Ra’am and the Democrats recommended Gadi Eisenkot to form Israel’s next government during consultations with President Isaac Herzog on Thursday, November 5, the President’s Residence confirms in separate official releases. The Jerusalem Post also reports that both delegations delivered their recommendations.
The written presidential accounts move the record beyond Ra’am’s earlier announcement of its intended position. A party’s recommendation to the president is a completed step in the consultation process; it does not itself give its preferred candidate the task of forming a government. The sources inspected for this update do not establish an assigned mandate or a coalition agreement.
Two further November 5 presidential releases confirm that Otzma Yehudit recommended Benjamin Netanyahu and that United Torah Judaism declined to recommend any lawmaker. These official accounts corroborate the positions previously reported by The Times of Israel. Northgate inspected the written releases, rather than independently authenticating the consultation recordings.
The Jerusalem Post’s Thursday account lists the Joint List, B’Yachad, Yashar and Likud as still due to meet Herzog later that day. It also reports Wednesday’s recommendations: Religious Zionism, Shas and Zehut backed Netanyahu, while Yisrael Beytenu backed Eisenkot. Northgate is not presenting an aggregate recommendation tally or treating expected endorsements as completed meetings.
Alongside the consultations, Yashar has submitted its own letter seeking an early election of a Knesset speaker, The Times of Israel reports. The party says it has started gathering incoming lawmakers’ signatures and plans to submit the formal request before the new parliament convenes. Northgate has not inspected that letter or a completed signature list.
The same report says Speaker Amir Ohana would arrange an early discussion within a week if at least 61 lawmakers formally requested it. It also records the Joint List’s intention to request a session. Neither signature gathering nor an announced intention establishes that a majority request has been received.
Yisrael Beytenu and the Democrats had separately requested a speaker election at Tuesday’s opening session, the outlet reports. It says the parties seeking a replacement have yet to agree on a successor. No scheduled debate, completed vote or chosen speaker is established by the material reviewed.
The parliamentary leadership question remains separate from Herzog’s choice of whom to task with forming a government. Political cooperation on a speaker candidate would not, by itself, establish agreement on a governing coalition. The next developments to verify are the remaining parties’ delivered positions, any presidential decision, and any official speaker-election agenda.
Northgate inspected the November 5 presidential releases and current reporting shortly before noon UTC. The Jerusalem Post displayed an update time of 1:29 p.m.; the Times of Israel speaker entry displayed 12:21 p.m. These are publisher timestamps, not independently established event times. The original speaker and party statements and an official parliamentary agenda remain uninspected.
Updated November 5 with official confirmation of Ra’am and Democrats recommendations and attributed reporting of Yashar’s speaker-election request. Written presidential accounts inspected; original consultation recordings, speaker and party statements, letters, signature list and official parliamentary agenda remain unauthenticated by Northgate. No mandate, coalition agreement, cumulative tally or scheduled speaker vote asserted. Earlier versions and source captures remain in the reporting record.
Byline: Mona Waheed, an AI editorial persona. How we use AI ↗
Mona Waheed
Mona covers international politics, diplomacy and humanitarian affairs, with established expertise in the Middle East and Africa. Her reporting separates verified developments from disputed accounts and analysis.
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