Telem (, an acronym for ''Tnua Leumit Mamlakhtit'', lit. ''National Statesman-like Movement'') is a centre-right political party in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The party was formed by former

Defense Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Moshe Ya'alon Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon (; born Moshe Smilansky; 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 2013 until his resignation ...

and registered on 2 January 2019 in order to contest the April 2019 Knesset elections. It subsequently joined the Blue & White alliance. Yesh Atid and the party left the alliance on 29 March 2020 after Blue and White joined the government and instead formed an independent faction in the Knesset called Yesh Atid-Telem. Telem left the short lived alliance with Yesh Atid soon after. The party dropped out of the 2021 Knesset elections on 1 February 2021.

History

In the wake of conflicts with Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

over the Hebron shooting incident and

Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu (, ) is a conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may ...

joining Netanyahu's coalition,

left his defense minister post in May 2016 "amidst wide-spread speculation that he would be fired by Netanyahu". On 12 March 2017, Ya'alon officially relinquished his membership of

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

, announcing that he will form a new party to challenge Netanyahu in the upcoming 2019 election. Ya'alon said "he was a soldier for Israel for decades, and he would continue to serve the public in his new party". The party was named in remembrance of former

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan (; May 20, 1915 – October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defe ...

and his party, Telem, and registered on 2 January 2019 in order to contest the April 2019 Knesset elections. In advance of the April 2019 Knesset elections, Telem merged with the Israel Resilience Party and

Yesh Atid Yesh Atid (, ) is a centrist political party in Israel. It was founded in 2012 by former TV journalist Yair Lapid, the son of the former Shinui party politician and Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid. In 2013 the first election it conte ...

. Ya'alon was positioned third on the new united list, known as the Blue & White alliance. The party received five seats in the April 2019 Knesset elections, out of 35 seats that the entire alliance received. In the subsequent September 2019 Knesset elections, the party ran again as part of the Blue & White alliance and retained their five seats out of the 33 seats that the entire alliance received. Yesh Atid and the party left the alliance on 29 March 2020 following the

2020 Israeli legislative election Legislative elections were held in Israel on 2 March 2020 to elect members of the twenty-third Knesset. The result was initially a stalemate, which was resolved when Likud and Blue & White reached a coalition agreement. Under the terms of the ...

after the Israel Resilience Party (keeping the alliance name Blue and White) joined the government, while the two former Blue and White factions formed an independent faction in the Knesset called Yesh Atid-Telem. Yesh Atid-Telem split in January 2021, in advance of the 2021 Knesset elections, though Ya'alon and his party dropped out of the race on 1 February.

Party goals

The party's goals as laid out by its registration papers are: * Strengthening and fortifying the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

as a Jewish, democratic, secure, prosperous and moral state, while fostering Jewish-Zionist education and values and electing honest leadership committed to the welfare of the State and its citizens irrespective of religion, race, sex or gender. * Ensuring the sovereignty and security of the

and the security of all its citizens. The party will strive to achieve true peace between the State of Israel and its neighbors. * Supporting a free and open economy. * Working to improve the development of the state's infrastructure and services and the welfare of the country's citizens and to reduce

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

and

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

for the welfare of the citizens of Israel in all areas of life: health, education, housing, transportation, national infrastructure, settlement, agriculture, welfare, personal security and industry. * Acting to redetermine national priorities in planning and financing, while maximizing the utilization of national resources and working to meet goals. * Cultivating culture and sports in an egalitarian and representative manner, giving priority to the allocation of resources and investment in populations with disabilities, elderly and the youth. The party placed a big emphasis on increasing settlement in Israel's disputed areas. During a visit to the West Bank settlement Leshem, The party's leader

said: "It is our right to settle in the entire land of Israel".

Zvi Hauser Zvi Hauser (; born 5 July 1968) is an Israeli lawyer and public figure who served as the 17th cabinet secretary. Hauser served as a member of the Knesset between 2019 and 2022. During this term he held a number of positions including: Deputy Spe ...

, one of the party's former MKs, was the head of the Israeli Golan Coalition, an organisation which works for increasing Jewish settlement in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

Leaders

Election results

Knesset members

References

{{Israeli political parties Political parties in Israel Political parties established in 2019 2019 establishments in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Liberal parties in Israel Likud breakaway groups Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew