Israel’s political parties explained: Yisrael Beiteinu – Israel & Jewish News

(Oct. 12, 2026 / JNS)

Yisrael Beiteinu (“Israel is Our Home”) enters Israel’s Oct. 27 election seeking to bring the secular right ideology into a government that replaces Benjamin Netanyahu. Led by Avigdor Liberman, the party combines support for forceful military action with demands for broader service obligations and a reduced role for religious institutions in public life. It won six seats in 2022 and now seeks to leverage its hawkish record to expand its representation and political influence.

The movement

Liberman founded Yisrael Beiteinu in 1999, initially appealing primarily to immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Its political identity brought together two priorities: a proactive approach to security and a secular approach to domestic governance. While promoting an aggressive defense doctrine, the party has also advocated greater individual choice in matters governed by religious authorities. This combination became the basis for an appeal to secular right-wing voters beyond its original Russian-speaking constituency.

Those positions initially accommodated a close partnership with Likud. Yisrael Beiteinu won 15 Knesset seats in 2009, ran on a joint electoral list with Likud in 2013, and held senior positions in Netanyahu’s governments, with Liberman serving as foreign minister and later defense minister. Security disagreements, however, helped unravel that partnership. In November 2018, Liberman resigned over the government’s acceptance of a ceasefire with Hamas following intense fighting in Gaza, describing the decision as a “capitulation to terror.”

His resignation did not immediately rule out renewed cooperation. After the April 2019 election, Liberman negotiated over joining another Netanyahu government but insisted on passing military-conscription legislation without concessions sought by the haredi parties. The impasse prevented Netanyahu from forming his proposed coalition. Liberman subsequently joined the Bennett–Lapid government as finance minister in 2021, overseeing the first central-government budget surplus in 35 years.

Today, Yisrael Beiteinu is positioning its candidate slate to bring in disenchanted right-wing voters who oppose Netanyahu’s coalition. Former Beit She’an Mayor Rafi Ben Shtrit, whose son Staff Sgt. Elroi Ben Shtrit was killed in action on Oct. 7, 2023, occupies second place on the electoral slate. Ben Shtrit is followed by retired colonel and former senior National Security Council official Talia Lankri. Sharon Sharabi, the brother of the late Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered in Hamas captivity, and the brother of hostage survivor Eli Sharabi, holds the sixth spot. Former Likud lawmaker Dan Illouz, who defected to Yisrael Beiteinu in August, is No. 10 on the list.

The platform

Yisrael Beiteinu’s security program calls for preemptive action, preventing enemy rearmament and expanding Israel’s military capacity. Its proposals include an expansion of Israel’s air force, navy and infantry, and ammunition reserves sufficient for 45 days of fighting across multiple fronts. The party presents these measures as preparations for sustained warfare and a means of achieving a decisive military outcome without external interference.

On the Palestinian question, Liberman’s Oct. 4 proposal calls for dismantling the Palestinian Authority, canceling the Oslo Accords and applying Israeli sovereignty to Area C of Judea and Samaria. In Areas A and B, he envisages an Israeli–Jordanian arrangement under which Jordan would administer civilian affairs and public order, while Israel would retain overall security responsibility. For Gaza, he proposes eliminating Hamas’s military and civilian governing structures before transferring administration to an unspecified outside actor.

The party’s military doctrine connects to its demand for universal service. Its proposal would require haredim and Arabs to enter military or civilian tracks, including work in emergency and public services. Proposed penalties for evasion include withdrawing state benefits, barring public-sector employment, and restricting travel and voting rights.

The same emphasis on shared requirements extends to Yisrael Beiteinu’s educational platform. Under the party’s plan, full core studies would become a condition for state funding, with stronger government oversight of haredi school networks. The party also proposes smaller classes, greater authority for principals and improved teacher remuneration.

Its religion-and-state program would introduce civil marriage and divorce, allow Shabbat transportation according to local circumstances, give municipalities authority over business opening and restore competition in kosher certification.

Economically, Yisrael Beiteinu advocates reducing regulatory barriers, expanding import competition and challenging monopolies. Alongside those market reforms, its program includes expanded subsidized housing, childcare support tied to parental employment and higher benefits for older citizens with inadequate pension income.

Its domestic security agenda calls for additional police personnel and specialized courts to address organized crime.

The party also seeks changes to Israel’s constitutional framework. “The constitution will enshrine the principles of democratic governance, human rights and the separation of powers,” Liberman wrote in a published statement. He proposes limiting prime ministers to two terms and reducing the number of ministers.

Yisrael Beiteinu further advocates establishing a state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7, with its members appointed by the president of the Supreme Court.

The partners

Yisrael Beiteinu approaches coalition negotiations with several explicit demands. Liberman has identified universal military or civilian service and a state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7 as initial priorities for the next government. He is also running his campaign with prime ministerial ambitions; however, a senior Cabinet position is a more likely goal in post-election negotiations. Yisrael Beiteinu also seeks the National Security Ministry for druse MK Hamad Amar.

The party’s most likely coalition partners include Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, Naftali Bennett’s Together (“B’Yachad”) and Yair Golan’s The Democrats. Their Sept. 26 agreement committed the four lists to campaign cooperation and preparations for a future government. While partnership with Yashar and Together is more ideologically natural for Yisrael Beiteinu, the collaboration with the far-left The Democrats party is politically challenging.

Ideological disagreements have already led to public disputes, despite promises by the parties not to attack each other in the weeks leading up to the election. This built-in tension makes the prospect of a coalition agreement even within the kernel of the oppositional bloc far from a foregone conclusion.

Beyond that group, Liberman has ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led government or a coalition containing haredi or Arab parties. The latter position differs from his participation in the Bennett–Lapid government alongside the Arab party Ra’am. He has nevertheless left open cooperation with Likud under different leadership, distinguishing his opposition to Netanyahu from a rejection of the party itself.

Another obstacle is Liberman’s refusal to join a minority government. While Eisenkot has considered governing with outside parliamentary support, Liberman insists that the coalition itself command a majority. His position would therefore prevent Yisrael Beiteinu from participating in a government dependent on Arab parties’ votes or abstentions in a Knesset confidence vote.

Current polling shows the party well past the 3.25% electoral threshold but short of the double digits, which makes Liberman’s ambitions to become prime minister less realistic. Yisrael Beiteinu has received an average of eight seats in polling from major firms over the past two weeks. Not a single poll in the past month has shown Liberman and his prospective coalition partners crossing the 61-seat majority requirement.