Yair Golan said to hold power to rearrange The Democrats party list after primary

By Sam Sokol 23 June 2026, 9:50 pm

Edit

Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

The Democrats chairman Yair Golan speaks during a party conference in Tel Aviv, May 31, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

Ahead of the left-wing Democrats party’s upcoming July 20 primary, Channel 12 reports that a byline in the party’s bylaws authorizes the party leadership, with the approval of chairman Yair Golan, to move elected candidates higher or lower on their electoral list to boost the chances of electoral success, Channel 12 reports.

According to the network, this could be part of an effort to hold back controversial candidates like Naor Narkis. In March, the party distanced itself from the left-wing atheist activist after a series of social media posts in which he criticized married Orthodox women for wearing traditional head coverings.

While the party’s predecessor, Labor, currently holds four Knesset seats, it is expected to more than double its representation in the next election, having consistently polled at 10-11 seats for months, including in surveys conducted by The Times of Israel’s sister site Zman Yisrael.

The party was formed in 2024 through the merger of Labor and Meretz, which both historically held primaries. Only a handful of current Israeli parties, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, use primaries to select their Knesset slates.