Eisenkot adds former Yeruham mayor and battalion commander from south to slate

By Sam Sokol 30 August 2026, 4:38 pm

Edit

Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Tal Ohana Hachmon (L) and Gadi Eisenkot (Courtesy Yashar)

Seeking to strengthen his party’s appeal in the south, especially in the Negev and among residents of the Gaza border communities, Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot announces the addition of former Yeruham mayor Tal Ohana Hachmon and Kissufim resident Col. (Res.) Nir Hajbi to his party’s slate ahead of the October 27 election.

Ohana Hachmon later went on to serve as a project manager for the rehabilitation and growth of northern communities as part of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council while Hajbi, who lost his son on October 7, subsequently served as a battalion commander for hundreds of days during the war in Gaza. He also served as the community manager of Kibbutz Kissufim.

“Tal and Nir are leaders who grew up in the south and dedicated years to security, community building, and the development of the Negev and the Gaza Envelope. As people of action who deeply know the region and its needs, they bring rich experience and a profound commitment to its rehabilitation and prosperity. Together, we will place the restoration and development of the south at the top of the national priority agenda and work to turn it into a safe, thriving, and growing region,” says Eisenkot in a statement.

“For four generations, the Negev has been my home and my public mission,” says Ohana Hachmon, asserting that by working with Eisenkot, she will be able to “bring the experience I have gained in local government and regional development [in order] to put the Negev and Galilee at the forefront of the national agenda, and to transform them into a major growth engine for the State of Israel.”

Hajbi says that “our responsibility is not just to restore the Western Negev to what it was before October 7, but to build it stronger, safer, and more prosperous for those we lost, and for the generations that will grow up here after us.”

Ohana Hachmon and Hajbi’s addition to the Yashar list come a week after former Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern and former Kulanu MK Roy Folkman joined the party.

Folkman served as a MK for the Kulanu party from 2015 to 2019 and served as the faction’s chairman. He recently assisted Gilad Erdan in his efforts to establish the Unity Party.