Benny Gantz
Benjamin "Benny" Gantz is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the minister of defense between 2020 and 2022, and as deputy prime minister between 2021 and 2022. From 2020 to 2021, he was the alternate prime minister.
Standing...
Stories...
Sep 27, 2026
Lean Left
The National Unity leader is caught between his security credibility and his refusal to decisively break with the coalition, frustrating opposition voters.
Labor and Meretz activists see him as too cautious, a general waiting for the perfect moment while hostages remain in Gaza and the far-right runs the country.
Sep 27, 2026
Far Left
Gantz's National Unity is flirting with joining a Netanyahu-led emergency government.
Hadash sees Gantz as a wolf in sheep's clothing, ready to provide a centrist fig leaf for far-right policies.
Sep 26, 2026
Center
The ynet/Yedioth poll shows 30% of liberal voters naming him, making him the leading candidate among that bloc.
Yesh Atid sees Gantz as the main rival for the same anti-Netanyahu votes and worries his centre-right positioning will blur the camp's message on rule of law and draft equality.
Sep 26, 2026
Far Left
Gantz has offered to negotiate with Netanyahu over the judicial overhaul, positioning himself as a moderate alternative.
Hadash sees Gantz as another face of the same right-wing establishment, whose military background and centrist posturing mask a commitment to occupation.
Sep 24, 2026
Center
Lieberman's message was aimed at him, telling him that a minority government with Arab support is out of the question.
Yesh Atid hopes Gantz, who leads National Unity, will not cave to Lieberman's ultimatum and abandon the only arithmetic that can unseat Netanyahu, but his history of preferring a broad unity government with Likud remains a live concern.
Sep 24, 2026
Lean Left
Gantz's National Unity party polls strongly but he is accused of enabling the government through his equivocal stance on the war and hostage crisis.
Labor and Meretz distrust Gantz as a cautious ex-general who prioritizes polling over principle, and they fear he would form a right-wing government without them.
Sep 24, 2026
Far Left
Gantz remains in the emergency government and has backed the military campaign in Gaza while calling for early elections.
Hadash sees Gantz as indistinguishable from Netanyahu on the occupation and war, prioritizing political gain over ending the violence.
Sep 23, 2026
Lean Right
As National Unity leader, he remains a potential coalition alternative, though the focus is on the war.
Likud supporters distrust Gantz as a weak centrist who would cave to American pressure and halt the Iran strikes, and they blame him for joining the last emergency government only to undermine Netanyahu.
Sep 23, 2026
Lean Left
Gantz is positioning National Unity as the responsible right-of-center alternative, supporting the war but opposing annexation without consensus.
The left views him as a potential partner but distrusts his refusal to explicitly rule out sitting with Netanyahu again.
Sep 23, 2026
Far Left
Gantz is calling for early elections and presenting National Unity as a responsible right-wing alternative.
Hadash sees Gantz as a wolf in sheep's clothing: a former general who clings to the occupation's security logic and offers no path to Palestinian rights.