Yair Lapid Offers to Surrender Second Place Ranking to Secure Eisenkot in New ‘Together’ Opposition Alliance

Yair Lapid signals he will drop to #3 on the Together list to facilitate a merger with Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party ahead of the October elections.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 28, 2026, 6:13 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Times of Israel

Sacrificing Rank for a Unified Opposition Front

In a significant tactical concession aimed at consolidating the anti-government movement, Yair Lapid has informed his political partner, Naftali Bennett, that he is prepared to relinquish his second place standing on their joint ticket. Sources close to the Opposition Leader indicate that Lapid is willing to slide to the third slot if such a move is necessary to bring Gadi Eisenkot and his Yashar party into the "Together – Led by Bennett" fold. This gesture underscores a growing urgency within the center-left to present a monolithic alternative to the current administration, with Lapid asserting that personal prestige is secondary to the goal of electoral victory.

The Birth of the Together Alliance

The proposal follows the high profile announcement on Sunday, April 26, 2026, in which Bennett and Lapid revealed they would merge their respective parties into a single formation. The new entity, titled "Together," represents a strategic bet that a unified list under Bennett’s leadership can better challenge the Likud party’s dominance. During the launch in Herzliya, Bennett publicly extended an invitation to Eisenkot, characterizing the door as open for a broader "Zionist majority" coalition. The move was framed by both leaders as an essential step toward healing national divisions and implementing sweeping reforms, including universal conscription and term limits.

Eisenkot Maintains Distance Despite Alliance Overtures

Despite being a longtime advocate for opposition unity, Gadi Eisenkot has maintained a cautious distance from the newly minted Bennett-Lapid union. While he has publicly welcomed the merger as a positive development among allies, he has thus far declined to fold his Yashar party into the group. Eisenkot has argued that the ultimate test of any political union is its capacity to attract new voters, particularly those from the pro-Netanyahu right. He expressed skepticism that a simple consolidation of existing opposition seats would be enough to change the fundamental arithmetic of the Knesset.