Yesh Atid co-founder MK Mickey Levy says he won’t run for reelection, will head party’s court

Yesh Atid founding member MK Mickey Levy will not run on the B’Yachad list of candidates in the October 27 election and will instead become the head of Yesh Atid’s internal court, Levy and party chief Yair Lapid say.

However, according to Yesh Atid’s internal regulations, the court head must be a former judge or a lawyer with at least 15 years of experience — criteria Levy doesn’t meet.

The move comes hours after another founding member, MK Meir Cohen, similarly said he wouldn’t run for reelection and would be appointed chairman and president of the Yesh Atid convention — the party’s central internal representative body.

The announcements come as Yesh Atid — currently the largest opposition party — is expected to shrink significantly after next month’s vote. Having polled near the 3.25% electoral threshold, it merged earlier this year with Naftali Bennett’s new party to create the B’Yachad alliance, which itself has since lost significant ground in opinion polls.

“Mickey is staying in Yesh Atid, has accepted my request to be the head of the party court, and will work in the elections until victory, but he has decided to vacate his spot because the slate should be led by the party’s next generation,” Lapid says in a tweet that also mentions Cohen’s stepping aside.

In a letter to Yesh Atid members cited in Hebrew media, Levy hails his long history with Yesh Atid since its 2011 founding, his relationship with Lapid and the latter’s leadership.

“I am ending this chapter with my head held high, wholeheartedly and with great satisfaction for the honor to serve, work and have influence,” he says. “I have no anger or bitterness. I mainly have great gratitude and pride for the path we have gone together.”