Israeli President to Name Prime Minister Candidate Sunday After Consultations

Good Morning, Israel · Sunday, November 8, 2026 · 7:52

Good Morning, Israel · Episode 42

Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on Spotify

1. Israeli President to Name Prime Minister Candidate Sunday After Consultations
2. Netanyahu Calls for Unity Government Including All Zionist Parties
3. Heavy Rains Flood Gaza Displacement Camps Amidst Aid Efforts Failure
4. Iran Removes Missile Range Limits, Warns of Surprises in Future Conflicts
5. Italians Increasingly View Israel Unfavorably Amid Growing Pro-Palestinian Sentiment
6. Eisenkot Tapped to Form Government Amidst Political Tensions

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Overcast
• Pocket Casts
• Castro
• Deezer
• RSS feed

Maya

Today, for the first time in this election cycle, someone other than Benjamin Netanyahu gets the keys to try building a government.

Daniel

Gadi Eisenkot gets the mandate, and Netanyahu has answered with a new word: unity.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Sunday, November eighth. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

We've been building up to this all week. President Isaac Herzog hands Eisenkot the mandate today. Quick reminder of what that means?

Daniel

The President consults every party in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and asks who they recommend. Eisenkot, the former I D F Chief of Staff, got sixty-seven recommendations, more than Netanyahu.

Maya

And whoever gets the mandate has the first shot at a coalition of at least sixty-one.

Daniel

Exactly. Herzog says his goal is a stable government. And here's something new: once the mandate is handed over, Netanyahu leads a transitional government with limited authority.

Maya

Wait, so he's still Prime Minister, just with less room to move?

Daniel

Right. He keeps running the country, but as a caretaker while someone else tries to replace him.

Maya

Which might explain the change in tone. Tell me about the unity call.

Daniel

On Saturday, Prime Minister Netanyahu called for a national unity government including all the Zionist parties. He warned against a government with what he called supporters of terror who seek Israel's destruction.

Maya

And he said a government like that would erase the State of Israel.

Daniel

That was his warning, yes. And the vocabulary matters. Since the results came out, he'd been talking about a broad national government. This is the first time he's said unity.

Maya

What's the difference, practically?

Daniel

Unity is an invitation to the other side. But all the Zionist parties would also include Otzma Yehudit, the hard-right party from his own camp.

Maya

So it's an open door, with Otzma Yehudit already inside the room.

Daniel

That's one way to put it. And that's a hard sell for much of Eisenkot's camp.

Maya

Meanwhile, Eisenkot has his own problems. Yesterday we told you Avigdor Lieberman dropped his veto on sitting with the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Daniel

And now there are reports of cooperation between the opposition's so-called change bloc and United Torah Judaism, one of the two ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, parties.

Maya

Which is exactly the door Lieberman's move opened.

Daniel

It is. But at the same time, tensions are reportedly running high between Eisenkot and Lieberman themselves.

Maya

So the bridge goes up, and the two men who need to cross it are arguing on it.

Daniel

Pretty much. And then there's the other Haredi party, Shas. Its leader Aryeh Deri says he won't break up the right-wing bloc.

Maya

So United Torah Judaism might talk, Shas is staying put.

Daniel

For now. And that split is the thing to watch. Eisenkot can't count on sixty-seven recommendations turning into sixty-seven seats.

Maya

Now to security, and Iran. The Revolutionary Guards are making threats again.

Daniel

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it's removing the range limits on its ballistic missiles. Its spokesperson warned of surprises in future conflicts.

Maya

Surprises. Specifically?

Daniel

The spokesperson claimed Iran can strike its enemies at unexpected points, and that it has set up underground missile production facilities.

Maya

For Israel, missile range isn't abstract.

Daniel

No. Iran's regime has fired missiles at Israel before. So a public statement scrapping range limits is aimed squarely at Israel and its allies.

Maya

And alongside the threats, diplomacy.

Daniel

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with numerous regional leaders, urging them to prevent insecurity.

Maya

Threats from one hand, calm talk from the other.

Daniel

A familiar pattern. And Washington is watching too. The U S is offering up to twenty million dollars for information on Iran's nuclear program, its infrastructure and its scientists.

Maya

Through Rewards for Justice, the State Department's bounty program.

Daniel

Right. It comes amid concerns over Iran's violations of its commitments to the I A E A, the U N nuclear watchdog, and the loss of international oversight.

Maya

What's President Trump saying?

Daniel

President Donald Trump indicated that military action has protected Israel, and suggested Iran is open to diplomacy. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has echoed that. But Washington says it's still monitoring undeclared nuclear activity.

Maya

Open to diplomacy, while the Guards build missiles underground.

Daniel

Which is why the monitoring continues.

Maya

To Gaza, where heavy rain hit on Saturday.

Daniel

The rains flooded at least seventy thousand tents housing displaced Gazans, affecting tens of thousands of people and causing injuries.

Maya

Who's saying what?

Daniel

Local authorities and the civil defense in Gaza, which operate under the terrorist organization Hamas, say they were overwhelmed, citing a lack of fuel and damaged equipment, and blame Israel. Hamas also claims Israel is blocking aid.

Maya

And Israel's answer?

Daniel

COGAT, the Israeli defense body that coordinates civilian affairs in Gaza, says it is improving sanitation and has facilitated the entry of water-pumping trucks.

Maya

So pumps are coming in, even as Hamas claims otherwise.

Daniel

According to COGAT, yes. And the wider context: Gaza's infrastructure was devastated by a war that Hamas started on October seventh.

Maya

Let's do a quick round. Italy, and some troubling numbers.

Daniel

A Pew Research Center survey in June found about seventy-five percent of Italians now view Israel unfavorably, a sharp rise since October seventh.

Maya

And a second poll?

Daniel

A July survey found nearly forty percent see Israel as a threat to world order, and more than sixty percent favor cutting ties.

Maya

The part that worries Jewish communities most is what's happening on the ground.

Daniel

Exactly. Incidents of anti-Jewish discrimination in Italy have surged. Hostility to Israel there is spilling over onto Jews.

Maya

Something similar is brewing in Philadelphia today.

Daniel

A pro-Palestinian group has planned what it calls a boycott ride, targeting six restaurants in the city.

Maya

And the Jewish community's response?

Daniel

At first, leaders encouraged people to go and support those businesses. Now they're urging calm. They fear counter-protests could turn into clashes.

Maya

Support the restaurants, just not in a way that hands anyone a confrontation.

Daniel

That's the balance they're trying to strike.

Maya

And a story about Jewish students who've found somewhere they feel at home.

Daniel

Jewish students from abroad are increasingly choosing to study in Israel, for the academic quality and a sense of belonging. Antisemitism on U S campuses has sped that up.

Maya

Who's behind the push?

Daniel

Avital Feldman of the Israel Student Authority says that despite the security challenges, students feel more connected in Israel, and freer to express their identity.

Maya

And there's real money on the table.

Daniel

The Israeli government offers significant financial aid, including full tuition scholarships, plus support services to help students integrate. EduExpo fairs are running across the U S to show students the options.

Maya

So for some, it's a degree and a homecoming.

Daniel

That's the pitch, and it seems to be landing.

Maya

The thing to watch today is that handover. Once Herzog gives Eisenkot the mandate, the clock starts, and the first test is whether United Torah Judaism really sits down with the change bloc.

Daniel

And whether Eisenkot and Lieberman can patch things up long enough to count to sixty-one. Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Maya

See you tomorrow morning.