenkot” · Founded: September 16, 2025 · Leader: Gadi Eisenkot, former IDF Chief of Staff

The defining new party of the 2026 cycle. Eisenkot quit Benny Gantz’s National Unity and resigned from the Knesset to launch Yashar. His son Gal and two grandsons were killed during the Gaza war, a fact frequently referenced in coverage of his political rise.

• Notable co-founders/members among ~120 launch members: ex-minister Matan Kahana, Wix president Nir Zohar, economist Manuel Trajtenberg, former PMO director-general Yoav Horowitz, Shir Siegel (daughter of former hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel); former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen joined in May 2026.
• Ideology: security-focused centrism, statism, a “repair, healing and hope” message aimed at both centrist and some right-leaning voters.
• Polling: roughly 21–24 seats — often the largest single party in recent surveys, and Eisenkot has consistently led Netanyahu on “who is more suitable to be PM” (e.g., 43%–37% in one Channel 12 poll). A July 9, 2026 Channel 13 poll marked the first time Eisenkot’s party overtook Netanyahu’s.
• Platform red lines: Eisenkot has set a threshold of 63–64 “Zionist” MKs as his coalition-building baseline and made universal military/national service (including for Haredim) a core demand; he has ruled out relying on Arab or Haredi support without their acceptance of that condition.