Likud Calls on Eisenkot to Cancel Democrats Deal

Likud escalated its campaign against opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot on Monday, calling on him to cancel the surplus-vote agreement between his Yeshar! party and Yair Golan's Democrats party. The demand comes in response to statements by Democrats members defending the filmmakers behind NAZA, a documentary that has drawn widespread criticism in Israel.

"The Likud movement calls on Gadi Eisenkot to cancel the surplus-vote agreement with the extremist Democrats party," the ruling party said in a statement. Likud accused the Democrats of being "a party whose members provide backing and support to the creators of the antisemitic film NAZA, which spreads blood libels and slanders IDF soldiers around the world."

Likud continued its campaign messaging against the left-wing bloc, attacking the Democrats: "This is Eisenkot's coalition, a combination of the left, the extreme left, and the Muslim Brotherhood of Abbas."

Several candidates on the Democrats' Knesset slate have criticized Israel's response to NAZA, after many Israelis condemned the messages conveyed by the film, its portrayal of IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, and claims it makes about Israel's conduct during the war.

Gabi Lasky, number six on the list, argued that discourse against the filmmakers has become violent and called for protecting the ability to raise moral questions even during wartime. "The violent discourse against the creators must stop," Lasky wrote, adding that these are "works that raise value-based questions that must be asked precisely out of pain." According to her, "It's easiest to justify harming human rights during war, and therefore there is also an obligation to ask questions and set boundaries. This is the essence of democracy."

Meanwhile, Moshe Redman, number nine on the Democrats list, also addressed criticism of the film. According to him, "The public atmosphere, the sensationalist media, the absence of human rights education, the despicable leadership, the weak opposition—all these are classic circumstances for confusion and loss of direction."

Redman admitted he "doesn't know if the film is truly fair and faithful to the source." Nevertheless, he declared that "it's good there's discourse, it's good there's criticism," and attacked what he called "the fascist populists."