In message after midterms, Eisenkot pledges to renew bipartisan US-Israel alliance

Gadi Eisenkot, the leading opposition candidate, says he intends to deepen ties with Washington under the government he intends to form, in a social media post following yesterday’s Democratic victory in the US midterm elections, published hours after US Vice President JD Vance suggested the US-Israel alliance had to undergo “change.”

Eisenkot writes that his post, in both English and Hebrew, is a message to Israel’s “friends in the United States and around the world.”

“The Israeli people have voted for change and to replace the current government,” Eisenkot writes. “Our democracy remains strong and vibrant. We are working to fulfill the will of the Israeli people by forming a new government as soon as possible – a national emergency government.”

He says he intends to bring “new leadership to Israel, leadership that serves all Israelis,” and to build “a stronger Israel: A Jewish and democratic Israel. An Israel that is committed to liberal values, equality for all and is confident in its future.”

Eisenkot describes the US-Israel relationship as “more than an alliance between governments,” calling it “a partnership between peoples, built over generations, sustained by shared democratic values.”

He says that under his leadership, Israel will “renew and deepen that partnership, strengthen the bipartisan foundations that have long sustained it, and work with our allies to advance a Middle East defined not simply by the absence of conflict, but by the presence of opportunity and cooperation.”

Eisenkot also says he looks forward to working “closely and constructively” with US President Donald Trump and his administration, whose “friendship and commitment to Israel we deeply value.” Together, Eisenkot writes, the two countries can “advance our shared security interests, strengthen regional stability, and open new doors to prosperity for the peoples of the Middle East.”

The post comes a day after Democrats won control of the US House of Representatives and Senate, delivering a major setback to Trump and elevating several harsh critics of Israel to public office.

In a post analyzing the midterm results, Vance blamed the Republicans’ loss on the Iran war and said voters want to ‘change our relationship to Israel’