Likud submits 35-person Knesset slate featuring 9 Netanyahu appointees, just 4 women

By Ariela Karmel

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8 September 2026, 9:25 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

The top 30 candidates on the Likud party's slate. Top row (left to right): Benjamin Netanyahu, Eli Cohen, Amir Ohana, Yariv Levin, Miri Regev, Israel Katz, Gideon Sa'ar, Ofir Katz. Second row: Talik Gvili, Yoav Kisch, Jacob Bardugo, Miki Zohar, Almog Cohen, Amichai Chikli, Elisha Madan, David Peter. Third row: Moshe Saada, Haim Katz, David Amsalem, Etty Atia, Boaz Bismuth, David Bitan, Shlomo Karhi, Nir Barkat. Fourth row: Gila Gamliel, Eli Goldschmidt, Erez Tadmor, Shlomo Lerner, Itzik Bonzel, Moshe Benjamin Peretz. (Omer Meran/GPO, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, Sharon Leibel/Flash90, Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90, Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces, Chaim Goldberg/Flash90, Dani Shem-Tov/ Office of the Knesset Spokesperson, Yossi Aloni/FLASH90, Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90, Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90, YouTube screenshot, Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90, Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson, CC BY Aviranf/Wikimedia, Tal Gal/Flash90, Tamir Dortal / Wikipedia, Screenshot/Srugim, Screenshot)

Likud has officially submitted its 35-person candidate list for the October 27 election to the Central Elections Committee, mere hours before tonight’s deadline, although the party has made no formal announcement about the filing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the slate, followed by Energy Minister Eli Cohen, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Transportation Minister Miri Regev.

While most of the list was elected in last month’s party primary, nine places are occupied by candidates installed by Netanyahu, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and minister Haim Katz, as well as six who were unveiled by the premier earlier today: Talik Gvili, Jacob Bardugo, Elisha Madan, David Peter, Eli Goldschmidt and Itzik Bonzel.

The list is notable for including just four women: Regev, Gvili, incumbent MK Etty Atia, and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel. By contrast, the opposition B’Yachad, Yashar, Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu parties have all presented gender-balanced slates.

Currently the largest party in the Knesset with 32 seats, Likud has been polling at around 23 seats for months, neck and neck with, and increasingly trailing, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar.

The first 30 candidates are:

1. Benjamin Netanyahu

2. Eli Cohen

3. Amir Ohana

4. Yariv Levin

5. Miri Regev

6. Israel Katz

7. Gideon Sa’ar

8. Ofir Katz

9.Talik Gvili

10. Yoav Kisch

11. Jacob Bardugo