Politics

Beersheba Mayor Ruvik Danilovich has declined a high-ranking reserved spot on the Likud party list, choosing to remain in his municipal role after 18 years in office.

In a major political shakeup, MK Yaakov Asher will replace Moshe Gafni as the leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party. The decision, backed by Rabbi Dov Lando, comes amid ongoing disputes over the military draft law.

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid will present their unified Knesset election list tonight. The second decade of candidates will feature an alternating structure between both factions.

Knesset Member Ram Ben Barak stated that Yesh Atid's decision not to join the emergency government in October 2023 triggered its sharp decline in polls, though he remains at peace with the move.

Degel HaTorah leader Moshe Gafni and MK Uri Maklev will be excluded from the upcoming Knesset list. Jacob Asher will assume leadership of United Torah Judaism, potentially becoming the faction's first-ever cabinet minister.

The ultra-Orthodox Ha-Tzibur Ha-Haredi party announced it is preparing for an independent run in the upcoming elections, despite rumors of a political alliance with Ofer Winter and talks with Harvard's Dr. Nechumi Yaffe.

Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni and MK Uri Maklev will be excluded from the upcoming Knesset list following the draft exemption bill failure. Yaakov Asher is set to lead the party and the United Torah Judaism alliance.

Knesset Member Meirav Ben Ari secured the second spot on the Yesh Atid list and fourth on the joint 'Bihad' list for the 26th Knesset elections. She thanked party leader Yair Lapid and recalled her past financial struggles outside of politics.

Former IDF Brigadier General Ofer Winter held a secret meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after October 7, urging a siege of Gaza over a ground invasion and warning of massive military casualties.

Israel's Foreign Ministry and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee rejected UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's claims of blocked medicine in Gaza. Huckabee also visited the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya.

The corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumes in Jerusalem following the summer recess. Judges have ordered the schedule to accelerate to five hearings per week after the upcoming holidays.

Gilad Erdan's announcement of his withdrawal from the Knesset race highlights the decline of the third political bloc. The centrist alliance aimed to force a broad coalition on right and left-wing parties.

With four days left before Knesset lists close, Naftali Benet and Gadi Eisenkot are locked in a battle to recruit Chili Trooper. The decision will shape the leadership of the anti-Netanyahu bloc.

MK Michael Malkieli and Yaffa Deri spoke at a Jerusalem Religious Council conference, sparking allegations from Yisrael Beytenu that Shas used public funds for election campaigning.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid has revealed his party's Knesset list following a merger with Naftali Bennett's Bihad. The alliance has triggered a wave of high-profile retirements among veteran lawmakers.

Prominent public diplomacy activist Yoseph Haddad has joined Ofer Winter's new party, Amha Israel. Haddad aims to secure at least two mandates from the Arab sector and eyes the post of Public Diplomacy Minister.

With just three days left to submit candidate lists for the 26th Knesset, Israeli political parties are under immense pressure to merge or withdraw to avoid wasting thousands of votes below the 3.25% threshold.

At a major democracy conference, Israeli political leaders clashed over plans to reform the police force and combat soaring homicide rates, with opposition figures demanding the dismissal of Itamar Ben Gvir.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered Brigadier General (res.) Chico Tamir a reserved spot on the Likud list for the upcoming elections. This move follows a shortage of security experts in the party.

Jafar Farah, who held the 2nd spot on the Hadash list and 4th on the Joint List, was forced to resign against the backdrop of sexual harassment allegations against him. In its statement, the Hadash party defended him and praised him for his "responsibility and great courage."

In light of low polling numbers and the collapse of talks with Benny Gantz, Gilad Ardan has announced that his Unity Party will withdraw from the upcoming election race. Party leaders, including Yuli Edelstein, stated that the public is currently focused on the identity of the next Prime Minister rather than a unity government. Gadi Eisenkot has called on other parties hovering near the electoral...

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Solberg, responded today (Friday) to the Shas party's petition against the Attorney General's decision, claiming that he has no authority to review or cancel her directive to postpone the state memorial assembly for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef until after the elections.

The chairman of the Yashar party said at a 'Shishi Tarbut' event in Rishon LeZion that "there will be mergers" and emphasized: "I bring with me a deep commitment to the State of Israel and to do the brave things, and you'll be surprised, I also do politics - wait." The deadline for submitting lists to the Knesset is around the corner.

The «Achdut» and «Blue and White» parties will not unite ahead of the elections. Both parties are currently failing to cross the electoral threshold in polls, and analysts doubted that a joint list would succeed in overcoming the hurdle. Sources within Erdan's party remarked that some participants were seeking only media prominence.

In an unusual meeting at the White House, the Satmar Admorim delivered to President Trump an "urgent appeal for the protection of the rights of the Haredi community" The letter, drafted by members of the Haredi community, accuses the State of Israel of religious persecution, claims that yeshiva students live in fear of arrest, and warns that American citizens are trapped in Israel. The message to...

A delegation of six ambassadors from countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific visited near the Gaza border and other locations in Israel. The Gambian ambassador: "Now I truly understand what you went through on October 7." The ambassador from Fiji offered to send engineers to assist in the rehabilitation of kibbutzim in the Gaza envelope.

The Likud minister reached 23rd place in the primaries, but due to reserved slots, she was pushed to an unrealistic position. Itamar Ben Gvir did not rule out her joining Otzma Yehudit. Following the results, Golan attacked "briefers on behalf of the PM," claiming she was deemed "too right-wing" for the government's future plans.

Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir announced that MK Tali Gottlieb is joining his party from Likud. Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf has agreed to vacate his spot for her.

First publication: The development company of the Binyamin Regional Council has purchased lands in the area where the outpost evacuated in 2017 was located, with the goal of establishing a new settlement point there. The council declares its goal: "To restore settlement to the places from which it was uprooted."

According to political sources, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is exploring the possibility of adding Be'er Sheva Mayor Rubik Danilovich to the Likud list for the Knesset. Danilovich was reportedly offered a reserved spot high on the list, though his office stated he does not comment on such offers.

The Minister of Agriculture is bringing a strategic plan until 2050 to the government for approval, but the Treasury warns of a "targeted assassination" of the agricultural reform, the burial of competition, and an immediate rise in prices. Dichter responds: "The Treasury's opposition is baseless."

Gadi Eisenkot maintains the lead, Benjamin Netanyahu maintains stability, and the union between Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin garners 5 mandates. Will this trend hold until the party lists are finalized?

Idit Silman is set to leave the Ministry of Environmental Protection. There are growing concerns that the next Knesset will lack dedicated lawmakers to champion environmental issues, potentially allowing destructive policies to proceed unchecked.

A Ynet and "Yedioth Ahronoth" poll reveals that despite criticism over ultra-Orthodox military exemptions, the majority of the religious-Zionist public remains loyal to coalition parties. Bezalel Smotrich leads in support, while Naftali Bennett’s popularity has significantly declined.

A special analysis of the 2022 results reveals: Rehovot is once again the city that most accurately reflects voting in Israel, followed by Petah Tikva, Haifa, and Hadera. And where are Tel Aviv and Jerusalem? Deep at the bottom of the list, just above the ultra-Orthodox and Arab cities. All the data on "the Israel of the middle," analyzed by the company Madlan.

A number of anti-Zionist Admorim met with the US President at the White House. At the last minute, through the intervention of officials in the house of Rabbi Dov Lando, the delivery of a letter demanding intervention in the conscription issue was prevented. The White House described the event as a meeting for Rosh Hashanah.

While the mandate map reveals a turnaround at the top and the right-wing bloc strengthens to 53 mandates, the well-known former officer insists on running alone despite shaky data that places him in a particularly dangerous zone.

The Israel T'hila party of MK Sharren Haskel, which is currently far from the electoral threshold, has announced a merger with Ale Yarok. The joint list aims to promote cannabis legalization and comprehensive reform in the medical cannabis sector.

14 years after the evacuation from Migron, the Israeli settlement has returned to the site. The Binyamin Regional Council, through the Binyamin Development Company, established the "Migron Agricultural Farm" in Upper Migron, where several families now reside. Today, with the site connected to the electricity grid, the return to Migron is officially confirmed.

A significant development for the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria. As part of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's settlement policy, the Ministry of Interior has granted official settlement codes to four additional communities, establishing their status as full-fledged settlements in Israel.