Likud assembles special team to lure defectors from Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party after election

Just two and a half weeks before Israel's October 27 election, Likud has established a special team tasked with persuading several lawmakers from former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar! party to defect. Yedioth Ahronoth and ynet have learned that the team consists of Likud lawmakers and several strategic advisers whose sole purpose is to facilitate the movement of lawmakers between political blocs immediately after the election. The tactic has been used in the previous two election cycles, with considerable success. Likud figures managed to draw Amichai Chikli, then a newly elected lawmaker, away from former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's party, followed later in the government's term by Idit Silman, who served as coalition chairwoman. This time, however, Likud has expanded the number of people involved and developed more systematic methods for pressuring potential defectors. In the past, candidates reported being subjected to various forms of pressure, including demonstrators appearing at synagogues attended by their family members, maintaining a regular presence in their neighborhoods and gathering near their children's schools. Those efforts were carefully orchestrated, and Likud now appears to have refined its methods, determined to take the strategy a step further. The newly established Likud team is conducting extensive background checks on every candidate on Eisenkot's list, with particular attention to newcomers who have right-wing political backgrounds or close ties to right-leaning circles. The examination includes past public statements, personal and broader social networks, whether candidates consult rabbis and which other influential figures might sway their decisions. Likud intends to use that information to launch an intensive pressure campaign immediately after the election, focusing primarily on diplomatic and security policy differences and offering a package of promises to those willing to switch political blocs. That was also the approach used with Chikli and Silman, both of whom received guaranteed places on Likud's candidate list for subsequent elections and ministerial positions after switching sides. Chikli managed to retain his place in Likud and even strengthen his standing within the party. Silman, however, who served as environmental protection minister, failed to survive the party primaries, ending her latest political chapter bitterly amid claims that Netanyahu's inner circle had "used her and thrown her away." Eisenkot's Yashar! party appears well aware that similar efforts could begin immediately after the election and has reportedly placed particular emphasis on screening candidates. In recent weeks, reports suggested that candidates were required to sign commitments pledging not to defect from the party, although senior party officials denied those claims. Even if such loyalty declarations had been signed, however, they would carry no legal force and would have no significance beyond a symbolic commitment. Bennett learns from past defections Naftali Bennett was among the politicians most severely affected by the tactic. Beyond Chikli and Silman, former lawmaker Nir Orbach, a member of the religious Zionist community, informed Bennett that he no longer intended to vote with the coalition. It later emerged that Orbach had also faced intense pressure from Likud and other right-wing figures, until he eventually broke ranks. During one Knesset vote, he left the chamber and was quoted as saying of the coalition government formed with Mansour Abbas and his Arab Ra'am party: "The experiment has failed." As a result, Bennett has adopted a far more rigorous screening process for candidates running on his Together party list in the current election, including extensive background checks into each candidate's political history and previous positions. During preparatory meetings, prospective candidates were asked dozens of questions about various hypothetical political scenarios designed to test their loyalty to Bennett. Yashar's No. 7: ‘There are no Silmans here, and there never will be’ Shaul Meridor, a senior figure in Eisenkot's party, said last week in an interview with "120 and One," ynet's political podcast: "There are no Silmans here, and there never will be. Everyone on our list has undergone thorough scrutiny of their positions and fully agrees with Eisenkot's approach." Likud officials, however, believe the political balance after the election could be extremely close and argue that Eisenkot lacks experience in selecting and retaining political candidates, leaving some members of his list potentially vulnerable to defection. "There are people there who have problems with Eisenkot's and Yair Golan's positions on security and diplomatic issues, and with the idea of forming a government with Arab parties," a Likud source said. "Some of them are talking about it with people close to them."