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Yamina

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Yamina
ימינה
LeaderAyelet Shaked[1]
FoundersNaftali Bennett
Ayelet Shaked
Founded29 July 2019 (first)
15 January 2020 (second)
Dissolved10 October 2019 (first)
15 November 2022 (second)
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[2] to far-right[5]
National affiliationZionist Spirit (2022)
The Jewish Home (2022)
Member partiesNew Right
National Union (until 2021)
The Jewish Home
(until 2020)
Colours    Blue
  Green (former)
SloganNaftali Bennett - There is Alternative Leadership
and
With Bennett This is Possible
Knesset
0 / 120
Election symbol
טב (2019–2021)
ב (2021–2022)
ب (2021–2022)

[6]
Website
yemina.co.il (archive)

Yamina or Yemina (Hebrew: יָמִינָה, lit. 'Rightwards')[7] 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).[8][9] The final incarnation of the alliance included only the New Right,[10] as The Jewish Home left the alliance on 14 July 2020,[11] and the Religious Zionist Party left on 20 January 2021.

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.[10]

History

First formation

Logo until 2021

On 21 July 2019, after New Right fell below 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 was recorded speaking with Michal Peretz, wife of Rafi 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 in the matter despite his denial.[18]

On 29 July 2019, The URWP and the New Right agreed to a joint run with Ayelet Shaked leading the party 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 12 August, the party unveiled "Yamina" as its name.[20]

Following the September 2019 election, Yamina received seven seats, and there were discussions for a potential split soon afterwards.[21] On 10 October, the party split into New Right and The Jewish Home–National Union.[22]

Second formation

In preparation of the 2020 election, Yamina's member parties discussed potentially recreating the alliance. On 15 January 2020, Yamina was recreated with Naftali Bennett as leader.[23]

Following the election, Yamina won six seats.[24] By April, party leader Bennett was reportedly "considering all options" for Yamina's political future in response to the agreement establishing the Netanyahu-Gantz unity government. Bennett was reportedly frustrated with the new coalition government's decision to hold back on the issue of judicial reform.[25]

In May 2020, Yamina announced that it would go to opposition.[26] 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.[27][28][29] 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.[30]

ballot paper used during the 2021 Election

Tkuma, which rebranded as the Religious Zionist Party on 7 January 2021,[31] split from Yamina on 20 January.[32] 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.[33][34] 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.[35] 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.[36]

On 13 June 2021, agreements were finalized for the Bennett–Lapid government, with Yamina as one of the coalition parties.[37] During this government, several members of Yamina left the party, with Idit Silman and Amichai Chikli both defecting to Likud,[38][39] while Abir Kara left to establish his own party called "Economic Freedom".[40]

On 29 June 2022, the Knesset officially dissolved itself amidst disagreements within the governing coalition.[41][42] Afterwards, Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett decided to step down from politics and handed party leadership to Ayelet Shaked.[43]

On 27 July 2022, Yamina announced its partnership with Derekh Eretz to form the Zionist Spirit alliance to contest in the 2022 election.[44] However, this alliance did not last and Yamina left on 11 September,[45] instead favoring an alliance with The Jewish Home.[46] Soon afterwards, Yamina and The Jewish Home agreed on a joint run,[47] but disagreements remained on specific details.[48] On 13 September, the two parties officially announced an electoral alliance.[49][50]

Also during this time, party members Matan Kahana and Shirly Pinto both left Yamina for National Unity.[51][52]

During the 2022 election, Yamina failed to cross the electoral threshold.[53] Afterwards, party leader Ayelet Shaked decided to retire from politics, and the party effectively dissolved.[54]

Platform

Ayelet Shaked listed 11 principles that the Yamina list is determined to uphold:[55]

  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

Name Ideology Position Leader
New Right National conservatism, economic liberalism Right-wing to far-right Ayelet Shaked
National Union (until 2021) Religious Zionism, ultranationalism Right-wing to far-right Bezalel Smotrich
The Jewish Home (until 2020) Religious Zionism, religious conservatism Right-wing to far-right Hagit Moshe

Knesset members

Knesset term Seats Members
22nd (2019–2020) 7 New Right: Ayelet Shaked, Naftali Bennett, Matan Kahana
Jewish Home–National Union: Rafi Peretz, Bezalel Smotrich, Moti Yogev, Ofir Sofer
23rd (2020–2021) 6 New Right: Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, Matan Kahana
National Union: Bezalel Smotrich, Ofir Sofer
Jewish Home: Rafi Peretz
24th (2021–2022) 7 Naftali Bennett, Yomtob Kalfon[56], Nir Orbach, Orna Starkmann[56], Idit Silman[38][a], Amichai Chikli[39][a], Abir Kara[40][b]

Leaders

Leader Took office Left office
Ayelet Shaked 2019 2019
Naftali Bennett 2020 2022
Ayelet Shaked 2022 2022

Election results

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

Notes

  1. 1 2 Defected to Likud during term
  2. ↑ Left Yamina during term to form his own Economic Freedom party

References

  1. ↑ "Naftali Bennett to not run in next elections, Shaked to head Yamina". The Jerusalem Post. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  2. ↑ "Bennett, Shaked quit Jewish Home, announce formation of 'The New Right'". The Times of Israel. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Israel's Netanyahu not admitting defeat as a new government coalition takes shape". Globe and Mail. 3 June 2021. Potential defections mean the "change" coalition, led by Naftali Bennett's far-right Yamina party and Yair Lapid's centrist Yesh Atid party
  4. ↑ "Naftali Bennett: The right-wing millionaire who may end Netanyahu era". Reuters. 2 June 2021. Bennett, who leads the far-right Yamina party, said a fifth vote would be a national calamity
  5. ↑ [3][4]
  6. ↑ "ימינה בראשות נפתלי בנט". Central Election Committee for the Knesset (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "United Right to run under name 'Yemina'". Arutz Sheva. 12 August 2019.
  8. ↑ Jeremy Sharon (30 July 2019). "Right-wing parties form alliance to be led by Shaked". The Jerusalem Post.
  9. ↑ Jacob Magid. "Likud again pushing to get extremists into Knesset on far-right slate". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 31 July 2020. far-right Jewish Home and National Union factions
  10. 1 2 Staff writer (15 January 2020). "Bennett, Peretz, Smotrich agree to joint run without Ben Gvir". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  11. ↑ Hezki Baruch (14 July 2020). "Jewish Home formally splits off from Yamina". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "95% of votes counted: 33 seats for Blue & White, 32 for Likud". The Jerusalem Post. 18 September 2019.
  13. ↑ "Yamina to officially split on Sunday". The Jerusalem Post. 4 October 2019.
  14. ↑ Jacob Magid (7 October 2019). "Ahead of Yamina split, Smotrich calls for religious slates to stick together". The Times of Israel.
  15. ↑ Raoul Wootliff (10 October 2019). "Yamina party officially splits into New Right, Jewish Home-National Union". The Times of Israel.
  16. ↑ Jacob Magid (21 July 2019). "Taking reins from Bennett, Shaked urges right-wing slates to unite beneath her". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  17. ↑ Raoul Wootliff (1 August 2019). "Extremist Otzma Yehudit still seeking merger with United Right as deadline nears". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "Leaked recordings reveal Sara Netanyahu's efforts to sabotage URWP-Shaked merger". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  19. ↑ "New Right, United Right reach final agreement on joint run". Arutz Sheva. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  20. ↑ "שקד בהשקת קמפיין "ימינה": מכוונת הכי גבוה שאוכל להנהגת המדינה" [Shaked at the launch of the "Yamina" campaign: Aiming as high as I can for the leadership of the country] (in Hebrew). Walla. 12 August 2019.
  21. ↑ "בימינה הודיעו על פיצול. שקד נאמה: "להמשיך יחד"" [Yamina announced a split. Shaked spoke: "Continue together"] (in Hebrew). Ynet. 17 September 2019.
  22. ↑ Schneider, Tal (10 October 2019). "בנט ושקד נפרדו מפרץ וסמוטריץ': סיעת ימינה פוצלה" [Bennett and Shaked part ways, Mefratz and Smotrich: Yamina faction split] (in Hebrew). Globes.
  23. ↑ "Bennett, Peretz, Smotrich agree to joint run without Ben Gvir". Arutz Sheva. 15 January 2020.
  24. ↑ "Final results show Likud with 36 seats, Netanyahu bloc short of majority with 58". Times of Israel. 5 March 2020.
  25. ↑ Raoul Wootliff (22 April 2020). "Netanyahu speaks with Bennett as Yamina considers joining unity government". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  26. ↑ Haviv Rettig Gur. "How vulnerable is Netanyahu? A right-wing backbencher gives PM cause for worry". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  27. ↑ "After year of deadlock and days of delays, Knesset swears in new Israeli government". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  28. ↑ Ido Ben Porat (15 May 2020). "Rabbi Rafi Peretz signs coalition agreement with the Likud". Arutz Sheva.
  29. ↑ "Minister Rafi Peretz Leaves Yamina to Join New Government". Hamodia. 14 May 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  30. ↑ Jacob Magid. "Yamina chair says party heading to opposition with 'head held high'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  31. ↑ Gil Hoffman (7 January 2021). "'Post' poll shows mergers capable of bringing down Netanyahu". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  32. ↑ Gil Hoffman (20 January 2021). "Bennett's Yamina party formally splits". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  33. ↑ "Lapid, Bennett make major headway in coalition talks: reports". I24 News. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  34. ↑ Yehuda Shlezinger (10 May 2021). "Report: Lapid, Bennett make major headway in coalition talks". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  35. ↑ "With his party's support, Bennett says he's heading into government with Lapid". The Times of Israel. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  36. ↑ "Poll: Most Yamina Voters Displeased With Bennett". Hamodia. 31 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  37. ↑ "Lapid finalizes coalition deals with all parties in incoming 'change government'". The Times of Israel. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  38. 1 2 Carrie Keller-Lynn (16 September 2022). "Arab-led Joint List splits into 2 factions, shuffling political deck at last minute". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  39. 1 2 "Netanyahu selects Idit Silman, Amichai Chikli for Likud list". The Jerusalem Post. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  40. 1 2 Carrie Keller-Lynn (15 September 2022). "Former Yamina MK registers candidates for new Economic Freedom party". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  41. ↑ Hezki Baruch (28 June 2022). "Bill dissolving the Knesset passes first reading". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  42. ↑ Azulai, Moran (30 June 2022). "הכנסת פוזרה סופית: בחירות ב-1 בנובמבר, לפיד יהפוך בחצות לרה"מ ה-14" [The Knesset has officially dissolved: Elections on 1 November, Lapid will become 14th prime minister at midnight]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  43. ↑ Jeremy Sharon (29 June 2022). "Bennett announces he won't run in next elections, hands Yamina leadership to Shaked". The Times of Israel.
  44. ↑ Carrie Keller-Lynn (27 July 2022). "Beleaguered right-wing leaders Shaked and Hendel unite as Zionist Spirit party". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  45. ↑ "Zionist Spirit's Shaked and Hendel end their short-lived political partnership". The Times of Israel. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  46. ↑ "Jewish Home issues ultimatum to Shaked: Split from Hendel and Hauser". Israel National News. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  47. ↑ "Jewish Home approves joint run with Yamina". Israel National News. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  48. ↑ "Shaked and Jewish Home chairman to hold press conference on Monday morning". Israel National News. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  49. ↑ Hezki Baruch (13 September 2022). "Shaked signs deal for joint run with Jewish Home". Israel National News.
  50. ↑ Hezki Baruch (14 September 2022). "48 days to the elections: Jewish Home Central Committee approves agreement with Shaked". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  51. ↑ Ash Obel (14 August 2022). "Shaked swipes at Kahana as he leaves Yamina for 'statesmanlike left-wing camp'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  52. ↑ "Israel Elections: Shirely Pinto leaves Zionist Spirit for Gantz's National Unity". The Jerusalem Post. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  53. ↑ Jeremy Sharon (3 November 2022). "Netanyahu won 8-seat majority over his opponents despite near-parity in raw votes". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  54. ↑ Wakid, Yaser (22 January 2023). "Former Minister of Interior Ayelet Shaked has joined Kardan Real Estate and will serve as chairperson". Globes. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  55. ↑ Ayelet Shaked (8 August 2019). "אנחנו בימין המאוחד מחויבים, בראש ובראשונה, לציבור בישראל ולערכי הימין". Facebook (in Hebrew). Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  56. 1 2 "Three new Knesset members declare allegiance to the Knesset plenum". Israel National News. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
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