Current sectionIsrael NewsHaaretz TodayHaaretz Today Netanyahu has spent the past four years riding the wave of racist and anti-democratic rhetoric from his Likud loyalists. Now, as Gadi Eisenkot gains ground in polls ahead of the election, the party's loudest and most controversial figures are making wavering Likud voters winceShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeAllison Kaplan Sommer08:12 PM • July 13 2026 IDTThroughout Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's past four years in power, it has been the most right-wing and populist members of Likud who have served as his flak jacket, defending his policies vocally against all domestic and international criticism.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Haaretz Today NewsletterCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Israel NewsIranMahmoud AhmadinejadLindsey GrahamHamasDavid ZiniRo KhannaIsrael ElectionsHaQuizHaaretz PodcastIn the Land of Detained BodiesReducing Gaza to a Charity Case or a Security Threat Is a Dangerous MistakeSticking Our Heads in the Mugs: A Journey Between Tel Aviv CafésIsraeli Court: Far-right Agitator Crossed Line Harassing Netanyahu WitnessShin Bet Chief David Zini Backs Kahanist Party Bid Despite Agency's OppositionRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIThe Original Tradwives of Ancient RomeThe 'Special Relationship' Is Gone, and Israel Isn't Ready for What's ComingMade in Kurdistan, Smuggled via Jordan: The Mysterious Firearms Flooding IsraelInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderEgypt Lost the World Cup. But Was the Referee Really Jewish?Inside the German pro-Israel Lobby's Campaign to Defund UNRWA