The veteran Saudi weekly Al Majalla, founded in London in 1980 by Mecca-born brothers Hisham and Ali Hafez, has devoted the cover of its latest issue to a figure very familiar to Israelis: Gadi Eisenkot. The magazine, funded by the Saudi treasury since its founding, has enjoyed greater editorial independence over the past decade under Syrian-born editor-in-chief Ibrahim Hamidi, while its circulation has grown significantly across the Arab world.
Its latest cover asks: “Can Eisenkot break Israel’s generals’ curse?” Hamidi uses the phrase to describe the repeated failure of former Israeli military chiefs to translate their stature into political victory over Benjamin Netanyahu. He points to the late Ariel Sharon as the only general to have broken Netanyahu’s grip on power, while Moshe Ya’alon, Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi are presented as examples of generals who tried and failed.
Hamidi’s treatment of Eisenkot is notably warm, even if he tries to disguise it. The article follows Eisenkot from his military career through his entry into politics and his current role as leader of the Yashar party. Another Saudi newspaper, the Jeddah-based Al Watan, has also published a shorter and more restrained article about him, but Al Majalla goes much further.
The magazine reviews Eisenkot’s military career at length and discusses the death of his son Gal during the Gaza war. It describes him as “beloved by the people” and as enjoying broad popular support in Israel. His Moroccan background also receives considerable attention. I have already heard senior journalists in the Arab world say: “We were sure Eisenkot was Ashkenazi.”
Now Arab intellectuals are asking different questions: If Eisenkot defeats Netanyahu, will he ignore Israel’s Arab parties, particularly Mansour Abbas’ Ra’am party? And what would his victory mean for the West Bank?
It is worth pausing for a moment over Hamidi himself. The 57-year-old editor was born in Idlib in northern Syria and became a closely watched journalist during the rule of Hafez Assad and later his son Bashar. His reports from Damascus for the Arabic newspaper Al Hayat were quickly translated and placed on the desks of Israeli prime ministers, foreign ministers and senior security officials.
Then, in December 2002, Syrian authorities imprisoned him without trial for a year, accusing him of “publishing false information” about Iraqi civilians flooding into Syria. A year later, the charges were dropped. Hamidi was released and chose to leave with his wife and son for Britain.
He published the long Eisenkot profile without cooperation from Israeli colleagues. Three senior figures in the Arab world told me they read it eagerly, wondering whether the end of Israel’s current political era may be approaching. One of them put it this way: “Half of Israelis want a change of government so badly that they would agree to almost any deal that gets Netanyahu out.”
Gadi Eisenkot
(Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
The Al Majalla cover itself draws attention. Eisenkot dominates the foreground, serious-faced and unsmiling, while a smaller profile of Netanyahu appears behind him. The opinion polls presented by the Saudi weekly are clearly meant to underline Eisenkot’s chances.
What is also striking is who is absent. There is no mention of Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman or the Democrats. For the Arab reader, Eisenkot alone is presented as “the general who could end the Netanyahu era.”
But Hamidi also warns that the coming weeks will not be easy for him. Despite polls that currently favor Eisenkot, Netanyahu has no intention of making life easy for his challenger or allowing him to win comfortably, if at all. The Saudi editor’s assessment is that Netanyahu still has another move to make and will unveil a last-minute plan in an effort to win. Get ready.