52 Days to Elections: Where Are the Party Platforms?  

One would think that 52 days before elections here in Israel each of the candidates who are interested in unseating our current Prime Minister as well as Netanyahu himself, would by now have provided all of us who vote with a comprehensive platform laying out the concepts under which they will govern, if elected.  You would think so at least.

Sadly, that is not the case.

In an effort to make this happen a colleague and I prepared a questionnaire to be sent to each of these candidates with topics that could guide them to creating a meaningful platform that would enable all of us to understand how they intend to operate if chosen by us, the voting public. I sent that to the people who manage each of the four people below (the only people running who I believe actually have a chance to be asked to form the next government). It was a judgement call on my part of course, but I chose to limit the inquiry in order to make it manageable as I thought I would be deluged by responses.

Most of you will not be surprised when I tell you that I only heard from the handler of one of the people shown below. A bit over a month ago I was contacted by him and told that within a week or so I would have some material available for publication. Contact continues but, to date, still nothing.

For those of you familiar with American baseball terminology, I experienced three strikeouts and one base on balls but am still waiting to get past first base.

Out of desperation, as the clock is ticking I did some on line research and uncovered farmwork material that will help put each candidate’s vision into perspective and is listed herein.

Yair Lapid/Yesh Atid

Yair Lapid’s political platform centers on secular liberalism, civic equality, government reform, and a security-focused regional foreign policy. As the leader of the party and former prime minister, his core platform priorities focus on domestic governance and international diplomacy. [1, 2, 3]

Domestic and Civic Governance…

• Equal Service: According to the Israel Democracy Insitute, he “advocates an equal sharing of the burden of military service.” This includes ending funding exemptions for military or national service draft evaders.
• State Reform: Limiting prime ministers to a maximum of two terms (8 years) in office and reducing the overall size and cost of the government.
• Education and Economy: Prioritizing core secular education frameworks (including mathematics and English) and advancing high-tech economic growth.

Foreign Policy and Regional Strategy…

Regional Alliances: Leveraging multilateral frameworks like the Negev Summit and regional partnerships to isolate Iran and foster stability.

• International Relations: Rebuilding bipartisan ties with the United States and strengthening diplomatic cooperation with European allies.
• The Palestinian Track: Supporting a long-term vision of separation from the Palestinians under a secure framework, while maintaining firm control over Jerusalem and opposing unilateral new settlement expansions during a stalemate.

Naftali Bennett / B’yachad with Lapid

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s political platform focuses on establishing a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 attacks, setting prime ministerial term limits, lowering the cost of living by breaking monopolies, and enhancing national security and infrastructure.

Core Governance & Political Reforms…

Initiating a State Commission of Inquiry “on day one” of taking office regarding the October 7 events, as noted in the Jerusalem Post.

• Enforcing prime ministerial term limits to restrict long tenures.
• Appointing qualified, competent ministers rather than political appointees.
• Reducing special interest “coalition funds” distributed for political alignment.

Economy & Cost of Living…

• Breaking market monopolies, cartels, and trade barriers to “open exports, imports, competition.”

• Deregulating kosher certification systems to cut food production costs.
• Providing tax cuts and grants to double the population in the Negev and Golan Heights over a decade.
• Reforming national transportation systems to match developed nation standards.

Security & State Policy…

Restoring regional deterrence and reinforcing internal public safety and law enforcement.

• Reevaluating ultra-Orthodox military and national draft frameworks.
• Pursuing broader Zionist unity initiatives and governance stabilization.

Gadi Eisenkot/Yashar

Eisenkot’s political platform for this supposedly centrist party, runs under the slogan “Israel Must Win” and centers on national security, military service equality, government reform, and social healing following the aftermath of the October 7 war.

Security and Defense…

Military Manpower: Eisenkot introduced a plan that would cap reserve service at 50 days per year and “grow the ranks of the military to make it significantly easier for conscripts and reservists — without compromising on security.”

• West Bank & Enforcement: Re-empower apolitical IDF officials on security decisions in Judea and Samaria, target violent extremism, and enforce strict administrative detention policies.
• Palestinian Policy: As reported in the Times of Israel insists that “there is no Palestinian state, and in the government we will form, a Palestinian state will not be established.” Prioritizes retaining the Jordan Valley and core settlement blocs alongside a long-term demilitarization framework for Gaza.

Governance and Public Reform…

State Inquiry: Commits to immediately establishing a formal state commission of inquiry into the October 7 intelligence and military failures.

• Clean Government: Rejects political survival-driven antics in favor of administrative competence, structured planning for initial hundred-day goals, and upholding the spirit of Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

Society and Rehabilitation…

Trauma and Health Support: Overhaul psychological and medical treatment paths for reservists, victims, and evacuees, easing bureaucratic hurdles to post-trauma care.

• Civic and Education Focus: Prioritizes state public education systems focused on shared national-Jewish identity alongside equal citizenship values.

Benjamin Netanyahu/Likud

Netanyahu’s political platform centers on aggressive national security, free-market economic policies, maintaining firm control over security areas in Gaza and the West Bank, and opposing Palestinian statehood while building regional alliances.

National Security & Foreign Policy…

Complete Demilitarization: Maintaining IDF operational control in Gaza with the stated objective of demilitarizing Gaza and ensuring it poses no future threat.

• Regional Integration: Expanding peace and normalization deals with Arab nations while taking a hardline stance against Iranian nuclear ambitions.
• Opposition to Concessions: Rejecting international pressure for unilateral withdrawals or a two-state solution deemed dangerous to Israeli security.

Economic Policy…

Inflation Control: Implementing emergency freezes or caps on core household expenses like utility and municipal tax rates (arnona), alongside lowering customs duties to counter high costs.

• Free-Market Reforms: Promoting privatization, reducing market regulation, and encouraging foreign and domestic trade competition.

Governance & State Institutions…

Judicial and Legal Balance: Supporting structural reforms to rebalance authority between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

• Digital Transformation: Streamlining bureaucracy via government technology initiatives to make public services and digital data more accessible to citizens.

Hopefully, lacking anything directly from the candidates, this is somewhat helpful.  Perhaps the various candidate managers will be sufficiently embarrassed to actually provide us their platforms from their candidates rather than our relying only what can be gleaned from the web.

In any event, an election where the primary candidates for the highest office in the country do not have sufficient respect for the electorate to provide all of us with a gameplan as to how they will govern, is an election bereft of seriousness. After all, if we don’t know what they are thinking, who is on their lists, how they will appoint ministers, and what their governing philosophy is, then the election becomes one based on personality. That is no way to run a country whose destiny is fully intertwined with all 16 million Jews in a world where antisemitism is rife and all of us are now threatened.

I would urge all who read this to raise your voices, contact the candidates and let them know what you expect from them.  If you choose, instead, to sit idly by, you then become complicit in any potential election disaster.  As Ben Franklin answered a citizen in Philadelphia in the late 1770s who wanted to know what kind of government had just been created, he said “A republic, if you can keep it.” A word to the wise for sure.