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Yair Lapid

Former Israeli Prime Minister and Together (B'Yachad) party chairman Naftali Bennett, together with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and party members in Tel Aviv, present the party’s candidate list ahead of the upcoming general elections, September 6, 2026. (Flash90)
Ariela Karmel
Reporter's notebook
Ariela Karmel
Hoping to put wind back in sails, B’Yachad tacks toward liberal-Zionist center
Unveiling slate at high-energy rally, Bennett’s party bets roster of experienced ‘doers’ and promises of universal service, Oct. 7 inquiry can win back support without relying on the right
Yesh Atid party chair MK Yair Lapid at a faction meeting in the Knesset, June 29, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 7, 2026, 4:47 pm
With his own hands, Yair Lapid dismantled his life’s work
Facing dismal polls and amid a desperate merger with Naftali Bennett, the centrist leader abruptly ended the careers of almost 20 sitting Yesh Atid lawmakers
By Shalom Yerushalmi
L: Former prime minister Naftali Bennett at a B'Yachad party event in Tel Aviv, September 6, 2026. R: Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman at a party event in Tel Aviv, September 6, 2026. (Flash90, Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
September 6, 2026, 11:59 pm
Anti-Netanyahu leaders Bennett and Liberman unveil their parties’ Knesset election slates
B’Yachad head Bennett vows to ‘fix Israel’ with list of former MKs, ministers and senior civil servants; Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu slate boasts ex-Likud members as he vies for leadership, swipes at Eisenkot
By Ariela Karmel, Stav Levaton and ToI Staff
Yesh Atid’s 2026 slate (top row, left to right): 1. Yair Lapid, 2. Merav Ben Ari, 3. Noam Tibon, 4. Meirav Cohen, 5. Ram Ben Barak; (middle row) 6. Naor Shiri, 7. Vladimir Beliak, 8. Yorai Lahav-Hertzanu, 9. Yasmin Sacks-Fridman, 10. Neta Attias; (bottom row) 11. Moshe Turpaz, 12. Simon Davidson, 13. Shelly Tal Meron, 14. Roni Fantanesh Malkai, 15. Mati Sarfatti Harcavi. (Yahav Trudler)
September 5, 2026, 10:28 pm
Lapid unveils Yesh Atid lineup for B’Yachad electoral slate
Merav Ben-Ari, Noam Tibon, Meirav Cohen and Ram Ben Barak lead party’s list; Yesh Atid gets 4 of joint ticket’s top 10 spots
By Tal Schneider and ToI Staff
Clockwise from top left: Yesh Atid MKs Meir Cohen, Mickey Levy, Debbie Biton and Tatiana Mazarsky, who resigned from the party ahead of the 2026 election. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 2, 2026, 10:33 pm
Wave of Yesh Atid MKs quit election run as joint slate with Bennett falters in polls
5 MKs, including 3 founding members, vow to remain in the party but won’t run in election; top party officials said to say Bennett should ditch run for PM, merge under Eisenkot
By ToI Staff and Ariela Karmel
Finance Minister and head of the Religious Zionist party Bezalel Smotrich attends the Religious Zionism party primary ahead of the upcoming general election, in Jerusalem, July 26, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 31, 2026, 1:10 pm
Smotrich lambastes IDF for jailing soldiers who wouldn’t serve with female medic
Opposition leaders fume at far-right finance minister, accuse him of harming the IDF with claim the army is ‘antagonizing the public that serves and contributes the most’
By ToI Staff
Ofer Winter at the launch of his new People of Israel party in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
August 26, 2026, 4:43 pm
Ofer Winter’s disciplined political launch threatens to upend the right-wing bloc
The former IDF general’s new People of Israel party unveiled a surprisingly diverse slate on Tuesday, openly challenging Netanyahu and refusing to back down under fire
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett addresses a 'security concept conference' held by his B’Yachad party, August 19, 2026. (Elad Gutman)
August 19, 2026, 7:53 pm
Bennett: Israel should strike Iran to retaliate for Hezbollah attacks
B’Yachad chief accuses PM of tearing ‘Israeli society to shreds’ at party conference. Lapid calls to repair Israel’s ‘bipartisan status’ in US, strengthen ties with Diaspora Jews
By Sam Sokol
MK Elazar Stern speaks during a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, December 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 14, 2026, 2:46 pm
MK Elazar Stern announces Yesh Atid exit ahead of likely run with Eisenkot
Lawmaker says will he continue to collaborate with Lapid’s party ‘if I remain in politics’; he is the second Knesset member in recent days to quit Yesh Atid
By ToI Staff
Left to right: Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein at a court hearing in the Tel Aviv District Court on July 14, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former aide Yisrael Einhorn. (KAN screenshot).
August 9, 2026, 2:12 pm
Netanyahu’s aides accused of leaking classified intel to Qatar for anti-Egypt push
Opposition cries ‘treason’ over Israel Hayom report that alleges Urich, Einhorn, Feldstein told Doha of possible Egyptian treaty violations, which Qataris fed back to Israeli media
By Lazar Berman and Sam Sokol
Ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrate against a cafe operating on Shabbat and clash with Israeli police, while secular protesters hold a counter-demonstration in support of the cafe in central Jerusalem, August 1, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 5, 2026, 5:53 am
Israelis are alarmed over the threat of political violence. Can it be averted?
Amid an ugly campaign season, scholars and officials are warning of a toxic political discourse across the spectrum — and fear things could get worse before they get better
By Ben Sales
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (2nd from left) poses with Democratic Party Senators (from left) Richard Blumenthal, Jacky Rosen, Maggie Hassan, and Tim Kaine, during a meeting in Washington, in a photo released July 28, 2026. (Office of Yair Lapid)
July 29, 2026, 8:07 pm
In DC, Lapid tells Democrats who voted to block arms sales not to ‘give up’ on Israel
Meeting several Democratic senators ahead of the Israeli election, opposition leader says boycotts are ‘not the way’
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, right, in conversation with former US ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2026. (Ron Kampeas via JTA)
July 29, 2026, 5:54 am
Visiting DC, Netanyahu and Lapid vie for critical title of Israel’s most adept US whisperer
Opposition leader seeks to dent PM’s longstanding reputation as an effective advocate for Israel in DC, while the premier looks to shore it up by stressing his close ties to Trump
By Ron Kampeas
Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot speaks at the launch of his party's election campaign in Hod Hasharon, June 30, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 6, 2026, 12:58 pm
Gruff and unpolished, Gadi Eisenkot is becoming the face of the anti-Netanyahu movement
The plainspoken ex-IDF head embodies a shift from the PM’s slick style, which has come to define Israeli politics. But after surging in the polls, he now faces a brutal campaign as Netanyahu’s chief foe
By Ben Sales
Left to right: Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 9, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a memorial ceremony for Zionist leader Theodor Herzl at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on July 5, 2026. (Alex Kolomoisky/POOL)
July 5, 2026, 9:22 pm
AG: Government pledge to disobey High Court undermines core principles of rule of law
Herzog: Disobeying court ruling crosses a red line; opposition leaders warn against weakening of democratic norms, envision ‘anarchy in the streets’; Israel Bar Association chair: ‘Israel will not survive’ if move goes unchallenged
By ToI Staff
MK Yuli Edelstein attends a House Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on August 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
July 4, 2026, 10:50 pm
Edelstein: I left Likud because I couldn’t defend its agenda; seeks ‘broad’ coalition
Senior lawmaker tells Channel 12 ‘We need to make a change in this country,’ can’t ‘continue to allow freeloading’; Lapid: Bennett better suited to be PM than me at present
By ToI Staff and Jeremy Sharon
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