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Blue and White (political party)
Israeli political party From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Blue and White Israel Resilience Party (Hebrew: כחול לבן חוסן לישראל, romanized: Kahol Lavan Hosen LeYisrael, lit. 'Blue and White Resilience for Israel')[5] is a centrist, liberal Zionist political party in Israel founded in December 2018 by Benny Gantz, former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
 | This article needs to be updated. (August 2025) |
The party first ran in the April 2019 Knesset elections,[6] as part of the Blue and White alliance. In the 2022 Knesset elections the party ran as part of the National Unity alliance. In July 2025, following the resignations of Gadi Eisenkot and Matan Kahana, party leader Benny Gantz announced that the party would revert to its original name, Blue and White. The Knesset House Committee approved the change of the Knesset faction to Blue and White-National Unity on 7 July 2025.
In general, the Israel Resilience Party is mainly regarded as a centrist party; however, it has also been evaluated as "centre-right"[7] or "centre-left".[8]
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History
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On 16 February 2015, Benny Gantz completed his term as Chief of the General Staff and entered a three-year legal cooling-off period in which he could not run for the Knesset, which ended on 2 July 2018.[9] Subsequently, in September 2018, it was reported that Gantz planned to enter politics.[10] On 27 December, the day after the dissolution of the 20th Knesset, Gantz submitted 109 signatures to register a new political party under the name Hosen L'Yisrael ("Resilience for Israel"), officially known in English as the Israel Resilience Party.[11][12]
The Israel Resilience Party initially formed an alliance with Telem, led by former Chief of the General Staff Moshe Ya'alon, in late January 2019, ahead of the April 2019 legislative election.[13] On 21 February 2019, the alliance was joined by Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid in a list called Blue and White.[14] Under the agreement, should the alliance win the election, Gantz and Lapid would rotate the premiership, with Gantz first serving 2.5 years, followed by Lapid completing the term.[15]
During the April election, Blue and White won 35 seats, tied with Likud, which narrowly topped the popular vote. However, after Likud's leader Benjamin Netanyahu's inability to form a new government, new elections were called for September of the same year.[16] Blue and White won the election with 33 seats, one more than Likud, but Israeli President Reuven Rivlin first gave Netanyahu the chance to form the new government. Netanyahu was unable to form a government and President Rivlin gave the mandate to lead the process to Gantz,[17] who was also unable to secure a coalition. Therefore, new elections were called for March 2020,[18] in which Likud won three more seats than Blue and White.[19]
Gantz was elected the Speaker of the Knesset in March 2020 as part of an anticipated unity government with Likud, which led to Blue and White splitting, with Gantz's party retaining the name, as well as Yesh Atid and Telem leaving the party.[20]
After weeks of party negotiations, already in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gantz and Netanyahu agreed to form an "emergency coalition" in which Netanyahu would remain as prime minister for 18 months, and Gantz would later assume the position for at least 18 months.[21]
Although the new government was sworn in in May, the Knesset was again dissolved at the end of the year, resulting in the need for new elections for 2021.[22] Blue and White won eight seats in the Knesset, losing half of the seats that it held.[23]
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With the call for new elections for 2022, Gantz led a new political alliance called National Unity with the more right-wing New Hope party, as well as independents Gadi Eisenkot and Matan Kahana,[24] winning 12 seats in the Knesset.[25] The group was part of the opposition until the outbreak of Gaza war, in which National Unity joined the Israeli war cabinet and the thirty-seventh government of Israel.[26]
On 28 August 2023 the party changed its name from "Israel Resilience" to "Blue and White Israel Resilience".[5]
The party changed the name of its Knesset faction to Blue and White-National Unity on 7 July 2025.[27]
In July 2025, the party announced it would hold its first internal leadership primary ahead of the next Knesset election. This move marks a shift toward internal democratization, and comes amid the departure of Eisenkot and Kahana from the party.[28]
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Ideology and policies
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According to the official registration document handed to the Registrar of Parties on 27 December 2018,[29] the Israel Resilience Party's goals are:
Continuing to establish and strengthen the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in light of the Zionist vision, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, while determining and changing the national priorities on the following subjects: education, national infrastructure development, agriculture, law and internal security, welfare policy, and peace and security.
In his first campaign speech on 29 January 2019, party leader Gantz described Israel as "a leading high-tech country with a low-tech government that is self-employed". He vowed to provide incentives for entrepreneurs and medical students, "impose harsh sanctions on those who speculatively raise land and housing prices", as well as build and expand more hospitals. Furthermore, he said he will create new jobs in the agriculture sector.
Gantz also focused on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, and combating violence against women. He promised to "deepen my partnerships with the ultra-Orthodox, the Arabs, and the Druze" in establishing a civil service for all, in addition to army service.
Regarding national security, Gantz vowed to "strengthen the settlement blocs and the Golan Heights, from which we will never retreat", also pledging that a "United Jerusalem" will forever remain Israel's capital. He said that the Jordan Valley should remain as the country's eastern security border, without allowing the Palestinians living beyond the separation barrier to "endanger our security and our identity as a Jewish state". He said he will strive for peace, mentioning the treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and commending prime ministers Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, and even his current rival Benjamin Netanyahu as "patriots". Gantz personally addressed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that he "will not tolerate a threat to Israeli sovereignty", and warned Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, "I suggest you not test me again."[30][31]
According to Gantz, he leans right when it comes to security issues, left when it comes to socio-economic issues, and liberal in his economic goals.[32]
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Criticism
Three victims of alleged sexual abuse criticised the Israel Resilience Party for hiring Ronen Tzur as a strategic advisor. Tzur was the media strategist behind a campaign to block the extradition of Malka Leifer, who faced 74 charges of sex abuse in Melbourne, Australia.[33]
Leaders
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Election results
Current MKs
Notes
- With Blue and White as its only member
References
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