Israel's anti-Netanyahu bloc weighs a bid to take the Knesset speakership

Parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said they will not let an opportunity to replace the government pass them by, The Jerusalem Post reported on October 28, 2026, the night of Israel's general election. The report was accompanied by an image of Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, with party members at its election headquarters in Tel Aviv after polls closed and exit poll results were released.

Separately, political commentator Amit Segal reported that leaders of the bloc are holding talks on replacing the speaker of the Knesset, Israel's parliament. According to Segal, the aim is to settle on a single candidate and carry out the change as early as the session at which the newly elected Knesset is sworn in. He wrote that no agreement on a candidate had yet been reached, and that two names raised in recent days were Oded Forer and Elazar Stern. Segal described these talks as taking place despite what he called a blow to the bloc, without specifying in that post what the blow was.

What the 'change bloc' is

The Hebrew reports refer to the group as the gush hashinui, which translates as the "change bloc". It is the informal label for the parties that oppose Netanyahu and seek to replace his government. The Jerusalem Post described the same grouping as the anti-Netanyahu bloc. The reports do not list which parties are counted as members in this election.

Why the speaker's chair matters

The speaker presides over the Knesset and has significant influence over how the chamber runs, including its agenda. A newly elected parliament chooses its speaker after it convenes, which is why the bloc's leaders are reported to be looking at the swearing-in session as the moment to act.

In his analysis, Segal argued that installing a speaker from the opposition camp would give it control of the Knesset building for a period of time and allow it to pass legislation on a limited scale. He also warned that the cost could be dramatic: in his view, the move could lead to fresh elections under difficult conditions, and the bloc could pay a price for parliamentary cooperation with the Joint List, an alliance of Arab-majority parties. The Israeli broadcaster N12 relayed this assessment to its followers, attributing it to Segal and describing the possible fallout as criticism over working with the Joint List.

Disagreement over the candidate

Beyond the strategic question, the choice of who would fill the post is itself contested. Segal wrote that Elazar Stern is not especially well liked by Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, two prominent figures in the anti-Netanyahu camp, adding wryly that he was being generous in putting it that way. N12 also carried this point, saying that the identity of the candidate is a source of dispute and that Stern does not enjoy much sympathy from Lapid or Liberman. No report describes how Lapid, Liberman or other leaders view Oded Forer as a candidate.

How the sources relate to each other

Five reports from three organisations underpin this account, but they are not all independent. The two N12 items are summaries of Segal's own posts, published minutes after he wrote them, so the detail about the speakership talks rests on a single commentator's reporting. The Jerusalem Post report available to us consists of its headline and a photo caption, which establish the bloc's stated determination and the election night setting but not the speakership plan itself.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports give election results, seat counts or exit poll figures, so it is not clear from this material how strong the bloc's position is or what the "blow" Segal referred to involved. No party leader is quoted on the record about the speakership plan, and no official statement from any party is included. The reports do not say whether Forer or Stern has agreed to stand, whether the Joint List has been approached or would support such a move, or when the new Knesset will be sworn in. They also do not explain how Eisenkot or the Yashar party fits into the speakership talks. Segal's warnings about new elections and political costs are his own assessment rather than reported fact.