Yesh Atid–Telem () was a
centrist
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
parliamentary faction 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 ...
. It was formed in March 2020 by
Yair Lapid
Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...
's
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 ...
party and
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 ...
's
Telem party after the dissolution of the larger
Blue and White alliance.
History
Ahead of the
April 2019 election, the leader of the
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 ...
party,
Yair Lapid
Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...
, and the leader of the
Israel Resilience Party,
Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...
, announced the formation of a joint list known as "
Blue and White", which also included the
Telem party, led by
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
Independent politician
An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicia ...
Gabi Ashkenazi. It was decided that Gantz and Lapid would run together as candidates for
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, and would rotate the role between themselves. Blue and White came in second place in the
April election, receiving 26.13% of the vote, and tying with the rival
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 ...
party in the number of
Knesset
The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
seats, with both getting 35.
However, the term of the twenty-first Knesset was short-lived, as a majority of MKs voted to dissolve the Knesset following the failure of the Likud leader,
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 ...
, to form a
governing coalition.
A snap election took place on 17 September 2019, resulting in Blue and White coming in first with 33 Knesset seats and 25.95% of the vote. After failing to form a coalition once again, Netanyahu returned the mandate to form a government back to President
Reuven Rivlin
Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Rivlin was Minister of Communications from 2001 to 2003, and su ...
, who, in turn, bestowed it on Gantz. After the mandate expired, Gantz was similarly unable to form a government. After a two-week period passed, (in which any Member of the Knesset could be chosen to form a coalition) the twenty-Second Knesset was dissolved and an unprecedented
third snap election was called for March 2020.
In December 2019, ahead of upcoming elections for the twenty-third Knesset, it was agreed that Gantz would be Blue and White's sole candidate for prime minister. In the election, Blue and White lost their top position to a resurgent Likud party, with B&W keeping its 33 seats and Likud receiving 36 seats. However, Gantz received more recommendations than Netanyahu and was given the mandate to form a government. Gantz began negotiations to form a
unity government with incumbent 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 ...
and his Likud party. In response to this development, Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party, along with
Moshe Ya'alon's Telem party, applied to split their factions from Blue and White. This split was officially ratified by the House Committee of the Knesset on 29 March 2020, after which Yesh Atid and Telem formed a joint parliamentary faction known as Yesh Atid–Telem.
Yesh Atid and Telem split in January 2021.
Composition
Yesh Atid–Telem consists of two political parties which held a combined 16 seats in the Knesset.
Leaders
Election results
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yesh Atid-Telem
Liberal parties in Israel
Defunct political party alliances in Israel
Political parties established in 2020
Political parties disestablished in 2021
Zionist political parties in Israel
2020 establishments in Israel
2021 disestablishments in Israel
Yair Lapid