Ahead of Tuesday\u2019s election (27 October), party advertisements\ngreeted people arriving by train in the outskirts of Sderot, a city in\nwestern Israel.<\/p>\n
Campaign posters bearing a range of slogans promoted the right-wing\nLikud and the far-right Otzma Yehudit. But one poster was more visible\nthan the rest: that of the liberal Yashar party.<\/p>\n
Its slogan, \u201cRosh Memshala Dialna\u201d, combines the Hebrew term for\n\u201cprime minister\u201d with words meaning \u201cone of our own\u201d in Moroccan\nArabic.<\/p>\n
There is a strong reason why Gadi Eisenkot\u2019s campaign in Sderot and\nother communities on Israel\u2019s socio-political periphery focuses on his\nMoroccan heritage.<\/p>\n
Eisenkot\u2019s Mizrahi background<\/p>\n
Sderot, in the Negev Desert about 75 kilometres (45 miles) south of\nTel Aviv and just one kilometre from the Gaza border, has a large\nMoroccan Jewish community. In recent decades, the city has become a\nsymbol of Moroccan Jewish culture in Israel, reflected in the country\u2019s\nmusic, cinema and politics.<\/p>\n
Historically, Sderot has been considered a stronghold of Israel\u2019s\nright, particularly for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s Likud. In\n2022, Likud won more than 40% of the vote in Sderot, compared with 23%\nnationally. Other parties in Israel\u2019s far-right coalition also received\nsubstantial support in the city at the last general election.<\/p>\n
This pattern reflects a deeper historical divide in Israel between\nAshkenazi Jews, of European descent, and Mizrahi Jews, who mainly trace\ntheir origins to the Middle East and North Africa. An estimated half of\nIsrael\u2019s Jewish population is Mizrahi, amounting to around four million\npeople.<\/p>\n
Mizrahi Jews have faced discrimination and neglect since Israel\u2019s\nearly years. These inequalities continue to shape the country\u2019s social\nand economic realities, as well as its political debate.<\/p>\n
The issue has taken on particular prominence in the 2026 election\ncampaign. Eisenkot, Netanyahu\u2019s main challenger, is of Moroccan descent\nand grew up in Eilat, a city with a large North African Jewish\npopulation. Eisenkot\u2019s Yashar party accuses Likud of sidelining its\nMizrahi politicians. One campaign slogan, \u201cNetanyahu: Let Mizrahi people\ngive interviews\u201d, mocks this alleged neglect.<\/p>\n
During a live television broadcast, right-wing journalist Yinon\nMagal, one of Netanyahu\u2019s most vocal supporters, claimed Eisenkot was\ncontrolled by an elitist Ashkenazi group and called him a \u201cmonkey\u201d.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu, who is of European descent, condemned the remarks.<\/p>\n
Daniel Ben-Simon, an award-winning Moroccan-born Israeli journalist\nand former member of parliament, told DW that Magal\u2019s comments may have\ncompelled Eisenkot to embrace his cultural roots. But, he said, the\ngesture still has historical significance.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople did not use terms such as \u2018Dialna\u2019 proudly,\u201d Ben-Simon said,\nreferring to Eisenkot\u2019s use of the Arabic expression meaning \u201cone of our\nown\u201d on his campaign posters. He said Israeli society had long sought to\nerase the Arab identity of North African Jews.<\/p>\n
Eisenkot\u2019s embrace of his identity is a way to \u201cbreak out of the\nframework\u201d imposed by society. \u201cBy using a term like that, you are\ncreating a new identity: an Israeli-Moroccan identity,\u201d Ben-Simon said.\n\u201cEisenkot is the first to make it possible to express this dual identity\nwhile still feeling that you belong where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s historical divisions<\/p>\n
After Israel was founded, the ruling socialist Mapai party, led\nlargely by Ashkenazim, pursued discriminatory policies towards Mizrahi\nJews. Mizrahim were often expected to \u201cbecome like Europeans\u201d rather\nthan retain their own culture, heritage or Arabic language.<\/p>\n
The inequality was also material. In the country\u2019s early decades,\nimmigrants from Europe often obtained better housing and jobs, while\nmany Jews from Arab-speaking countries were sent to Ma\u2019abarot, temporary\ntransit camps often located in remote areas with limited\ninfrastructure.<\/p>\n
Many of these camps later developed into \u201cdevelopment towns\u201d, which\ncontinued to receive less funding than central parts of Israel. This\ncontributed to poverty. Sderot, in the south, is one of the best-known\ndevelopment towns.<\/p>\n
For many Mizrahim, limited access to jobs, education and\ninfrastructure symbolised their long-standing exclusion by the Mapai\nelite. Likud, founded as a right-wing alliance in 1973, effectively\ncapitalised on this discontent under Menachem Begin.<\/p>\n
Mizrahi support for Begin helped bring about the event known as the\nMahapach, or upheaval, when Likud defeated the socialist camp for the\nfirst time and took power. Since then, Mizrahim have often been\nassociated with Likud, although the party has never had a Mizrahi\nleader.<\/p>\n
Sderot\u2019s changing demographics<\/p>\n
Over the past two decades, Sderot\u2019s proximity to Gaza has made it a\ntarget of frequent rocket attacks by Hamas militants. During the\nHamas-led terrorist attack of 7 October 2023, the city was particularly\nbadly affected. More than 50 people were killed.<\/p>\n
In the three years since the attack, the city\u2019s population has grown\nby about 5,000, bringing it to 40,000. Many young families have made it\ntheir home, motivated either by idealism or by government benefits and\nincentives.<\/p>\n
Walking around the city, it is hard to miss the growing dominance of\nthe religious-nationalist community. Its members tend to vote for the\nfar-right Religious Zionism party led by Bezalel Smotrich, a key member\nof Netanyahu\u2019s coalition. Although votes for Smotrich and his party\neffectively support Netanyahu\u2019s political bloc, the prime minister\u2019s own\nLikud party could lose support in Sderot.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the election result, Sderot\u2019s image as a city of\nMoroccan Jews is unlikely to change soon. Ben-Simon said Eisenkot\u2019s\nelection could offer an opportunity to reshape the identity of Moroccan\nJews in Israel in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cRelations between cities such as Sderot and their Moroccan cultural\nroots will grow stronger as a result of an Eisenkot victory,\u201d Ben-Simon\nconcluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gadi-eisenkot-netanyahus-main-challenger-in-israels-election-1793069508", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }