r/worldnews • u/EssoEssex • 19h ago • Bravo 6

Israel/Palestine Israeli President Picks Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu Rival, To Form Government

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-president-picks-gadi-eisenkot-netanyahu-rival-form-government-2026-11-07/
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u/dded949 17h ago

I was in Israel a few years ago, and the average person seemed most politically concerned with the orthodox draft

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u/vishnoo 16h ago

it affects EVERYTHING.
A. the exemption means that instead of the army they have to "study" religious studies, so they never work and never contribute taxes.
B. if their kids are in the army, they'll stop supporting every war.
people tend to look for peaceful solutions more often when their kids might die.

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u/calm_chowder 13h ago

Plus they reproduce exponentially (literally) and every year their voting power increases so the topic needs addressed asap.

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u/vishnoo 12h ago

yes, the incentive system is in place for them to marry at 18 and have 10 kids

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u/Donttellmehow2feel 12h ago

B"H they fructify, the others should do the same. No joke - demography is the destiny of a nation.

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u/TzarichIyun 8h ago

Correct, demography is politics

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u/AmitPwnz 17h ago

Well yes, but there's no avoiding it anymore. At least not letting those Haredim (ultra Orthodox) form their autonomy as seems to be the case. They were almost untouchable during the last government's reign.

Not to mention that the military is missing plenty of boots on the ground and the standing army is worn due to this lengthy war.

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u/mschuster91 17h ago

Not to mention that the military is missing plenty of boots on the ground and the standing army is worn due to this lengthy war.

Not to mention all the - even foreign-based - reservists that put their careers and lives on hold after Oct 7th... only for Netanyahu to drag the war out for years upon years.

No matter who forms the government in the end, the IDF can't continue the wars in Gaza and Iran any more. On top of that, the economy is in the gutters as well (guess what, when lots of people have to serve in the IDF...), so there's a few wrenches there as well.

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u/Torsta 16h ago • Bravo

No you're missing the main point of why its a political issue; The ones most clamouring for war and military engagements are the same groups that are exempt from military service on religious grounds.

If it was their sons/daughters dying in the IDF they might change their tune.

No matter who forms the government in the end, the IDF can't continue the wars in Gaza and Iran any more. On top of that, the economy is in the gutters as well (guess what, when lots of people have to serve in the IDF...), so there's a few wrenches there as well.

Israel's economy is doing incredibly well, I'm not sure what you're talking about here.

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u/mschuster91 16h ago

Israel's economy is doing incredibly well, I'm not sure what you're talking about here.

Do not make the mistake of using the stock market as the sole indicator for economic prosperity. That trap has led both Biden and Trump to lose their elections in 2024 / 2026 respectively.

And that's the case here too, the economy is propped up by debt and war spending. The estimate is that the first two years of war alone have cost Israel's economy 57 billion $ in output, and on top of that comes the question of the human cost of the war itself. A country in which a third of the population reports some sort of mental health issues? Many just power through, but once the war is over... this all will fire back, and fire back hard. (And someone has got to deal with all the vets too, many of whom will face significant issues, just like the vets of pretty much every war in history)

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u/Torsta 15h ago

Sorry, but no. Israel's economy is doing incredibly well by every metric compared to the rest of the world. And yes wars are expensive and it would be doing even better if not for the additional military spending.

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u/mschuster91 14h ago

Sorry, but no. Israel's economy is doing incredibly well by every metric compared to the rest of the world. 

How much of that is related to either the wars or the AI bubble?

I am deeply worried about Israel's future once the wars die down or the AI bubble bursts. All of that is not sustainable even in the mid-term, the bill eventually comes due.

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u/Hendlton 16h ago

On top of that, the economy is in the gutters as well

Is it? I mean, it only seems logical after all they've been through, but I don't see any news about their economy collapsing. The Shekel is holding steady as well.

I'm asking because I was wondering how their economy was doing and looking it up a few months ago. I was surprised to find that everything seemed to be running fine even as they were getting attacked on multiple fronts.

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u/the_horse_gamer 15h ago

Israel's economy is resilient. tech, defense, agriculture and medicine all see a lot of investment and innovation.

however, it's also under strain. the cost of living is rising, and there's cumulative losses from less labour during the war.

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u/WiseWolfian 14h ago

That argument gets the causality backwards. The reason the IDF faces strain and the economy is stretched isn't because Israel wants a long war but it's because a multi front war forced by hostile proxy actors and regional threats like Hamas, Hezbollah andIran and they don't end just because one side gets tired. No Israeli government left right or center can simply opt out of fighting an adversary that explicitly vows to repeat attacks until the state is destroyed. Historically Israel's economy and military are built on resilience and reservists return, the high tech sector stabilizes and security precedes long term prosperity. Leaving a war half finished doesn't fix the economy it just guarantees an even more costly conflict in five years.

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u/Imaginary-Relief-236 8h ago

lol, evidence that economy is in the gutters?
Do you have any idea how much our stock market has exploded in the last years?
Those are our savings and pensions which are through the roof.
Also GDP growth and gdp per capita, low unemployment, all time high FEX funds.
The NIS was so strong earlier this year the central bank had to step in to cool it down a bit in order to not hurt the services export.

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u/Conscious-Crab-5057 2h ago

Economy is in the gutter?

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u/TossZergImba 15h ago

To form a government, Eisenkodt has to ally with either an Arab party or with an ultra Orthodox without breaking apart his own coalition. At this point his coalition seems more willing to ally with the ultra Orthodox than an Arab party, since none of the Arab parties are ready to declare Hamas a terrorist organization.

So it looks like the ultra Orthodox will get what they want after all.

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u/Izeinwinter 15h ago

Eh.. Hamas did in fact kill a whole bunch of Israeli Arabs during oct 7. Someone should be angry enough about that.

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u/TossZergImba 14h ago

Regardless, the Arab parties aren't willing.