Israel’s election seen as referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership

For his supporters, he's worth waiting for. Benjamin Netanyahu on the campaign trail, seeking yet another term. Despite having presided over one of the worst security failures in Israel's history on October 7th, he might just get one. His core voters say he is Mr. Security. He's doing the best things with courage to go to Iran and to do all the work. The contest boils down to pro- and anti-Netanyahu camps already well entrenched before October 7th. The nation is split almost in the middle, electorally speaking. This means that we might come out with indecisive results. It's being called one of the most consequential elections in Israel's history, important enough for Naftali Bennett to return from Germany to cast a ballot. The place in the government will not solve all the issues that Israel has and we Israelis deal with whenever we are. But I think it's a critical first step. He also says he feels Israel's increased isolation internationally. We're roughly 70 kilometers from the Gaza Strip here. That's just about an hour's drive away. But the ongoing suffering of some two million Palestinians there has been almost completely absent from this election campaign. A clean slate, getting rid of Netanyahu, is what Rafi Shori wants. So who are you going to vote for? Can you tell us? Yeah. So who is signing this vote? Gadi Eisenkot. Who? Ha! Me, Zeb! Gadi Eisenkot is Netanyahu's main challenger. A former Israeli army chief of staff who resigned from Netanyahu's unity government, accusing him of prolonging the war in Gaza to stay in power. Analysts say his military background is appealing. But essentially, his entire campaign has not been on security issues. It's been on social issues, that this country is hemorrhaging, that we need to unite. In other words, a divided country is also a risk. Margaret Evans, CBC News, Tel Aviv.