Digital Finance: Yashar Leader Values 150 Billion Shekels at Risk

Israelis face a new political argument over the safety of their savings as the Yashar party attacks the government's economic contingency plans. Gadi Eisenkot, the party chairman and former IDF chief, released a campaign video on Saturday that directly challenges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent remarks on financial preparedness. The advertisement targets the specific sum of 150 billion shekels that Eisenkot claims is under threat.

The video, posted to X, opens with the warning that all national money is at risk. It juxtaposes this claim with clips from a prior Channel 10 interview where Netanyahu stated Israel must prepare for an alternative economy due to international sanctions. The former general portrays these comments as an admission of failure, stating that the prime minister has economically destroyed the country.

Eisenkot's campaign focused heavily on the role of blockchain technology within this alternative framework. Netanyahu told the Channel 10 audience that digital finance would certainly form part of his strategy. He added that he had already requested a plan be prepared for that purpose. The Yashar leadership mocked this approach by labeling the concept Bibicoin, asserting that such a mechanism would destroy Israel.

The advertisement argues that an alternative system would mirror the economies of North Korea and Iran. It lists the end of high-tech, healthcare, and security as the inevitable results. Eisenkot specifically questioned how the global high-tech industry would invest in Israeli companies if digital currency became the sole method of transaction.

In a separate post on X, Eisenkot adopted a more personal tone to address the implications of isolation. He wrote that Netanyahu admits his policy will lead to economic sanctions that shake the market. Eisenkot called this dynamic the collapse of national security. The video concluded with the instruction that the public must not let the prime minister burn through their savings.

This exchange places the prime minister's contingency thinking at the center of the debate. Eisenkot relies on Netanyahu's own words from the Channel 10 interview to build his case. The criticism frames the digital finance proposal not as a safety net, but as a path toward economic ruin and international isolation.