Digital Finance: Eisenkot values 150 billion shekels at stake

The campaign video opened with a stark warning: 150 billion shekels of national savings are at risk. Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, released the clip on X/Twitter on Saturday to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent economic proposals. Eisenkot described the prime minister’s strategy as an admission that the government has economically destroyed the country.

Netanyahu suggested in a prior interview with Channel 10 that Israel must prepare for an alternative economy. He cited numerous international sanctions as the primary driver for this shift. The prime minister acknowledged that digital finance would certainly form part of this new framework. He stated that he had already requested a plan be prepared for that purpose.

Eisenkot’s team mocked the concept by labeling it Bibicoin. The video argued that such a financial mechanism would destroy Israel. It claimed that an alternative system would create an economy similar to North Korea and Iran. The producers warned that this shift would mark the end of high-tech, healthcare, and security in the state.

The ad posed a direct question to the high-tech industry. It asked how global investors could place money into Israeli companies if digital currency were the only available method. The video urged citizens not to let the prime minister burn through their savings in the process.

In a separate post on X, Eisenkot adopted a more personal tone. He noted that Netanyahu admitted his policy would lead to international isolation and economic sanctions. Eisenkot argued that these sanctions would shake the economy and the market. He described the outcome as a collapse of national security.

The debate now centers on Netanyahu’s contingency thinking. Eisenkot used the prime minister’s own words from the Channel 10 interview as the basis for his criticism. The former IDF chief framed the digital finance plan as a backup option that signals economic failure rather than strength.

Netanyahu’s comments on blockchain technology remain the focal point of the dispute. The prime minister maintains that Israel must adapt to its current diplomatic and economic environment. Eisenkot’s party plans to continue using the Bibicoin label in its upcoming campaign materials.