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Yamina
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Yamina
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Yamina or Yemina (Hebrew: יָמִינָה; lit. 'rightwards')[6] was an Israeli political alliance of right-wing parties that originally included the New Right and the Union of Right-Wing Parties (a union of The Jewish Home and Tkuma).[7][8] The final incarnation of the alliance included only the New Right,[9] as The Jewish Home left the alliance on 14 July 2020,[10] and the Religious Zionist Party left on 20 January 2021.[11]

Key Information

The list was created ahead of the September 2019 Israeli legislative election, in which Yamina secured seven seats in the Knesset.[12] The alliance was expected to split on 6 October, with the New Right as its own faction, while Tkuma and the Jewish Home will stay together, though the alliance continued to negotiate as a single bloc in the aftermath of the election.[13] The meeting on 6 October was postponed, with some citing disagreements on whether Yamina should split, while others referred to it as a "technical" matter.[14] The alliance did split on 10 October 2019,[15] and re-formed on 15 January 2020 in the run-up to the 2020 Israeli legislative election.[9]

History

[edit]
Logo until 2021

On 21 July 2019, after not making it past the electoral threshold in the April 2019 Israeli legislative election, New Right leader Naftali Bennett decided to give leadership of the party to Ayelet Shaked. In her opening leadership speech, Shaked declared that she will seek to unite with the Union of Right-Wing Parties (URWP) and other right-wing parties.[16]

The following day, negotiations with the URWP began. The negotiations initially stalled, as URWP leader Rafi Peretz was unwilling to concede leadership of the list to Shaked, and disagreements arose over how many spots each of the three involved parties would receive on the list. Another subject that arose in the negotiations was whether the radical former URWP member Otzma Yehudit should be included in the new joint list.[17]

Sara Netanyahu (the wife of the former prime minister) was recorded speaking with Rafi Peretz' wife, Michal Peretz, in an attempt to convince Peretz to retain his number one slot on the list; she was unsuccessful. It was also revealed that Benjamin Netanyahu was involved (despite his denial).[18] The URWP and the New Right agreed to a joint run on 29 July 2019, with the New Right's Ayelet Shaked leading the joint list. As part of the agreement, the alliance declared that they would negotiate together to establish a right-wing government under Benjamin Netanyahu.[19]

On 22 April 2020, it was reported that Bennett was now "considering all options" for Yamina's political future, including departing from Netanyahu's government, which had just agreed to form a joint government with leader of the opposition Blue and White party Benny Gantz, and joining the opposition. Bennett was reported to be unhappy with the new coalition government's decision to hold back on the issue of judicial reform.[20]

In May 2020, Yamina announced that it would go to opposition.[21] The day before, Peretz, the leader of The Jewish Home, had split from the party, and would be named as the Minister of Jerusalem in the thirty-fifth government of Israel.[22][23][24] On 17 May 2020, Bennett met with Gantz, who also succeeded him as Defence Minister, and declared that Yamina was now a "head held high" member of the opposition.[25]

ballot paper used during the 2021 Election

Tkuma, which rebranded as the Religious Zionist Party on 7 January 2021,[26] split from Yamina on 20 January.[11] On 9 May 2021, it was reported that Bennett and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid had made major headway in the coalition talks for forming a new Israeli government.[27][28] On 30 May 2021, Bennett announced in a televised address that Yamina would join a unity government with Yair Lapid after all but one Yamina MK agreed to back this decision.[29] A poll at the time found that 61% of Yamina voters would not vote for the party due to it being part of the unity government.[30]

Yamina announced on 27 July 2022 that it had allied with Derekh Eretz as the Zionist Spirit alliance to contest the 2022 Israeli legislative election.[31] Yamina left the alliance on 11 September 2022,[32] at the insistence of The Jewish Home, which had asked on 9 September that Shaked split from Derekh Eretz as a prerequisite for a joint run between itself and Shaked.[33] Party members of The Jewish Home (including Hagit Moshe and Yossi Brodny) had ratified an agreement on a joint run between Yamina and itself two days later.[34] The joint run was expected to be announced on 12 September, though it was not held that day due to disagreements within The Jewish Home on the details.[35] The announcement was made the next day[36] and the joint run was approved by the central committee of The Jewish Home on 14 September.[37] Yamina failed to cross the electoral threshold.[38]

Platform

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Ayelet Shaked listed 11 principles that the Yamina list is determined to uphold:[39]

  1. Jewish Identity: We will work to strengthen the Jewish identity of the State of Israel, and to strengthen the connection of Israeli students to the Torah, the Land of Israel, and the Jewish religious heritage.
  2. Nationality: We will act for the implementation of the Nation-state Law and the prevention of any harm to it, while continuing to ensure individual rights and equality for all Israeli citizens.
  3. Unity of the land: We are the only party that opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and any withdrawal from the territories of the Land of Israel. We will work to develop settlements throughout the country.
  4. Sovereignty: We will act for the full and equitable application of national sovereignty and the rule of law to all citizens and residents of Israel, including the end of the military administration of West Bank and the application of Israeli sovereignty to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
  5. Determination against terror: We will defeat terrorism with determination and without compromise, we will defeat Gaza border terrorism and end the allowances paid to terrorists by the Palestinian Authority. We will bring back the corpses of IDF soldiers and charge a price from Hamas for its actions, with total resistance to the release of imprisoned terrorists. We will act to assist disabled IDF veterans and the victims of the conflict.
  6. Aliyah: We will work towards the implementation of a national Aliyah policy, which will promote Jewish immigration and remove unnecessary barriers to immigration. We will prevent illegal immigration of migrant workers to Israel and prevent the abuse of family re-unification policies.
  7. Competition and liberty: We will promote competition to break up monopolies and cartels, open the economy to international competition, and reduce central planning in the economy. We will promote competition in the housing market, release land for construction, and implement taxation policies that will spur development. We will streamline regulation, reduce the regulatory burden on employers, which will encourage employment and productivity, and create a comfortable environment for a sharing economy and the high tech industry.
  8. Right to work: We will reform the labor law so that unions can only represent all workers in a workplace if they have a majority of its workers unionized. We will implement mandatory government arbitration to solve labor disputes in essential government services and increase transparency in labor organizations.
  9. Governability: We will strengthen the values of governability and democracy. We will strengthen the status of the Knesset as a legislative authority and restore confidence in the Supreme Court as the judicial authority, in accordance with the law. We will strengthen the status of elected officials in the face of the un-elected bureaucracy.
  10. Social responsibility: We will enact economic and medical protection for the disabled and the elderly, while integrating people with disabilities in education, society, and the labor market.
  11. Galilee and the Negev: We will strengthen the Galilee and the Negev with additional employment opportunities, housing, health care, tourism, culture, and transport. We will encourage capital investment and private initiatives that will strengthen human capital and allow families to settle and remain in the Galilee and the Negev. We will strengthen agriculture and the Labor settlements.

Alongside these united principles, each party retains its own independent platform. Thus, the New Right represents the more "liberal" Religious and Secular right, The Jewish Home represents "mainstream" Religious Zionism, while Tkuma represents the more hawkish and Chardal Religious Zionists.

Composition

[edit]

Current

[edit]
Name Ideology Position Leader
New Right National conservatism, economic liberalism Right-wing to far-right Ayelet Shaked

Former

[edit]
Name Ideology Position Leader
National Union Religious Zionism, ultranationalism Right-wing to far-right Bezalel Smotrich
The Jewish Home Religious Zionism, religious conservatism Right-wing to far-right Hagit Moshe

Former MKs

[edit]

Yamina had four members at the end of the 24th Knesset.

  – New Right

Name Notes
Naftali Bennett Former Alternate Prime Minister of Israel, former Prime Minister of Israel, former leader of the New Right, former leader of The Jewish Home, and former Minister of Defense
Yomtob Kalfon[40]
Nir Orbach
Orna Starkmann[40]

A number of Yamina MKs have left the party during the 24th Knesset.

Name Notes Current party
Abir Kara[41] Former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Economic Freedom
Idit Silman[42] Former Parliamentary Whip for the 36th Government of Israel Likud
Amichai Chikli[43] Likud
Matan Kahana[44] National Unity
Shirly Pinto[45] National Unity

Leaders

[edit]
Leader Took office Left office
Ayelet Shaked 2019 2019
Naftali Bennett 2020 2022
Ayelet Shaked 2022 2022

Election results

[edit]
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Government
Sep 2019 Ayelet Shaked 260,655 5.87 (#7)
7 / 120
 Increase 1 Snap election
2020 Naftali Bennett 240,162 5.25 (#8)
6 / 120
 Decrease 1 Opposition
2021 273,836 6.21 (#5)
7 / 120
 Increase 1 Coalition
2022 Ayelet Shaked Part of The Jewish Home
0 / 120
 Decrease 7 Extraparliamentary

References

[edit]
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Yamina

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from Grokipedia
Yamina (Hebrew: ימינה, lit. 'Rightward') was a right-wing Israeli political alliance formed in 2019 as a joint comprising the party, , and National Union, later centering on the founded by and . The alliance rebranded from United Right to Yamina ahead of the March 2020 election, emphasizing nationalist policies while seeking broader appeal beyond strictly religious voters through relatively liberal stances on church-state relations. In the 2021 election, Yamina secured seven seats, enabling Bennett to lead a diverse eight-party that included centrist, left-wing, and Arab Islamist factions, marking the first to end Benjamin Netanyahu's extended tenure as . This , sworn in June 2021, implemented reforms in areas like and judicial oversight but faced immediate tensions due to ideological mismatches, particularly Yamina's right-wing base opposing partnerships with parties advocating Palestinian statehood or opposing settlement expansion. The collapsed in June 2022 after defections from Yamina members, who cited betrayal of voter mandates on and territorial issues, leading to snap elections where Yamina, running as part of the Zionist Spirit alliance, failed to cross the and lost all representation. Yamina's platform centered on applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria (the ), prioritizing Jewish settlement growth, fostering , and restraining , while navigating tensions between its religious Zionist elements and secular leadership under Bennett and Shaked. The party's brief tenure highlighted causal dynamics in Israeli politics, where pragmatic alliances against entrenched figures like Netanyahu enabled short-term power gains but eroded support among core nationalists opposed to concessions on core territorial claims. By 2025, Yamina had become defunct, saddled with substantial debts exceeding NIS 17 million from its operations, underscoring the financial and organizational fragility of small alliances in Israel's fragmented .

Origins and Formation

Pre-2019 Roots

The precursors to Yamina emerged from the religious Zionist tradition, rooted in the (NRP, or Mafdal), formed in 1956 by merging the Mizrahi and HaMizrahi parties to advocate integrating Orthodox Jewish observance with Zionist settlement and state institutions. The NRP consistently held ministerial roles in coalitions from Israel's founding, emphasizing education, settlement in and , and observance, but faced declining support as secular nationalism grew. In November 2008, the NRP merged with the National Union—a 1999 alliance of hardline secular nationalists like , Tkuma, and Eretz Israel Shelanu—to create , aiming to unify fragmented right-wing votes ahead of the 2009 elections and broaden appeal beyond strictly religious voters. assumed leadership for the 2013 elections, repositioning the party toward , security hawkishness, and settlement expansion, yielding 12 seats (11.86% of votes) amid right-wing disillusionment with Likud's dominance. However, the 2015 elections saw support halve to 6 seats (5.9% of votes), exacerbated by internal rifts over coalition compromises with and resistance from religious factions to secular influences. These tensions culminated in December 2018, when Bennett and Justice Minister resigned from to establish the , citing the need for a non-religious-branded list to capture secular nationalists alienated by the party's rabbinic and prior electoral inefficiencies. The move responded to chronic right-wing fragmentation, where pre-2014 lower thresholds (1-2%) enabled small parties but post-2014's 3.25% barrier caused vote waste—as in 2015, when Yachad's 2.97% yielded no seats despite ~100,000 votes, diluting the bloc's seat share despite voter majorities for right-leaning positions. This pattern underscored the causal drawback of splintered lists, enabling center-left gains in seat allocation despite empirical right-wing vote pluralities in multiple cycles.

2019 Election Alliance

Following the party's failure to cross the in the April 2019 election, where it received 3.22% of the vote, assumed leadership of the party in July 2019 and initiated merger talks to unify fragmented right-wing factions. On July 29, 2019, the allied with the —comprising and the National Union—forming the electoral list, named meaning "rightwards" to symbolize a shift further right. headed the list, followed by Rafi Peretz, , and , aiming to consolidate secular and religious Zionist voters who had previously split their support, risking exclusion from the . The alliance's formation addressed the causal issue of vote fragmentation on Israel's right, as evidenced by the April election losses, enabling a combined slate to efficiently capture dispersed support without diluting mandates across multiple lists below the threshold. Yamina's campaign stressed right-wing unity to counter perceived threats from left-wing and Arab-Islamist party blocs, positioning the list as an alternative to Benjamin Netanyahu's dominance while prioritizing and settlement policies. Bennett's prominence, leveraging his background as a successful high-tech entrepreneur and former officer, helped broaden appeal to moderate and secular right-leaning voters wary of purely religious parties. In the September 17, 2019, election for the 22nd , Yamina defied pre-election polls forecasting borderline viability around 4%, securing 269,346 votes or 5.00% of the total valid votes, translating to 7 seats. This result validated the strategic merger's role in preventing right-wing vote waste, as the unified list outperformed the sum of its parts' prior performances and contributed to the overall right-wing bloc's strength despite ongoing political deadlock.

Electoral Trajectory

2020 Election

In the March 2, 2020, —the third in less than two years—Yamina, under Naftali Bennett's leadership, won 7 seats in the 120-member , matching its tally from the September 2019 poll and securing 5.77% of the valid votes (approximately 276,789 ballots). The party's platform emphasized territorial sovereignty, measures, and opposition to judicial overreach, appealing to voters seeking alternatives within the right-wing spectrum amid Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial. This result underscored Yamina's niche positioning outside dominance, though the overall right-wing bloc fell short of a at 58 seats. Yamina's opposition stance intensified the post-election deadlock, as Bennett's rivalry with Netanyahu—rooted in prior cabinet disputes and personal ambitions—precluded support for -led governments. Internal deliberations emerged on joining a prospective unity government between and Blue and White, with Bennett holding talks with Netanyahu in late April 2020 to explore ministerial roles, including defense. Ultimately, Yamina declined, citing insufficient guarantees on West Bank annexation and policy concessions to Benny Gantz's centrist faction, opting to remain independent and criticize the coalition as a Netanyahu power preservation tactic. Voting data indicated stability in Yamina's core support from religious Zionists, settler communities, and secular nationalists frustrated with infighting, with turnout at 71.5% reflecting sustained engagement despite election repetition. However, the marginal vote share consistency—barely above the 3.25% threshold—hinted at emerging voter fatigue, as polls showed broader right-wing fragmentation and public exhaustion with unresolved coalition arithmetic. This dynamic prolonged instability without altering Yamina's oppositional leverage.

2021 Election and Pivotal Role

In the Israeli legislative election held on March 23, 2021, Yamina, led by Naftali Bennett, obtained 7 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, representing 5.43% of the valid votes cast (240,686 votes). This outcome marked a modest performance compared to pre-election polls that had projected up to 10 seats, reflecting voter fragmentation on the right-wing spectrum amid the fourth election in under two years. The party's vote share translated to a pivotal bloc position, as no single alliance secured a majority of 61 seats, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc falling short at 52-58 seats depending on absentee soldier and other votes. Yamina's kingmaker status emerged from Bennett's strategic positioning, refusing to align with Netanyahu despite ideological affinities, citing the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial and inability to form a stable government after multiple attempts. This decision broke the post-election , enabling negotiations for an unprecedented anti-Netanyahu spanning right, center, left, and an Islamist party, which ultimately ended 12 years of Netanyahu's uninterrupted tenure. Bennett's pragmatic maneuvering was credited by supporters with resolving political stagnation that had paralyzed governance and budget approvals since 2019. Critics within the right-wing camp, including Netanyahu allies, accused Bennett of and betraying voter mandates by partnering with ideological adversaries, potentially diluting nationalist priorities. Pro-Netanyahu outlets portrayed the shift as a power grab, arguing Yamina's small mandate did not justify upending the electoral center of gravity. Conversely, analysts from varied perspectives noted the move's causal realism in prioritizing institutional functionality over personal loyalties, though it highlighted fractures in Israel's right-wing unity.

Governance and Policy Implementation

Coalition Formation and Bennett Premiership

Following the deadlock after Israel's March 2021 legislative election, where no bloc secured a Knesset majority, opposition leader Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid negotiated a coalition agreement with Naftali Bennett of Yamina, announced on June 2, 2021. The pact included a rotation mechanism under which Bennett would serve as prime minister for the first two years, followed by Lapid, aiming to end Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure. This arrangement united ideologically diverse parties spanning the right (Yamina, New Hope, Yisrael Beiteinu), center (Yesh Atid, Blue and White), left (Labor, Meretz), and an Arab Islamist faction (Ra'am), totaling 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The coalition's formation marked a departure from prior gridlock, which had prompted four elections in two years, by prioritizing governance stability over unified ideology; however, its broad composition foreshadowed internal strains, as right-wing partners clashed with left-leaning and representatives on core issues like and Palestinian relations from the outset. On June 13, 2021, the approved the government with a narrow 60-59 vote, ousting Netanyahu and installing Bennett as . Bennett's premiership represented historic milestones: the first non-Likud leader in over a decade and the first religiously observant Jew to hold , reflecting Yamina's religious-Zionist roots amid a engineered for functional continuity rather than policy consensus. During his term from June to June 2022, the government navigated operational challenges inherent to its fragile makeup, contrasting the paralysis of repeated electoral cycles with measurable progress in legislative throughput, though underlying factional divergences persisted.

Key Achievements in Government

During 's premiership from June 2021 to June 2022, with Yamina providing the , recorded a GDP growth of 8.1% in 2021, the strongest annual increase in over two decades and exceeding the average of 5.3%. This rebound from disruptions was bolstered by avoiding economy-crippling lockdowns, which preserved activity and averted billions in shekels in additional fiscal strain. The government also reduced the budget deficit from elevated post-pandemic levels to near zero, reflecting fiscal discipline amid recovery efforts. Bennett's administration, leveraging his high-tech background, advanced a reform-oriented that prioritized and , sustaining Israel's position as a global leader in exports despite coalition constraints. These measures contributed to post-crisis prosperity, with the outperforming many European peers in rebound velocity. In security domains, the government secured an additional $1 billion in U.S. supplemental funding for the missile defense system, approved by in March 2022, directly replenishing interceptors depleted in prior conflicts and bolstering defenses against rocket threats. This aid package stemmed from strengthened bipartisan ties, including with Democrats, amid ongoing regional hostilities. While purist critics from the right faulted coalition compromises with center-left partners for diluting ideological priorities, the administration's pragmatic approach enabled continuity, passing key budgets and averting the multi-year political paralysis that preceded it.

Policy Initiatives and Reforms

Matan Kahana, serving as Minister of Religious Services from June 2021, spearheaded reforms to decentralize rabbinical authority and enhance efficiency in religious services. On January 12, 2022, he unveiled a plan to overhaul Israel's conversion system, proposing a dedicated state-run conversion institute independent of the Chief Rabbinate to simplify processes and boost approval rates, which had hovered below 50% for years due to stringent requirements. This initiative targeted the estimated 400,000 eligible immigrants facing barriers, aiming to integrate them more fully into Jewish society through standardized rabbinical court operations and expanded municipal-level conversions. Kahana's kosher supervision reforms, enacted via legislation in November 2021, ended the Rabbinate's monopoly by allowing private entities to certify alongside state oversight, introducing competition to lower costs and increase options for consumers and businesses. These changes facilitated broader participation, with initial implementations enabling non-Rabbinate certifications for imports and eateries, though they faced legal challenges from ultra-Orthodox groups. Additionally, Kahana appointed women to local religious councils for the first time, promoting gender inclusivity in administrative roles traditionally male-dominated. In settlement policy, the Bennett-led government advanced construction approvals in Judea and Samaria, authorizing thousands of housing units in existing communities while navigating coalition constraints that precluded full annexation. A November 2021 decision approved settlement expansions alongside Palestinian housing in Area C, marking an unprecedented parallel advancement to maintain demographic balances amid diplomatic realities. Yamina's advocacy ensured no settlement freeze, with commitments from leaders like Naftali Bennett to sustain growth, resulting in over 3,000 tendered units by mid-2022 despite internal coalition tensions. Judicial initiatives under Yamina influence focused on incremental adjustments rather than sweeping overhaul, given the diverse coalition's veto powers. , as , contributed to judicial selection committees, pushing for balanced appointments to counter perceived activist biases, though major legislative reforms were deferred to preserve government stability. This approach prioritized operational continuity over disruption, with no enacted changes to override clauses or court structures during the tenure. The government also pursued economic , reducing import barriers on food staples like and grains, which contributed to a 5-10% price drop in select categories by early through streamlined approvals and incentives. These measures, aligned with Yamina's pro-market stance, emphasized causal efficiency gains over subsidized interventions, fostering integration in previously protected sectors.

Ideology and Positions

Nationalist and Security Stance

Yamina positioned itself as a staunch defender of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), advocating for the extension of civilian law to major settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley to secure strategic depth against potential invasions and terrorism. Party leader Naftali Bennett repeatedly emphasized that partial annexation would prevent the repetition of security lapses seen in Gaza after the 2005 disengagement, which preceded Hamas's 2007 takeover and subsequent rocket barrages exceeding 20,000 since. The party rejected the framework as a proven failure, pointing to empirical evidence of escalated violence: Palestinian suicide bombings, absent before 1993, claimed over 1,000 Israeli lives during the Second Intifada (2000–2005), which Yamina attributed to concessions that empowered rejectionist elements rather than fostering peace. Bennett argued this outcome validated a deterrence-first approach over territorial withdrawals, with data showing a 90% drop in such attacks after Israel's construction of the security barrier and targeted operations. On foreign threats, Yamina maintained a anti-Iran , supporting U.S.- alignment to counter Tehran's nuclear ambitions and proxy militias. Bennett, as prime minister, vowed would retain "complete freedom of action" against , opposing any JCPOA revival that could shorten breakout time to a , and highlighted the —brokered under prior U.S. auspices—as a model for bypassing Palestinian vetoes to build anti-Iran coalitions with Arab states like the UAE and . Yamina's security doctrine prioritized military superiority and preemptive strikes for deterrence efficacy, earning approval from hard-right constituencies for reversing perceived Oslo-era vulnerabilities, as evidenced by terror fatalities falling from 452 in 2002 to under 10 annually by 2020 amid sustained operations. Left-wing opponents criticized these stances as exacerbating tensions and obstructing , yet post-2005 trends in reduced infiltrations—linked to fortified borders and settlement buffers—bolstered claims of causal effectiveness in prioritizing Israeli lives over concessionary optimism.

Economic and Social Policies

Yamina espoused pragmatic conservative economic policies rooted in free-market principles, prioritizing deregulation to stimulate growth and innovation. Party leader Naftali Bennett, a former tech entrepreneur who founded multiple cybersecurity firms, advocated reducing bureaucratic obstacles to entrepreneurship, drawing on Israel's high-tech sector as a model of success driven by minimal interference and private initiative. Bennett proposed an economic blueprint termed the "Singapore Plan," envisioning Israel emulate Singapore's low-regulation, pro-business environment to lower living costs, enhance competitiveness, and accelerate GDP expansion through market-driven efficiencies rather than state-heavy interventions. This stance critiqued overregulation as a drag on productivity, with empirical evidence from Israel's tech boom—contributing over 18% to GDP by 2020—attributable to deregulated startup ecosystems fostering rapid scaling and foreign investment, outcomes causal analyses link directly to reduced red tape over expansive subsidies. On social policies, Yamina maintained a traditionalist orientation emphasizing stability and Jewish cultural continuity, while exhibiting moderation influenced by co-leader Ayelet Shaked's libertarian-leaning views. The party supported policies reinforcing the as society's foundational unit, opposing measures perceived to undermine it through unchecked or state overreach into personal spheres. Shaked, as justice minister, backed conditional access for same-sex couples to address demographic and parental needs without commercial incentives, reflecting a pragmatic balance between biological imperatives and limited inclusivity. Conversely, Yamina opposed adoption by gay couples, with Shaked's 2017 directive prioritizing children's welfare in traditional two-parent heterosexual homes, a position endorsed by religious-Zionist authorities citing and developmental favoring such arrangements over alternatives lacking complementary gender roles. This approach rejected expansive redefinitions of family norms, arguing causal from child outcome studies supports stability in biologically normative structures over ideologically driven expansions that risk empirical harms like elevated instability rates.

Criticisms of Left-Leaning Alternatives

Yamina's ideological stance rejects the two-state solution as empirically unviable, arguing that historical concessions intended to foster such an outcome instead empowered terrorism and eroded Israeli security. Leaders like Naftali Bennett have advocated alternatives such as annexation of Area C under the Oslo framework, viewing the accords' devolution of control to the Palestinian Authority as a catalyst for violence rather than stability. Post-Oslo, terrorism surged markedly; in the 15 years prior to 1993, 270 Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terror, whereas the subsequent 15 years saw approximately 1,500 fatalities, including waves of suicide bombings originating from Palestinian-controlled areas like Bethlehem where Israeli security forces were absent. Critics within Yamina and aligned right-wing circles attribute these spikes to appeasement policies promoted by left-leaning parties such as Labor and , which prioritized territorial withdrawals and negotiations despite Palestinian non-compliance on incitement and terror prevention. The Oslo-era concessions, endorsed by Labor under and alongside support, coincided with intensified attacks, including over 30 suicide bombings between 1994 and 2000 that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians amid the "height of the ." This pattern exemplifies a causal dynamic where unilateral gestures incentivized rejectionism, as evidenced by the Palestinian Authority's failure to dismantle terror infrastructure, leading to events like the Second Intifada's 1,084 civilian deaths from 2000 to 2005. In contrast to the left's faith in diplomatic and assumptions of mutual goodwill, Yamina emphasizes security realism grounded in outcomes: sustained Israeli control deters aggression, while relinquishing without verifiable reciprocity— as seen in post-Oslo data—emboldens adversaries. Labor-Meretz approaches, by framing concessions as confidence-building absent robust enforcement, have been faulted for ignoring empirical lessons, such as terror's role in derailing negotiations and the necessity of deterrence over alone. This perspective prioritizes of incentives, where Palestinian under partial fostered militancy rather than moderation, underscoring the risks of policies detached from on-the-ground realities.

Leadership and Internal Dynamics

Primary Leaders

Naftali Bennett led Yamina as its primary figure from the party's inception in 2020 until June 2022. A former software entrepreneur and advocate for West Bank settlement expansion, Bennett had previously served as director of the Yesha Council from 2010 to 2012 and held ministerial roles in education, economy, and defense in prior governments. In June 2021, he ascended to the premiership, forming a coalition that excluded traditional right-wing rivals and included centrist and left-leaning parties to oust Benjamin Netanyahu. Bennett's leadership emphasized pragmatic governance, including normalization deals with Arab states and security operations against threats from Gaza and Lebanon. After Yamina secured only six seats in the November 2022 Knesset elections amid coalition fractures, he retired from politics on June 29, 2022, endorsing Ayelet Shaked as successor. In April 2025, Bennett registered a new party, "Bennett 2026," signaling a potential return for the 2026 elections. Ayelet Shaked co-founded Yamina's precursor, the party, with Bennett in December 2018 and assumed its leadership in June 2022 following his departure. She previously served as from May 2015 to May 2019, where she initiated reforms to diversify judicial selection by enhancing influence over appointments, aiming to balance perceived activist tendencies in the judiciary. In the Bennett-led government, Shaked held the Interior Ministry portfolio from June 2021 to June 2022, overseeing civil administration, local governance, and . Her decisions prioritized efficient bureaucratic processes and border security measures. Shaked's subsequent bid to consolidate Yamina faltered due to electoral underperformance and internal shifts, culminating in the party's fragmentation by late 2022.

Factional Composition and Changes

Yamina's factional composition originated as a strategic electoral alliance blending secular nationalists from the party, led by and , with religious Zionist elements drawing from tradition, aiming to consolidate right-wing votes amid fragmented . This hybrid structure secured seven seats in the March 2021 Knesset election, with members including , , , , Nir Orbach, , and Abir Kara, representing a mix of secular and religiously observant figures. The alliance's internal dynamics reflected tensions between pragmatic secular leadership prioritizing governance viability and more ideologically rigid religious-nationalist factions emphasizing unwavering alignment with traditional right-wing coalitions. Significant changes began in early 2022, driven by dissatisfaction with Yamina's participation in a broad anti-Netanyahu government, leading to defections that eroded its cohesion. , a key coalition whip with religious affiliations, exited the coalition on April 6, 2022, citing policy disputes as a breach of red lines, which immediately stripped the government of its slim majority. , a secular critic of Bennett's compromises, was formally declared a defector by the House Committee on April 26, 2022, in a unanimous 7-0 vote, after repeated opposition votes. Nir Orbach, another religious-leaning member, effectively defected by abstaining on key votes and aligning with opposition forces, signaling intent to join . , previously Religious Affairs Minister and from a background, departed ahead of the 2022 elections, further fragmenting the list. These defections, totaling at least four of the original seven MKs by mid-2022, empirically demonstrated the causal trade-offs of Yamina's centrist pivot: while enabling short-term power-sharing, it alienated purists who prioritized ideological fidelity to Netanyahu-led blocs over pragmatic alliances, resulting in zero seats retained under the Yamina banner in the November 2022 . Remaining core members like Bennett and Shaked, rooted in the secular faction, faced challenges reconstituting viability, as religious elements gravitated toward parties offering stricter ideological consistency. No further factional mergers occurred post-2022, with Yamina effectively dissolving as defectors integrated into larger right-wing entities like .

Controversies and Challenges

Defections and Coalition Instability

The defection of Yamina MK and coalition whip Idit Silman on April 6, 2022, marked the initial fracture in the Bennett-Lapid government's slim 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, reducing it to 60 seats and forcing reliance on ad hoc opposition support for legislative passage. Silman cited a dispute over allowing leavened foods in hospitals during Passover as her immediate trigger, but underlying tensions stemmed from Yamina's right-wing base dissatisfaction with coalition concessions to Arab parties on issues like family reunification for Palestinians. Following her exit, Silman joined the opposition Likud bloc, amplifying pressure on remaining Yamina members. Subsequent defections compounded the instability, with Yamina MK Nir Orbach announcing on June 13, 2022, that he would cease voting with the , further eroding its numbers and confirming minority status with only 59 reliable supporters. Orbach, who had previously wavered, expressed that the government had failed its core mission of unifying and uplifting Israeli amid internal divisions. This followed earlier strains, including the April 2022 declaration of as a Yamina defector after his independent voting patterns, though Chikli had effectively distanced himself from the since mid-2021. These exits from Yamina—originally a seven-seat party that splintered to just two loyalists by mid-2022—highlighted the fragility of right-wing participation in a broad anti-Netanyahu alliance spanning ideological opposites. The cumulative departures prompted Prime Minister to concede on June 20, 2022, that the coalition could not sustain itself, leading to a dissolution vote that same day and scheduling elections for , 2022. Right-wing analysts viewed the collapses as predictable outcomes of an ideologically incoherent partnership, arguing that Yamina's voters rejected alliances with left-leaning and Islamist elements, rendering long-term cohesion untenable. In contrast, coalition supporters attributed the instability to Bennett's firm stance against further right-wing concessions, which they claimed prioritized governance over pandering to opposition pressures. The episode underscored how individual MK decisions, amplified by party factionalism, accelerated the government's transition to caretaker status under from July 1, 2022.

Right-Wing Backlash to Centrist Alliances

The decision by Yamina leader to enter negotiations with Yair Lapid's centrist party on May 30, 2021, and subsequently form a coalition incorporating Mansour Abbas's Islamist Ra'am party, elicited immediate and vehement opposition from right-wing voters and politicians who viewed it as a direct repudiation of Yamina's electoral mandate. Yamina had campaigned on a platform emphasizing nationalist security policies and alliance with the -led bloc to prevent left-leaning governance, securing seven seats primarily from voters opposed to concessions on issues like settlements and Arab political influence. Critics, including figures, accused Bennett of "betraying right-wing voters" by prioritizing personal ambition over the bloc's 52-seat majority, which could have sustained a Netanyahu government. Polls conducted shortly after the announcement underscored the depth of voter alienation, with a Channel 12 survey on May 31, 2021, finding that 61% of Yamina's own supporters declared they would withhold their votes from the party due to the pivot toward centrist and Arab Islamist partners. This dissatisfaction stemmed from perceptions that the alliance contradicted Yamina's core commitments, particularly the inclusion of Ra'am—whose platform included demands for recognizing as a state of all its citizens—which right-wing analysts argued undermined Zionist sovereignty and security priorities. Right-wing media and commentators, such as those in and Likud-aligned outlets, framed the move as an unsustainable compromise that eroded the party's legitimacy, rejecting mainstream narratives praising the coalition's "diversity" as a gloss over ideological dilution. The backlash manifested in personal threats against Yamina MKs, with coalition chairwoman reporting death threats to herself and her family in June , attributed to accusations of "betraying the right" by enabling the anti-Netanyahu . Subsequent polling data reflected a causal erosion of support, as Yamina's base migrated to more consistent right-wing alternatives like , with surveys by mid-2022 indicating the party's projected seats hovering near or below the — a direct consequence of the realignment that prioritized anti-Bibi unity over voter-expected . This empirical shift highlighted the assessment that cross-ideological pacts, while tactically ousting Netanyahu temporarily, proved incompatible with maintaining a right-wing identity amid irreconcilable demands from centrist and Islamist allies.

Media and Opposition Narratives

Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper known for its critical stance toward nationalist parties, repeatedly labeled Yamina as "far-right" during its active period, including in coverage of its 2019 formation and 2020 election prospects. This portrayal persisted despite Yamina's empirical moderation, such as Naftali Bennett's willingness to rotate the premiership with centrist Yair Lapid and form a coalition incorporating Arab Islamist party Ra'am in June 2021, actions that diverged from ideological extremism. Such characterizations reflect a pattern in outlets like Haaretz, where right-of-center parties face amplified rhetoric of radicalism, even as their governance prioritized coalition stability over purist agendas. Opposition narratives from Benjamin Netanyahu's camp intensified smears against Yamina, framing it as a betrayer of right-wing principles for refusing to endorse Netanyahu's mandates and joining anti- blocs. On March 23, 2021, Netanyahu's allies ran a late-hour "gevald" (alarmist) campaign warning voters that supporting Yamina would enable a left-wing , prompting Yamina to decry it as manipulative fearmongering. further criticized Yamina for not formally recommending Netanyahu to President after the March 2020 election, despite prior alliances, portraying the party as opportunistic rather than steadfastly conservative. Counterarguments from Yamina's defenders emphasized its robust security credentials over partisan rhetoric, citing leaders like Bennett—who as former defense minister in 2019-2020 advocated for aggressive anti-terror operations and settlement expansions—as evidence of substantive hawkishness. During Bennett's June 2021-August 2022 premiership, the government conducted Operation Breaking Dawn in May 2022 against rockets from Gaza, maintaining continuity in Israel's defensive posture without concessions to adversaries, which undercut claims of ideological dilution. This record highlighted selective outrage in opposition critiques, where Yamina's tactical alliances drew disproportionate ire compared to its policy outcomes on threats like incursions. Broader media dynamics revealed inconsistencies, with left-leaning sources decrying Yamina's nationalist roots while downplaying the coalition's security continuity, and Netanyahu-aligned outlets like amplifying defection risks to erode its base. Analyses noted that such narratives often prioritized over causal evaluation of Yamina's restraint in governance, as evidenced by its avoidance of judicial overhauls or territorial withdrawals that more ideological factions pursued.

Decline and Dissolution

2022 Election Failure

Following Naftali Bennett's announcement on June 20, 2022, that he would not seek reelection and the subsequent dissolution of the , reorganized the remnants of Yamina into the Zionist Spirit list for the November 1, 2022, legislative election. Initially allied with Yoaz Hendel's Derekh Eretz party, the partnership dissolved on September 11, 2022, amid internal disputes and declining poll numbers, leaving Shaked to lead a diminished slate. In the election, Zionist Spirit garnered fewer than 3.25% of the valid votes, falling short of Israel's and securing zero seats in the 25th . This outcome marked a stark decline from Yamina's 5.74% vote share and seven seats in the 2021 election, reflecting the party's effective collapse. Key factors included serial defections from Yamina lawmakers, such as in April 2022 and Nir Orbach in June 2022, who cited ideological misalignment with the diverse 2021 coalition as justification for exiting, eroding the party's parliamentary base. Voter disillusionment further compounded the failure, as former Yamina supporters perceived the party's participation in the Bennett-Lapid government—which included left-wing and parties—as a betrayal of core right-wing principles on and settlement policies, prompting a shift toward Benjamin Netanyahu's and the alliance. Pre-election polls had occasionally projected Zionist Spirit near the threshold, but persistent low support and the right-wing bloc's consolidation around Netanyahu sealed its electoral irrelevance. The absence of Yamina's seats contributed to the right-wing camp's unified majority, facilitating Netanyahu's return to power with 64 seats, though critics argued that the prior fragmentation exemplified by Yamina's centrist pivot had inadvertently prolonged political instability by diluting conservative votes in earlier cycles. Proponents of the outcome viewed the failure as a corrective mechanism, eliminating a weakened list that risked further splitting the right and allowing stronger ideological alignment.

Post-Election Fragmentation

In the immediate aftermath of the November 1, , Knesset elections, Yamina effectively ceased to function as a cohesive parliamentary entity after failing to secure any seats, having received only about 1.7% of the vote under Ayelet Shaked's leadership in a partial alliance with remnants of party. This outcome stemmed from pre-election fragmentation exacerbated by Naftali Bennett's June 29, , announcement of his withdrawal from politics following the coalition's collapse, which prompted defections including potential exits by allies like over policy divergences on issues such as religious exemptions during . Shaked's efforts to consolidate and revive the party ahead of the vote involved absorbing minor right-wing elements, but these proved insufficient against voter shifts toward consolidated blocs like the Likud-led alliance and the party, resulting in Yamina's exclusion from the 25th . Post-election, the party's infrastructure unraveled further as remaining activists and potential candidates dispersed, with no formal faction or legislative activity by early 2023, signaling its dissolution amid a lack of , voter base, and organizational momentum. By mid-2023, Shaked's isolated attempts to reposition Yamina through statements and exploratory mergers yielded no viable , as empirical indicators—such as zero seats, negligible polling under 1%, and absent party conventions—confirmed the alliance's terminal fragmentation into individual political careers or absorption elsewhere on the right. This phase highlighted the fragility of right-wing coalitions reliant on personal leadership, with Yamina's inactivity persisting without reversal.

Legacy and Successors

Impact on Israeli Politics

Yamina's pivotal role in the June 2021 formation of Israel's "government of change" demonstrated the feasibility of governance beyond Benjamin Netanyahu's long-standing dominance, as assumed the premiership for the coalition's initial term, enabling the passage of a 2021-2022 state budget after four consecutive cycles without one and maintaining continuity in and economic policies amid domestic instability. This arrangement, which included right-wing elements like Yamina alongside centrist, left-leaning, and Islamist parties, temporarily mitigated the paralysis of bloc-based politics, fostering incremental advancements such as expanded normalization agreements with states and responses to intra- violence, thereby countering narratives of inherent right-wing extremism by showcasing pragmatic coalition-building across divides. Despite these achievements, the coalition's rapid erosion—culminating in the defection of Yamina MK on April 6, 2022, which stripped the government of its one-seat majority, reducing it to 60 of 120 seats—exposed the underlying fragility of alliances predicated on anti-Netanyahu sentiment rather than ideological cohesion, leading to repeated legislative gridlock and the government's collapse after just 11 months. Yamina's internal fractures, with multiple MKs bolting the coalition, amplified perceptions of right-wing disunity, as the party's voters, alienated by its centrist pivot, redistributed support in the November 2022 elections, where Yamina failed to secure any seats. In the longer term, Yamina's trajectory contributed to a rebound in right-wing consolidation, as evidenced by the unified right bloc's expansion to 64 seats in 2022—driven by gains in (32 seats) and (14 seats)—effectively reestablishing Netanyahu's centrality and underscoring the empirical limits of fragmented alternatives in sustaining voter loyalty amid persistent threats and cultural polarization. This outcome highlighted both the viability of broad governance models for policy execution and the causal resilience of personality-led unification on the right, where Yamina's experiment, while breaking short-term monopolies, ultimately reinforced bloc discipline by illustrating the electoral costs of deviation.

Recent Developments (2023-2025)

In the years following its failure to secure Knesset seats in the November 2022 elections, Yamina maintained no formal political activity or organizational presence through 2023 and 2024, effectively remaining dormant as its leaders pursued individual endeavors outside party structures. On April 1, 2025, former Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett registered a new political party under the provisional name "Bennett 2026," positioning it for a prospective run in the next national elections scheduled by October 2026. The registration process concluded by June 8, 2025, enabling official candidacy and reflecting Bennett's strategy to recapture support from pragmatic right-wing voters disillusioned with Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-led coalition. Polls throughout 2025 showed variable but notable potential for the new party, with a June survey projecting it as the leading list in a hypothetical vote, potentially securing enough seats to anchor an opposition bloc of 62 to 72 mandates. By October 24, 2025, however, support had declined to an estimated 18 seats amid intensifying competition from established parties, though it remained a factor in fragmented opposition dynamics requiring cross-bloc cooperation, including with Arab parties, to form a . Bennett's reentry faced immediate resistance from Netanyahu allies, culminating in the October 26, 2025, advancement of a -proposed bill—dubbed the "Bennett Law"—to the Ministerial Committee on Legislation; the measure would prohibit former party heads from launching new entities without first resolving outstanding debts from prior campaigns, a condition Bennett denounced as an unconstitutional effort to suppress political competition. No verified attempts emerged to resurrect Yamina itself or absorb its remnants into larger frameworks like or , underscoring the original alliance's structural fragility and the preference for fresh branding among its ideological heirs.

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  121. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/06/harvard-analysts-discuss-israels-historically-diverse-new-coalition/
  122. https://www.freiheit.org/israel-and-palestinian-territories/israeli-government-loses-majority-one-final-crack-already
  123. https://www.fpri.org/article/2022/11/bibis-back-in-israel-is-there-going-to-be-trouble/
  124. https://www.dohainstitute.org/en/Events/azmi-bishara-lecture-the-2022-israeli-elections-continued-rightward-shift-and-rise-of-religious-zionism
  125. https://www.jns.org/naftali-bennett-registers-new-party-ahead-of-potential-reentry-into-politics/
  126. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/bennetts-new-political-party-completes-registration-process/
  127. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-848443
  128. https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/israele-il-nuovo-partito-di-bennett-in-testa-nei-sondaggi-crolla-la-coalizione-di-netanyahu/
  129. https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-netanyahus-likud-remains-largest-party-while-bennet-continues-to-lose-ground/
  130. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416817
  131. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-04-01/ty-article/.premium/former-israeli-prime-minister-bennett-registers-new-party-ahead-of-return-to-politics/00000195-f21b-dfc7-a5dd-f7bbc0660000
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