First polls show new Bennett/Lapid party ‘Together’ still tailing PM Netanyahu’s Likud

After former prime ministers Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid announced they would run together in the upcoming elections on Sunday, the first polls showed somewhat disappointing results for their joint party called “Beyachad,” meaning Together.

A poll conducted by Walla News on Monday projected 27 seats for the Together Party, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud rose to 28 seats.

A poll by Channel 14, which generally supports Netanyahu, projected 34 mandates for Netanyahu, compared with 20 for Together.

The Walla poll showed that the alliance, in fact, weakened the parties’ separate strengths, as the combined number declined from 31 to 27 seats.

The main beneficiary of the move appears to be the Yashar! Party of Gadi Eisenkot, who so far has declined to join Bennett and Lapid. Yashar! rose to 15 seats.

The overall picture projected by Walla showed the opposition bloc with 59 seats, down from 61 in the previous poll; the coalition with 51, and the Arab parties with 10 out of the total 120 Knesset seats. This would force Bennett and Lapid, once again, to convince an Arab Party, most likely Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am, to join them to achieve a majority.

In 2021, Ra'am became the first Arab party to join an Israeli government, which was led by Bennett and Lapid.

In Channel 14’s poll, Netanyahu’s bloc lost two seats but remains projected to secure a comfortable majority with 64 mandates. The channel also polled the suitability for prime minister, where Netanyahu beat out Bennett with 51% to 32%.

Walla’s poll was conducted by “Lazar Research” among 500 respondents, with a margin of error of 4.4%, while Channel 14’s poll was carried out by Shlomo Filber among 932 respondents.

Following the surprise announcement by Bennett and Lapid, coalition leaders quickly seized on the opportunity to attack them over their previous decision to form a government with the Ra’am Party, which they accused of continuing to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Netanyahu posted a dramatic video with a picture of the three leaders in 2021, warning that “they will do it again.” The Likud Party account posted an AI-generated picture showing Abbas driving a car, with Bennett and Lapid in the rear seats being shown as children.

“Even together, it's clear - the driver in Mansour, no matter how the Left divides its votes,” the party wrote on 𝕏.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also posted an AI-generated picture showing Balad leader Ahmad Tibi officiating a wedding between Lapid and Bennett, accusing them of “selling out the country to the Islamist movement.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich denigrated them as “The Abbas Servants' Alliance.” None of the coalition leaders mentioned that Netanyahu was the first to reach out to Abbas, weighing whether to invite him to join a government in 2021.

Meanwhile, the merger between two leaders who have made their careers on opposite sides of the political divide continues to raise questions about their policies.

At the press conference announcing the move, Bennett and Lapid emphasized they intend to put away their differences for the good of the country.

Bennett stressed it was “the most Zionist and most patriotic thing we have ever done for our country,” describing the party’s ideology as “right-wing liberal Zionism: strength in diplomacy and security, with a home for the whole Israeli public.”

“I am proud that two leaders with different opinions can fight together for the good of the people of Israel, just like our sons, our soldiers, fight shoulder to shoulder,” he said, praising Lapid for putting “the good of the country above all.”

Lapid, who is currently the opposition leader but polls have consistently projected will lose over half of his current support, said that the country “needs unity like air to breathe.”

“We are standing here together for whoever believes in democracy, believes in the deep Jewish element of the state, believes in the value of Zionism and our right to this land … Israel has the best people in the world who deserve an efficient, functioning and fair government,” said Lapid.

Both have emphasized their intention to create a commission of inquiry about the failures of Oct. 7, 2023, introduce a mandatory IDF draft for all, including strong sanctions for draft dodgers, eight-year term limits for prime ministers, and other perceived consensus positions, like lowering the cost of living and fighting corruption.

Regarding Bennett and Lapid’s differing positions on a Palestinian state, party sources told the Jewish Insider that the issue is not on the current agenda, adding they agree on the need to fight Jewish extremist violence against Palestinians.

Bennett has advocated for settlements and partial annexation of Judea and Samaria, while Lapid has expressed support for a Palestinian state in the area, though he has noted this would remain unrealistic in the short term.

Bennett was also asked about legalizing same-sex marriage in Israel at the press conference. An orthodox, kippa-wearing Jew and former leader of the national-religious Jewish Home Party, Bennett avoided using the term “marriage,” only noting that everyone should be able to “start a family and enjoy all of the rights of a married couple without having to go" abroad to get married.