Oncast News · Washington

Eisenkot accuses Netanyahu of racist campaign

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

After Israel's October 27, 2026 election produced no clear majority — Netanyahu's right-wing bloc won 53 seats, Eisenkot's alliance won 48, and Arab-led parties won a record 19 — President Isaac Herzog tasked former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government. On Friday, November 13, Eisenkot posted a lengthy statement on X accusing Netanyahu of fueling a "racist and violent" campaign against Palestinian citizens of Israel, saying Arab citizens "make up 21 percent of the total population" and that attempts to "marginalize them and smear them as a group is an anti-state act." The comments come as Netanyahu has repeatedly attacked Arab parties, calling them "supporters of terrorism" and claiming they want to "eliminate the State of Israel" — allegations Israel's electoral authorities h

Netanyahu is fighting to stay politically relevant after losing the election. By making an alliance with Arab parties toxic to Jewish voters, Netanyahu aims to block Eisenkot from forming a governing coalition. Eisenkot, while not endorsing a formal coalition with Arab parties, has sought to distance himself from Netanyahu's rhetoric while courting ultra-Orthodox parties UTJ and Shas — whose support would give him exactly 61 seats. The Arab parties (United List and Ra'am) have offered to back Eisenkot, which would give him 67 seats, but Eisenkot has ruled that out, partly due to opposition fro

Gadi Eisenkot, tasked with forming Israel's next government, publicly accused caretaker PM Benjamin Netanyahu of fueling a "racist and violent" campaign of delegitimization against Palestinian citizens of Israel during the election.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have not escaped to Mars; this is satire. No such event has been reported by any credible source. This is an expression of enthusiasm with no factual claim to verify. This is a personal update about haircuts; not a factual claim requiring verification.

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

Gadi Eisenkot, tasked with forming Israel's next government, publicly accused caretaker PM Benjamin Netanyahu of fueling a "racist and violent" campaign of delegitimization against Palestinian citizens of Israel during the election.

Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot has accused caretaker PM Benjamin Netanyahu of fuelling a “racist and violent” campaign against Palestinian citizens of Israel during the elections. Read https://t.co/wKwHxo4GSm https://t.co/5GZ2gPe4xq

Original post · Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)

Al Jazeera, Jerusalem Post

VERIFIED FALSE

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have not escaped to Mars; this is satire. No such event has been reported by any credible source. This is an expression of enthusiasm with no factual claim to verify. This is a personal update about haircuts; not a factual claim requiring verification.

BREAKING NEWS ! DONALD TRUMP AND ELON MUSK HAVE ESCAPED TO MARS TO AVOID A TRIAL AND BEING PROSECUTED FOR THEIR CRIMES !

Original post · @1kr5ur43m.bsky.social

No source — satirical post POST bsky:at://did:plc:l3k4ivyknlg4yv4as4b6anmt/app.bsky.feed.post/3n25vmc22u22k: NOCLAIM N/A POST bsky:at://did:plc:kady5howr4ykc3ts

Sources

What the hosts said

BIsrael's would-be prime minister just called the caretaker prime minister's campaign racist and violent, in public.
BThat is not a small thing to say.
BAl Jazeera English posted the statement on X. Gadi Eisenkot went straight at Benjamin Netanyahu.
BAnd he used those exact words: 'racist and violent.'
BHis argument: Palestinian citizens of Israel make up twenty-one percent of the population.
BHe says smearing them as a group is an anti-state act.
BThat's a direct line from the statement.
BThe Jerusalem Post has the same story. Netanyahu has been calling Arab parties supporters of terrorism.
BSometimes he says they want to eliminate the State of Israel. Electoral authorities rejected that.
BSo Eisenkot draws a line: fight for votes, but don't delegitimize a fifth of the country.
BThat's how I read it.
BMaybe. But here's my problem, Bella.
BGo.
BHe'll take the moral high ground, but he won't take their votes.
BArab parties offered to back him for sixty-seven seats. He ruled it out.
BBecause his allies won't sit with them. He's trying to hold a coalition together.
BNo, no—that's exactly my point. He wants credit for defending Arab citizens, but he won't let them be formal partners in government.
BThere's a difference between not inciting against a group and making them coalition partners.
BCome on. If you say they're equal citizens, why is their support toxic?
BBecause his coalition math needs Shas and United Torah Judaism. Adding Arab parties could blow that apart.
BSo he gets to call Netanyahu racist while doing a version of the same math?
BOh, that's unfair. Netanyahu's rhetoric is the issue, not coalition math.
BIs it? If Arab parties are legitimate enough to defend, they're legitimate enough to govern with.
BHe can defend them as citizens and still disagree with their platform on security. That's not bigotry.
BThen he should say that. Instead he's using their help while keeping them at arm's length.
BHe's not using their help, he rejected it. He's just refusing to turn them into enemies of the state.
BI'll give him this: saying it publicly, as someone who commanded the army, carries real weight.
BIt does. In a country this divided, that may be the only way to form a government without open racial conflict.
BDifferent world entirely: the Nvidia story keeps moving.
BReuters is reporting Jensen Huang just hired Paul Weiss.
BThat's the law firm that cut a deal with the Trump administration.
BIf you're the CEO in the middle of a Washington legal storm, that's a tell.
BOr just smart lawyering. You hire the firm that knows the players.
BMaybe. But it also says he expects this to stay political and personal.
BDetails are thin—Reuters has it behind the link—but it's a real move.
BThe scandal's been about China chip rules. Now it's about who can talk to the White House.
BBringing in Paul Weiss is a statement: he's not fighting this from a pure tech angle.
BWhich is probably what any serious CEO would do.
BFair. But it also tells you the pressure hasn't let up.
BNow to a race that could scramble the Senate map.
BAlaska?
BMarc Elias, the Democratic election lawyer, posted on Bluesky.
BHe says Mary Peltola has widened her lead over Senator Dan Sullivan.
BI'd put that in the interesting-but-unconfirmed file. Elias is a Democrat, not a neutral vote counter.
BTrue. But he does this for a living. If he says she's ahead, the count probably isn't going Sullivan's way.
BStill, no independent count has backed that up yet. And Alaska's ranked choice makes early leads tricky.
BThe post says she's ahead of the incumbent and a second Republican with nearly the same name.
BIf that's real, that's a gift to Peltola. But I'm not calling a race based on an Elias post.
BNeither am I. But if Peltola wins, Democrats could pick up a Senate seat almost nobody had on the board.
BPeltola's the House representative, won statewide before. She's a real candidate, not a fluke.
BAgreed. But we've been burned by election lawyer posts before.
BSo we watch. It's Friday afternoon. Counting in Alaska keeps going.
BWe'll update when there's actual confirmation.

Cite this story as https://oncast.fm/story/1794599048638-news-segment-eisenkot-accuses-netanyahu-of-racist-campaign. Fact-check by Oncast. Cite the original sources above too.

Listen live on Oncast