Former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid released their candidates list for their B’Yachad (“Together”) Party on Sunday ahead of the Oct. 27 Knesset election.
The list includes a mix of experienced politicians, civil servants, soldiers, business executives and activists.
“With them, we’ll recruit the ultra-Orthodox, reduce crime, restore security to Israel’s streets, lower the cost of living, build excellent public transportation, rehabilitate the ruined education system, elevate Israel’s standing in the world,” Bennett posted to X.
According to polls, B’Yachad would win up to 15 seats in the Knesset. It would take a backseat to former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar Party, which has emerged as the leader among the opposition parties, estimated to win 20-plus seats.
Eitan Ginzburg, who is eighth on B’Yachad’s list, said he was “so happy” with the slate, describing it as a strong lineup of people with proven records in public service.
“We have a party list made up of people with proven performance, managers and people of action. We checked it out, and they have hundreds of years together in public service,” he told JNS.
“We are coming ready to establish a state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7, bring the Haredim into the Israeli camp, fix the education system, break up the monopolies and address the cost of living,” he continued. “We also need a leader who is ready to build bridges between the left and the right, between religious and secular.”
Ginzburg told JNS that the party wants to limit the number of terms a prime minister can serve. It also plans to require all citizens to complete IDF or civil/national service, with those who do not serve being ineligible for certain state benefits, including housing assistance, arnona discounts and tax benefits.
“If you want to receive those privileges, there are also obligations,” he said.
Bennett, who registered his new party’s name as Bennett 2026 before merging with Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party to form B’Yachad, hopes to repeat his success of 2021 when, together with Lapid, his “Change” government defeated Benjamin Netanyahu, ending his 12-year-plus consecutive run as prime minister. Netanyahu returned to power in the November 2022 election.
According to the agreement between the two parties, Yesh Atid receives 40% of the spots on the list. The deal led to a wave of resignations by Yesh Atid Knesset members, who realized they would not have a realistic chance to enter the Knesset as a result. They included Karine Elharrar, Meir Cohen, Mickey Levy, Michal Shir and Yoav Segalovitz. Segalovitz has since announced he’s joining the United Arab List, better known by its Hebrew acronym Ra’am.
B’Yachad’s top 10 candidates are:
1. Naftali Bennett
2. Yair Lapid
3. Keren Turner
4. Merav Ben-Ari
5. Liran Avisar Ben-Horin
6. Noam Tibon
7. Michal Hirsch Negrin
8. Eitan Ginzburg
9. Merav Cohen
10. Yonatan Shalev
