Yossi Schwartz, ISL (RCIT in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 06.11.2026
No need to explain why Netanyahu’s criminal bloc should not be supported. However, Eisenkot’s racist bloc should also not be supported in light of the principles he declared: the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, the promotion of mandatory service for all citizens, the repeal of the regime coup laws, recognition of Israel as a Jewish democratic state, and the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Although it is impossible to support Eisenkot for anyone who supports democratic principles, Ra’am supports the government headed by Eisenkot, and the Joint List to Exclude Balad announced its support for the government headed by Eisenkot despite his spitting in the face of the list and those who voted for Ra’am and the Joint List.
“President Isaac Herzog is continuing his consultations today (Thursday) with representatives of the factions, ahead of the imposition of the mandate to form a government on one of the Knesset members. Ahead of his arrival at the President’s Residence, the Joint List announced that it would recommend Yashar Chairman Gadi Eisenkot as a candidate to form a government. In response, senior officials in the Eisenkot bloc told Haaretz that they conducted no negotiations with the party and offered it nothing in exchange for the recommendation. So far, they have recommended Eisenkot, Ra’am, the Democrats and Yisrael Beiteinu.”[i]
Party Chairman Mansour Abbas said, “The results of the elections are complex, but it is possible to bridge the gaps and establish a stable government that will serve the citizens of the country for four years.” Herzog asked about the investigation into foreign influence on the elections, to which Abbas responded: “Twice we welcomed the decision of the chairman of the elections committee to demand that the Shin Bet and the police investigate, and we said that, as far as we are concerned, we are at the disposal of the enforcement and investigation agencies and we are confident…
“The president asked Abbas if Hamas is a terrorist organization. “We are against terror, and we have been on this path for 30 to 40 years. My vision is that two states will be established here, with Hamas and all the armed organizations disarmed,” he said. Later, when asked about it again, he clarified: “I have an unequivocal answer, but give me space to protect myself and my family.”[ii]
The Arab parties, which gained considerable power and whose voters expected them to achieve serious achievements that would compare their condition to that of the Jews, realize that these parties are trading their voters’ votes very cheaply and, in fact, for free.
Typical of right-wing centrists, “Socialist Struggle’’ on the road to reformism, gave critical support to the Joint List despite recognizing that the Joint List’s policy is a popular front;
“Hadash, the largest left-wing component, is focusing on promoting the joint message sheet. It sees the common denominator of organizing on a national-democratic basis as the order of the hour vis-à-vis the Netanyahu bloc and the extreme right since the 2015 elections, in accordance with the Popular Front’s approach, and therefore has also supported Ra’am’s participation, which has run independently since 2021. In Hadash’s view, the Joint List should provide “strong, clear and responsible representation for the Arab public and Jewish democratic circles,” according to the list’s chairman, Yosef Jabareen (Hadash-Maki). ‘[iii]
“The left-wing agenda of the Joint List is much more in line with the interests of the struggle for women’s equality, but it requires prominent and militant representation. Now there is an opportunity to strengthen demands for women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights, which are being trampled on under the cover of the war. We will wake up to the fact that a directive circulated in the Joint Campaign for “Modesty” refers to the oppression of LGBTQ+ people so as not to alienate a “conservative” vote, which is a fundamental mistake of principle. The rights of LGBTQ+ and women are not a privilege that will wait for “convenient” circumstances, and the Joint List must be demanded to stand unapologetically at the forefront of the struggles against oppression on the basis of gender and sexuality, as part of the struggle to change society.”[iv]
At the Seventh Congress of the Comintern in 1935, the Stalinists came up with the program of the “Popular Front.”, in the name of the struggle against fascism and the defense of democracy, an alliance with “democratic” bourgeois parties. The effect of these alliances was the political subordination of the working class and the oppressed to the bourgeoisie and the capitalist state, the political depression of the working class and the oppressed, and finally to the victory of the extreme right, as happened in France, Spain, and Chile, to give a few examples. This is the policy of the joint list.
The Transitional program states:
‘The Third International has taken to the road of reformism at a time when the crisis of capitalism definitely placed the proletarian revolution on the order of the day. The Comintern’s policy in Spain and China today – the policy of cringing before the “democratic” and “national” bourgeoisie – demonstrates that the Comintern is likewise incapable of learning anything further or of changing’.[v]
Instead of popular front policy, what is necessary is a united front and committees of action.
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/elections/2026-11-05/ty-article/.premium/000001a1-a829-d041-a5f9-ed2907f80000
[ii] https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/elections/2026-11-05/ty-article/.premium/000001a1-a829-d041-a5f9-ed2907f80000
[iii] Socialist Struggle Movement — The National Committee
Wed 14 Oct 2026 09:02
[iv] Ibid
[v] The Transitional Program 1938