Gadi Eisenkot's party says its first government decision would be a state commission of inquiry into October 7, and it has already posted a draft of that decision for public comment.1718
Who is Yashar?
Yashar runs on the ballot letters Dalet, Resh, Kaf, spelling "derech," under the name "Yashar! with Eisenkot for prime minister, uniting Israel."1 It's a joint list of Eisenkot's party and Hili Tropper's party, Yesodot Yisrael.1 The leader is Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff.22
What has Yashar published?
Here's what Yashar has published. There's a short platform called "10 steps," as an eight page PDF and on the homepage.23 There's a list of twelve party goals.19 And there are twelve detailed plans on the website, posted between June and late September, covering things like military service, reservists, the economy, education, crime, immigration, the north, agriculture, seniors, and young adults.4516 Everything is in Hebrew. The English page is a single tagline.
One note before we start. The site's public data feed also contains four more plans, on housing, the LGBTQ community, gender equality, and culture, dated September 15 and 24, but they aren't linked from the plans page yet.21 I'll mention a few items from them and flag them as such.
Yashar's positions, topic by topic
The same twelve topics, in the same order, for every party. Where nothing was published, the episode says so.
What does Yashar say about security and foreign policy?
The 10 steps platform promises a "new security concept" to replace what it calls the "band-aid method." It says they'll strengthen the IDF, fortify the borders, and make Israel a "regional power," while working to expand the "circle of peace" and secure a "solid Jewish majority for generations."2 That's the extent of it in the platform. I couldn't find a written plan on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, or the Palestinians.
On a Palestinian state, the party's website says Eisenkot has never supported one, and that his only statement on the subject is opposition to it.20
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post published September 24, Eisenkot said Iran is the external threat that concerns him most, called relations with the US "a necessity for Israel," and said peace with Egypt and Jordan needs to be strengthened.22 He also said that on the West Bank, the Civil Administration and police activity in what he called "Judea and Samaria" would go back to coordination under the military command, and administrative orders would be restored "against those who riot and harm the settlement enterprise."22
The security item with numbers attached is about reservists. The plan would cap reserve duty at 50 days a year and 150 days over three years, as a four-year temporary measure, with at least six months' notice before a call-up, subject to operational limits.6
What does Yashar say about accountability for October 7?
It's step one of the 10 steps.2 The draft decision sets up a state commission of inquiry under the 1968 Commissions of Inquiry Law. The President of the Supreme Court would appoint the chair and the members, five in total.18 It would look back a decade, to the end of Operation Protective Edge, and for 2024 and 2025 it would examine the war aims, the return of the hostages including the ground maneuver, and the government's media and public diplomacy work.18 The draft sets a one-time budget of 25 million shekels, and the site says it's open to public comment until October 7.1817
What does Yashar say about the economy and the cost of living?
The economic plan is built on one principle, which they repeat across the site: whoever serves and works gets priority.7 Tax credit points and state aid would be reshaped to reward people who carry the economic and security burden, and the plan says work should always pay more than a stipend.7
On prices, they'd cancel import barriers and Israel-specific product standards "that have no justification," open the market to parallel imports, and reform kashrut and kosher imports.7 They'd cut income tax and pay for it with taxes on things like disposable tableware and sweetened drinks.7 They'd require real-time digital reporting of large transactions, sharply limit cash, and use AI to catch fake invoices.7
There are specific numbers in other plans. Conscript pay would go up 15 percent for everyone, and 50 percent for front-line combat soldiers in their third year.6 They promise 20 billion shekels for reservists over three years.6 And the northern plan commits about 15 billion shekels over five years, with new corporate tax rates of 2.5 percent on the confrontation line and 5 percent in the northern district along the Krayot to Kinneret line.13
What every party says about the economy and the cost of living
What does Yashar say about housing?
The economic plan says they'll use the need for protected spaces as an engine for urban renewal, "flood the market" with new apartments, and tax land that isn't being moved toward construction.7 The young adults plan focuses on renters: publish anonymous rent prices collected through local authorities, close the loophole that lets brokers charge tenants, because "whoever benefits from the brokerage service pays for it," and set up fast arbitration and small claims tracks for rental disputes.16
From the unlinked housing plan: long-term rental contracts with rules that limit rent increases during the contract, with priority for people who serve.21
What does Yashar say about religion and state?
The flagship is a law called "State service for all."5 Every young person would be summoned by an independent national service directorate. The IDF picks first, and everyone else goes to civil or national service.5 The plan keeps up to 3 percent of each yearly cohort for one-year deferrals for Torah study, chosen by open screening, and those people would still do basic training.5 People who aren't exempt and don't serve, whom the plan calls "draft evaders and deserters," would lose a long list of state benefits, including support for Torah institutions, and could face license revocation, a ban on leaving the country, and criminal charges.5
Elsewhere, the immigration plan commits to civil unions, "respectful" conversion processes, and letting local authorities and communities shape Shabbat in public space.12 The unlinked LGBTQ plan says civil union registration would run "in parallel to, and not instead of" the religious courts and be open to same-sex couples.21
What does Yashar say about the judiciary and governance?
The platform says they'll pass a "Basic Law: Legislation" to strengthen the Knesset's independence and authority, limit the prime minister to two terms, and cut unnecessary ministries.2 The party goals add that they'll aim for broad agreement on a constitution and want a judiciary that is "strong, independent and accountable."19 The crime plan says police independence would be written into law and politicians would stop dealing with police appointments and investigations.9 I couldn't find a published position on how judges are selected or on the attorney general.
What does Yashar say about education?
They'd create a National Education Council that sets a binding core for every student in public education: Jewish-Israeli identity, Hebrew, English, math, science, AI literacy, critical thinking, and civics.8 Core studies would become the condition for full public funding, and funding would be "substantially reduced" for schools that don't meet the state standard, and schools outside the state system, especially Haredi ones, would be required to join a state-Haredi track with full core studies.8 In the same September 24 Jerusalem Post interview, Eisenkot said that schools outside state education "will not receive funding from the state."22 The plan also gives principals control over a flexible budget, cuts the number of matriculation exams, and moves ages zero to three under the Education Ministry.8
What does Yashar say about health?
I couldn't find a general health plan. Health shows up inside other plans: an emergency medical center in Kiryat Shmona13, more geriatric beds and a study of mandatory long-term care insurance for everyone15, and a national rehabilitation authority for post-trauma, a minister responsible for rehabilitation, and follow-up care for every discharged soldier who needs it.1016
What does Yashar say about social welfare, pensions and the elderly?
The seniors plan would raise old-age allowances for low-income seniors, including Holocaust survivors and immigrants with small pensions, and create a permanent mechanism to keep allowances from losing value.15 It also calls for a national council for senior citizens, a loneliness program run through local authorities, and tougher penalties for scams targeting older people.15
What every party says about social welfare, pensions and the elderly
What does Yashar say about Arab citizens and minorities?
Arab citizens are included in the service law.25 The crime plan proposes joint work with Arab community leadership, including recruiting young people into mandatory civil service focused on fighting crime in Arab towns.9 In the same Jerusalem Post interview, Eisenkot said Arab citizens would do national service and Bedouin service in the IDF would expand.22 I couldn't find a dedicated plan for Arab citizens beyond that. The unlinked plans add sexual orientation and gender identity to anti-discrimination law and propose a ban on conversion therapy.21
What does Yashar say about immigration, absorption and the diaspora?
The goal is one million new immigrants in about a decade and another million by 2048, plus an emergency plan to stop Israelis from leaving.2 They'd create a "hybrid residency" status for people who want to move gradually, settle tax and National Insurance debts to encourage Israelis abroad to return, and set up a one-stop absorption office that starts working with families before they land.1112 Degree recognition would get fixed deadlines.12
What every party says about immigration, absorption and the diaspora
What does Yashar say about the environment, energy and transportation?
They'd complete a high-speed rail network linking the periphery to the center and speed up metro and light rail projects.7 The agriculture and northern plans support solar panels over farmland and local micro-grids for emergencies.1413 I couldn't find an environment or climate plan, and I couldn't find the transportation plan that the young adults plan refers to.16
What every party says about the environment, energy and transportation
What Yashar puts front and center
Crime has its own step in the 10 steps and its own plan.29 The plan calls for a national cabinet on organized crime headed by the prime minister, specialized organized crime courts, and dedicated units against protection rackets in the north and south.9 The northern plan would move the target for sheltering homes, schools, and clinics within nine kilometers of the border from 2035 to 2030.13
What Yashar hasn't published
The gaps are on security and foreign policy: I couldn't find a written plan on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, or the Palestinians beyond the general platform lines. I also couldn't find anything published on judicial selection, the attorney general, or the environment, or a dedicated plan for Arab citizens. The housing plan the site refers to isn't linked from the plans page, and I couldn't find the transportation plan at all.
Sources
Everything above comes from what Yashar made public: its platform, website and official accounts, and on-the-record statements by its leaders. Each line was checked against a saved copy of its source. Most sources are in Hebrew.
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Transcript
The words as spoken in the episode, from its captions. Select a time to listen from there.
Full transcript
Intro
Gadi Eisenkot's party says its first government decision would be a state commission of inquiry into October 7th, and has already posted a draft of that decision for public comment. This is Close Read, and this is a series about what Israel's parties are promising to do in their own published words for
About this series
English-speaking voters ahead of the October 27th election. One party per episode. I only use the party itself as made public, their platform, their website, their official accounts, and on-the-record statements by their leaders. If they didn't publish it, it doesn't count. And if they publish nothing, that's the episode. Yashar runs on the ballot letters, Dalet Reish Kaf, spelling Derech, under the name
Who they are
Yashar, exclamation point, with Eisenkot for Prime Minister, uniting Israel. It's a joint list of Eisenkot's party and Hili Tropper's party, Yesudot Yisrael. The leader is Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff. Here's what Yashar has published. There's a short platform called 10 Steps,
What they've published
quote-unquote, as an eight-page PDF and on the homepage. There's a list of 12 party goals, and there are 12 detailed plans on the website, posted between June and late September, covering things like military service, reservists, the economy, education, crime, immigration, the North, agriculture, seniors, and young adults. Everything is in Hebrew. The English page is a single tagline. One note before we start. The site's public data feed also contains four more plans on housing, the LGBTQ community, gender equality, and culture, dated September 15th and the 24th, but they are not linked from the plans page yet. I'll mention a few items from them and flag them as such. The 10 Steps platform promises a new security concept to replace what it calls
Security and foreign policy
the Band-Aid method. It says they'll strengthen the IDF, fortify the borders, and make Israel a quote-unquote regional power, while working to expand the circle of peace and secure a solid Jewish majority for generations. That's the extent of it in the platform. I couldn't find a written platform or a plan on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, or the Palestinians. On a Palestinian state, the party's website says Eisenkot has never supported one, and that his only statement on the subject is opposition to it. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post published September 24th, Eisenkot said Iran is the external threat that concerns him most. He called relations with the U.S. a necessity for Israel, and said peace with Egypt and Jordan needs to be strengthened. He also said that on the West Bank, the civil administration and police activity in what he called Judea and Samaria would go back to coronation under the military command, and administrative orders would be restored against those who riot and harm the settlement enterprise.
The security item with numbers attached is about reservists. The plan would cap reserve duty at 50 days a year and 150 days over three years as a four-year temporary measure with at least six months' notice before a call-up subject to operational limits. It's step one of the 10 steps. The draft decision sets up a state commission of inquiry under the 1968
October 7 accountability
Commissions of Inquiry law. The president of the Supreme Court would appoint the chair and the members, five in total. It would look back a decade to the end of Operation Protective Edge, and for 2024 and 2025, it would examine the war aims, the return of the hostages, including the ground maneuver, and the government's media and public diplomacy work. The draft sets a one-time budget of 25 million shekels, and the site says it's open to public comment until October 7th. The economic plan is built on one principle, which they repeat across the site. Whoever serves and works gets priority.
Economy and cost of living
Tax credit points and state aid would be reshaped to reward people who carry the economic and security burden, and the plan says work should always pay more than a stipend. On prices, they'd cancel import barriers and Israel-specific product standards that, quote-unquote, have no justification, open the market to parallel imports and reform kashrut and kosher imports. They'd cut income tax and pay for it with taxes on things like disposable tableware and sweetened drinks. They'd require real-time digital reporting of large transactions, sharply limit cash, and use AI to catch fake invoices. There are specific numbers in other plans. Conscript pay would go up 15% for everyone, and 50% for frontline combat soldiers in their third year.
They promised 20 billion shekels for reservists over three years, and the Northern Plan commits about 15 billion shekels over five years, with new corporate tax rates of 2.5% on the confrontation line and 5% in the Northern District along the Kiryot and Kinneret line. The economic plan says they'll use the need for protected spaces as an engine for urban renewal, flood the market with new
Housing
apartments, and tax land that isn't being moved toward construction. The Young Adults Plan focuses on renters, publish anonymous rent prices collected through local authorities, close the loophole that lets brokers charge tenants because, quote-unquote, whoever benefits from the brokerage service pays for it, and set up fast arbitration and small claims tracks for rental disputes. From the unlinked housing plan, which is not yet linked on the main page, long-term rental contracts with rules that limit rent increases during the contract, with priority for people who serve. The flagship is a law called State Service for All. Every young person will be summoned by an
Religion and state
independent National Service Directorate. The IDF picks first, and everyone else goes to civil or national service. The plan keeps up to 3% of each yearly cohort for one-year deferrals for Torah study, chosen by open screening, and those people would still do basic training. People who are not exempt and don't serve, whom the plan calls draft evaders and deserters, would lose a long list of state benefits, including support for Torah institutions, and could face license revocation, a ban on leaving the country, and criminal charges. Elsewhere, the immigration plan commits to civil unions' respectful, quote-unquote, conversion processes, and letting local authorities and communities shape Shabbat in public space.
The unlinked, as in is still not yet, as of this recording linked on the main page, LGBTQ plan, says civil union registration would run, quote-unquote, in parallel to, and not instead of, end quote, the religious courts, and be open to same-sex couples. The platform says they'll pass a basic law legislation to strengthen the Knesset's
Judiciary and governance
independence and authority, limit the prime minister to two terms, and cut unnecessary ministries. The party goals add that they'll aim for broad agreement on a constitution and want a judiciary that is strong, independent, and accountable. The crime plan says police independence would be written into law and politicians would stop dealing with police appointments and investigations. I could not find a published position on how judges are selected or on the attorney general. They would create a national education council that sets a binding core for every student in public education, Jewish-Israeli
Education
identity, Hebrew, English, math, science, AI literacy, critical thinking, and civics. Core studies would become the condition for full public funding, and funding would be substantially reduced, that's the quote, for schools that don't meet the state standard, and schools outside the state system, especially Haredi ones, would be required to join a state Haredi track with full core studies. In the same September 24th Jerusalem Post interview, Eisenkot said that schools outside the state's education would not receive funding from the state. The plan also gives principals control over a flexible budget, cuts the number of matriculation exams, and moves ages zero to three under the education ministry. I couldn't find a general health plan. Health shows up inside other plans, though.
An emergency medical center in Kiriatshmone,
Health
more geriatric beds, and a study of mandatory long-term care insurance for everyone, and a national rehabilitation authority for post-trauma, a minister responsible for rehabilitation, and follow-up care for every discharged soldier who needs it. The Seniors Plan would raise old-age allowances for low-income seniors, including
Social welfare, pensions, and the elderly
Holocaust survivors, and immigrants with small pensions, and create a permanent mechanism to keep allowances from losing value. It also calls for a national council for senior citizens, a loneliness program run through local authorities, and tougher penalties for scams targeting older people. Arab citizens are included in the service law. The crime plan proposes joint work with Arab community leadership, including recruiting
Arab citizens and minorities
young people into mandatory civil service focused on fighting crime in Arab towns. In the same Jerusalem Post interview, Eisenkot said Arab citizens would do national service, and Bedouin service in the IDF would expand. I couldn't find a dedicated plan for Arab citizens beyond that. The unlinked plan adds sexual orientation and gender identity to anti-discrimination laws, and proposed a ban on conversion therapy. The goal is one million new immigrants in about a decade, and another million by 2048,
Immigration, absorption, and diaspora
plus an emergency plan to stop Israelis from leaving. They'd create a hybrid residency status, people who want to move gradually, settle tax and national insurance debts to encourage Israelis abroad to return, and set up a one-stop absorption office that starts working with families before they land. Degree recognition would get fixed deadlines. They complete a high-speed rail network, linking the periphery to the center, and speed up metro and light rail projects.
Environment, energy, and transportation
The agriculture and northern plan support solar panels over farmland and local microgrids for emergencies. I couldn't find an environment or climate plan, and I couldn't find the transportation plan that the young adult plan here refers to. Crime has its own step in the 10 steps and its own plan. The plan calls for a national cabinet on
What they put front and center
organized crime headed by the prime minister. Specialized organized crime courts and dedicated units against protection rackets in the north and the south. The northern plan to move targets for sheltering homes, schools, and clinics within 9 kilometers of the border from 2035 to 2030. The gaps are on security and foreign policy. I couldn't find a written plan on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, or the Palestinians beyond
What's missing
the general platform lines. I also couldn't find anything published on judicial selection, the attorney general, or the environment, or a dedicated plan for Arab citizens. The housing plan to set your first two isn't linked from the plans page, and I couldn't find the transportation plan at all. That's what Yashar has put in writing as of this recording on October 1st. Every source I use is linked in the description, most of them in Hebrew, so you can read them yourself. If they publish more before October 27th, I'll try to pin an update in the comments. Next is list number three, Sharshar, and the full playlist is linked below.
