Who are Mizrahis? Netanyahu’s loyal base who may vote for Eisenkot in pivotal polls

Israelis are voting on Tuesday in one of the pivotal elections in the Jewish nation's history, and with much of the voting already done, one question hangs over the result.Will Mizrahi Jews, long the backbone of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, stay loyal this time? If even a modest share drift away, it could tip the balance towards his challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, who comes from the Mizrahi community.Who are the MizrahiMizrahi Jews are those who came to Israel, mostly in the 1950s, from Arabic-speaking countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Many met discrimination from the European-descended, or Ashkenazi, elites who have traditionally dominated government, the military and business.Over the decades, many Mizrahi families came to identify with the right and with Likud in particular. Voting for the party became a matter of identity as much as ideology. That history gives this election an unusual edge as Israel has never had a Mizrahi prime minister.Eisenkot, 66, a former army chief and the son of Moroccan immigrants, could be the first. He grew up in Tiberias and Eilat, far from the centres of power, and he rarely speaks about his heritage.A remark that forced the issueIn the final days of the campaign, his background was pushed into the open. Yinon Magal, a prominent television host widely seen as a mouthpiece for Netanyahu, called Eisenkot a “monkey” of “a Mizrahi-Moroccan” heritage managed by “Ashkenazi elites”. The words touched a raw nerve and set off a political and media storm.Magal later said he had not meant to mock Eisenkot’s ethnic origins. He said he was using an underworld term for a frontman who is controlled from behind the scenes. Even Netanyahu, not known for contrition, condemned the remarks. For a prime minister who relies on Mizrahi loyalty, that was a sign of how sensitive the subject has become.Cracks in a loyal baseThe real test lies in places such as Qiryat Shemona, Israel’s northernmost city. In the elections of 2021 and 2022, around half of its voters chose Likud, compared with about a quarter nationwide.The town is overwhelmingly Mizrahi and has been battered by the conflict with Hezbollah. It was evacuated for more than a year, and many residents say Netanyahu has not delivered the security he promised.Eti Ben Shabat, 64, says she once voted Likud almost without thinking, following her family. This time she backed Eisenkot.“I don’t want the lies to continue,” she said. Her choice was not easy in a close-knit community where there is pressure to vote a certain way. “It’s a small place, so people aren’t speaking about it openly,” she said. “But inside, people really want a change,” she told PBS News.The numbers point the same way. A poll for Agam Labs at Hebrew University found support for Netanyahu across northern Israel falling from around 29 per cent before the 2022 election to around 17 per cent this month.Why the outcome is still openDisillusion with Netanyahu does not automatically mean votes for Eisenkot. Nimrod Nir, who directs Agam Labs, expects most frustrated Likud voters to move to hardline parties such as Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionist Party. Those parties would probably back Netanyahu as prime minister, but they would hold greater power inside his coalition.Eisenkot’s position is strong but not decisive. Most recent polls projected his Yashar party at 20 to 23 of the 120 Knesset seats, ahead of Likud. Neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the anti-Netanyahu bloc appear on course for the 61 seats needed for a majority, so deadlock remains possible.That is why small shifts could matter the most as a dip in support in Likud’s traditional strongholds could hand Eisenkot a narrow edge.A move to the far right could leave Netanyahu in office on harder terms. Either way, the Mizrahi vote has rarely counted for more.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.