List of political parties in Israel

Israel's political system is based on proportional representation and allows for a multi-party system with numerous parties represented in the 120-seat Knesset.

A typical Knesset includes many factions represented. This is because of the low election threshold required for a seat – 1 percent of the vote from 1949 to 1992, 1.5 percent from 1992 to 2003, 2 percent from 2003 to 2014, and 3.25 percent since 2015. In the 2015 elections, for instance, ten parties or alliances cleared the threshold, and five of them won at least ten seats. The low threshold, in combination with the nationwide party-list system, makes it all but impossible for a single party to win the 61 seats needed for a majority government. No party has ever won a majority of seats in an election, the most being 56, won by the Alignment grouping in the 1969 elections (the Alignment had briefly held a majority of seats before the elections, following its formation in January 1969).

As a result, while only four parties (or their antecedents) have ever led governments, all Israeli governments, as of 2024^[update], have been coalitions comprising two or more parties.

Current parties

Parties represented in the Knesset

The following parties are represented following the 2022 election:

Party or alliance				Ideology	Political position	Symbol	Leader		Knesset	Status
	Likud[a]			Zionism Conservatism National conservatism Right-wing populism	Right-wing	מחל‎ م‌ح‌ل‎	Benjamin Netanyahu		32 / 120	Government
	Yesh Atid			Liberal Zionism Anti-clericalism Secularism Two-state solution	Centre[1]	פה‎ ف‌ه‎	Yair Lapid		24 / 120	Opposition
	Shas[a]			Religious Zionism[2] Sephardic and Mizrahi interests Haredi interests Religious conservatism Social conservatism	Social: Right-wing Fiscal: Centre-left	שס‎ ش‌س‎	Aryeh Deri		11 / 120	Government
	National Unity		Blue & White Israel Resilience	Zionism	Centre to centre-right	כן‎ ك‌ن‎	Benny Gantz		8 / 120	Opposition
	Mafdal – Religious Zionism[a]			Religious Zionism Ultra-conservatism Ultra-nationalism	Far-right[3]	ט‎ ط‎	Bezalel Smotrich		7 / 120	Government
	United Torah Judaism[a]		Agudat Yisrael	Haredi-Ashkenazi interests Religious conservatism Social conservatism	Right-wing	ג‎ ج‎	Moshe Gafni		7 / 120	Government
			Degel HaTorah
	Otzma Yehudit[a]			Kahanism Ultranationalism	Far-right		Itamar Ben-Gvir		6 / 120	Government
	Yisrael Beiteinu			Revisionist Zionism Nationalism Conservatism Russian Jewish interests	Right-wing to far-right	ל‎ ل‎	Avigdor Lieberman		6 / 120	Opposition
	United Arab List			Islamism Conservatism		עם‎ ع‌م‎‎	Mansour Abbas		5 / 120	Opposition
	Hadash– Ta'al		Hadash (Maki)	Israeli Arab interests Secularism Progressivism	Left-wing	ום‎ و‌م‎‎	Ayman Odeh		5 / 120	Opposition
			Ta'al
	The Democrats[b]			Social democracy Zionism Two-state solution	Centre-left[4] to left-wing[5]		Yair Golan		4 / 120	Opposition
	New Hope			Zionism Economic liberalism	Right-wing	ת‎ ت‎	Gideon Sa'ar		4 / 120	Government
	Noam[a]			Religious Zionism Religious conservatism Social conservatism Fundamentalism	Far-right	כ‎	Avi Maoz		1 / 120	Government

1. Part of the national camp.
2. Elected as Israeli Labor Party MKs. In July 2024, Labor merged with Meretz to form The Democrats.

New/expected party

• Bennett 2026

Other parties

The following parties do not have Knesset seats at present:

• Ahrayut
• Ale Yarok
• Am Shalem
• Ani Veata (Me and You) — The Israeli People's Party
• Arab Democratic Party
• Balad (held seats from 1996 to 2022)
• Bible Bloc
• Brit Olam
• Da'am Workers Party, Organization for Democratic Action
• Derekh Eretz
• Dor
• Eretz Hadasha
• Green Party
• HaYisraelim
• Ihud Bnei HaBrit (United Allies)
• Israel Hofsheet (Israel Free)^[6]
• Kadima (held seats from 2005 to 2015)
• Koah HaKesef
• Koah LeHashpi'a
• Lazuz
• Leader
• Lehem
• Lev LaOlim
• Man's Rights in the Family Party
• Magen Yisrael (Shield of Israel)
• Mahane Yehuda — Royalist Party of Israel
• Meimad (held seats between 1999 and 2009 as part of the One Israel alliance)
• New Horizon
• New Right
• Or
• Piratim — The Pirate Party of Israel
• Rappeh — a political party protesting COVID restrictions.^[7]
• Shavim (Community) — Founded in 2018 as an LGBT party
• Telem^[8]
• The Greens
• Tzeirim Boarim (Youths on Fire) — A big tent party founded in 2022 by Hadar Muchtar with the purpose of combating the rising cost of living.^[9]
• Tzomet (held seats between 1987 and 1999; for the 1996 elections, it formed a joint "National Camp List" with Likud and Gesher)
• U'Bizchutan — founded in 2015 as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish women's party ^[10]
• Yachad
• Yisrael Hazaka
• Yisrael HaMithadeshet
• Zehut

Former parties

Parties formerly represented in the Knesset

Party	First Knesset	Last Knesset	Notes	Ideology
Agriculture and Development	2nd	4th	Arab satellite list	Israeli Arab interest
Ahi	16th	17th	Breakaway from the National Religious Party, joined the National Union alliance (2006–2008), merged into Likud	Religious Zionism
Ahdut HaAvoda	2nd	5th	Merged into the Labor Party	Labor Zionism
Ahva	9th	9th	Breakaway from the Democratic Movement
Alignment	6th	12th	Became the Labor Party	Labor Zionism
Aliya	14th	14th	Breakaway from Yisrael BaAliyah
Arab Democratic Party	11th	13th	Breakaway from the Alignment, merged into the United Arab List	Israeli Arab interests
Arab List for Bedouin and Villagers	8th	8th	Arab satellite list; merged into the United Arab List (1977)	Israeli Arab interests
Atid	13th	13th	Breakaway from Yiud	Liberalism
Black Panthers	12th	12th	Breakaway from Hadash
Centre Party	14th	15th	Breakaway from Likud, Tzomet and Labor Party
Cooperation and Brotherhood	4th	7th	Arab satellite list	Israeli Arab interest
Cooperation and Development	6th	6th	Arab satellite list; merger of Cooperation and Brotherhood and Progress and Development, demerged soon after	Israeli Arab interest
Dash	9th	9th	Disbanded into the Democratic Movement, Shinui, and Ya'ad
Democratic Choice	15th	15th	Breakaway from Yisrael BaAliyah, merged into Meretz-Yachad
Democratic List for Israeli Arabs	2nd	3rd	Arab satellite list	Israeli Arab interest
Democratic Movement	9th	9th	Emerged from the break-up of Dash
Development and Peace	9th	9th
Druze Faction	6th	6th	Breakaway from Cooperation and Brotherhood, merged into Progress and Development
Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda	2nd	2nd	Breakaway from Mapam, merged into Mapai
Fighters' List	1st	1st
Free Centre	6th	8th	Breakaway from Herut in 6th Knesset, breakaway from Likud in 8th Knesset
Gahal	5th	7th	Became Likud
General Zionists	1st	4th	Merged into the Liberal Party
Gesher	13th	15th	Breakaway from Likud, merged back into Likud
Gesher – Zionist Religious Centre	10th	10th	Breakaway from National Religious Party, merged back into NRP
Geulat Yisrael	10th	10th	Breakaway from Agudat Yisrael
HaOlim	16th	16th	Breakaway from Shinui, merged into Yisrael Beiteinu
Hapoel HaMizrachi	2nd	2nd	Merged into the National Religious Party
Hebrew Communists	1st	1st	Breakaway from Maki, merged into Mapam
Herut	1st	5th	Merged into Gahal
Herut – The National Movement	14th	15th	Breakaway from Likud, joined National Union alliance, ran unsuccessfully in the following two elections and merged back into Likud	Revisionist Zionism
HaTzeirim	14th	14th	Breakaway from the Centre Party, merged into Shinui
Independent Liberals	5th	9th	Breakaway from the Liberal Party, merged into the Alignment
Independent Socialist Faction	8th	8th	Breakaway from Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement
Jewish–Arab Brotherhood	6th	6th	Breakaway from Progress and Development, merged into Cooperation and Brotherhood
The Jewish Home	18th	23rd	Dissolved on 20 August 2023, Merged into National Religious Party–Religious Zionism	Religious Zionism
Justice for the Elderly	17th	17th	Breakaway from Gil, merged back into Gil
Kach	11th	11th	Party banned	Religious Zionism, Kahanism
Labor	7th	25th	Formed by merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda, and Rafi, merged with Meretz in 2024 to form The Democrats	Labor Zionism, social democracy
Left Camp of Israel	9th	9th
Left Faction	2nd	2nd	Breakaway from Mapam
Lev	15th	15th	Breakaway from the Centre Party, merged into Likud
Liberal Party	4th	5th	Merged into Gahal
Maki (original)	1st	7th	Merged into Moked
Mapai	1st	5th	Merged into the Labor Party
Mapam	1st	12th	Merged into Meretz	Socialist Zionism
Mekhora	14th	14th	Breakaway from Tzomet, merged into Moledet
Meretz	13th	24th	Merger of Ratz, Mapam, Shinui. Merged with Israeli Labor Party to form The Democrats.	Labor Zionism, social democracy, leftism
Meri	6th	7th	Originally named HaOlam HaZeh – Koah Hadash (until 1973)
Mizrachi	2nd	2nd	Merged into the National Religious Party
Moked	7th	8th	Merged into the Left Camp of Israel
Morasha	11th	11th
Moria	12th	12th	Breakaway from Shas
Movement for the Renewal of Social Zionism	10th	10th	Breakaway from Telem
National Home	16th	16th	Breakaway from the Secular Faction
National List	7th	9th	Merged into Likud
National Religious Party	3rd	17th	Disbanded when The Jewish Home formed	Religious Zionism
New Liberal Party	12th	12th	Breakaway from Likud
New Way	15th	15th	Breakaway from the Centre Party
Noy	16th	16th	Breakaway from One Nation, merged into Kadima
Ometz	9th	11th	Breakaway from Likud, merged into Telem, broke away again, merged into Likud
One Israel (1980)	9th	9th	Breakaway from Likud
One Israel	15th	15th	Joint list of Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher
One Nation	14th	16th	Merged into the Labor Party
Poalei Agudat Yisrael	2nd	9th
Progress and Development	4th	8th	Arab satellite list; merged into the United Arab List (1977)
Progress and Work	2nd	3rd	Arab satellite list
Progressive List for Peace	11th	12th
Progressive National Alliance	15th	15th	Breakaway from the United Arab List
Progressive Party	1st	4th	Merged into the Liberal Party
Rafi	5th	6th	Breakaway from Mapai, merged into the Labor Party
Ratz	8th	12th	Merged into Meretz
Religious Torah Front	3rd	4th	Broke up into Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael
Secular Faction	16th	16th	Breakaway from Shinui
Sephardim and Oriental Communities	1st	2nd	Merged into the General Zionists
Shinui	9th	16th	Majority of representatives split to form Secular Faction
Shlomtzion	9th	9th	Merged into Likud
Tami	10th	11th	Breakaway from the National Religious Party, merged into the Likud
Tehiya	9th	12th	Breakaway from Likud
Telem	9th	10th	Breakaway from Likud
The Right Way	17th	17th	Breakaway from Justice for the Elderly
The Third Way	13th	14th	Breakaway from the Labor Party
Tkuma	14th	17th	Breakaway from the National Religious Party, joined the National Union alliance in 1999, disbanded in 2008.	Religious Zionism
Tzalash	16th	16th	Breakaway from Shinui
United Arab List (1977)	8th	9th	Merger of the Arab List for Bedouins and Villagers and Progress and Development (not related to contemporary United Arab List)
United Religious Front	1st	1st	Broke up into Agudat Yisrael, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Mizrachi and Hapoel HaMizrachi
Unity for Peace and Immigration	12th	12th	Breakaway from the Alignment, merged into Likud
Unity Party	9th	9th	Breakaway from Dash and the Left Camp of Israel
WIZO	1st	1st	WIZO incorporated the Union of Hebrew Women for Equal Rights in Eretz Israel (he), also known as the Women's Union, which had won seats in the Old Yishuv elections.
Ya'ad	9th	9th	Emerged from the break-up of Dash
Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement	8th	8th	Merger of Ratz and one other MK, split into Ratz and the Independent Socialist Faction
Yachad	11th	11th	Merged into the Alignment
Yemenite Association	1st	2nd	Merged into the General Zionists but broke away later
Yisrael BaAliyah	14th	16th	Merged into Likud
Yiud	13th	13th	Breakaway from Tzomet

Parties that failed to win seats in the Knesset

Main article: List of minor political parties in Israel

Name	Letter	Political position	Notes
Hatzohar	ג‎	Right-wing	Original Revisionist Zionist party, disbanded after failing to cross the electoral threshold in the 1949 elections.
Popular Arab Bloc	ת‎	Left-wing	Arab satellite list that ran in the 1949 elections. Affiliated with Mapam
Tafnit	פ‎	Centre	Ran in the 2006 elections.
Women's Party	נס‎	Centre-left to Left-wing	Ran in the 1977 elections.
Yamin Yisrael	יד‎	Right-wing	Broke away from Moledet, another right-wing party, prior to the 1996 elections, but failed to cross the electoral threshold.
The Arab List - The Center	צח‎	Centre	Arab satellite list that ran in the 1955 elections. Affiliated with General Zionists

Family tree of parties in Israel

Left-wing and Labor Zionist Hapoel Hatzair Poale Zion Hashomer Hatzair Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Left Palestine Communist Party Mapai Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party Maki Ahdut HaAvoda Mapam Rafi Ahdut HaAvoda Left Faction Israeli Labor Party Ratz Moked Meri Sheli Meretz One Nation Shahar Israel Democratic Party The Democrats The main predecessors of The Democrats except Shinui which left Meretz.

Secular right and centre Yemenite Association Sephardim and Oriental Communities General Zionists HaOved HaTzioni New Aliyah Party Hatzohar Progressive Party Herut Yemenite Faction Israeli Liberal Party Independent Liberals Gahal National List Free Centre Movement for Greater Israel Shinui Shlomtzion Likud Movement for the Renewal of Social Zionism Flatto-Sharon Dash Tehiya Ometz Shinui Tzomet New Liberal Party Yisrael BaAliyah Gesher Third Way Yisrael Beiteinu Center Party Kadima Yesh Atid Hatnua Kulanu Zehut Israel Resilience Party Gesher New Hope Also includes the General Zionist ancestors of Likud.

Religious Zionist Mizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi Mafdal Tami Kach Meimad Moledet Tkuma Yamin Yisrael Herut Ahi Hayil The Jewish Home Hatikva Eretz Yisrael Shelanu National Union–Tkuma Otzma Yehudit Yachad New Right Noam Yamina Religious Zionist Party Mafdal–Religious Zionism The main predecessors of National Religious Party–Religious Zionism. It only shows the periods where each party was active as an independent movement and not as shelf parties.

Name changes

The following parties changed their names

• Banai became Tehiya-Bnai, then Tehiya
• Emunim became Tkuma
• Equality in Israel-Panthers became the Unity Party
• Flatto-Sharon became Development and Peace
• Hitkhabrut became the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party, then Ahi
• Israel in the Centre became the Centre Party
• Meretz became Yachad, then Meretz-Yachad, then Meretz again
• Movement for Change and Initiative became Shinui
• Mizrachi-Hapoel HaMizrachi became the National Religious Front, then National Religious Party, then The Jewish Home
• National Responsibility became Kadima
• National Unity - National Progressive Alliance became Progressive National Alliance
• Parliamentary Group of Bronfman and Tsinker became Makhar, then the Democratic Choice
• Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea became the New Liberal Party
• Rafi – National List became Ometz
• Rakah became Maki
• Secular Faction became Hetz
• Social-Democratic Faction became the Independent Socialist Faction
• Shinui - Centre Party became Shinui - the Secular Movement, then Shinui - Party for the Secular and the Middle Class, but is generally known as Shinui

Zionist youth movements

Main article: Zionist youth movement

Name	Meaning	Movement	Association		Notes
Betar	League of Joseph Trumpeldor	Revisionist		Likud	Historically associated with Herut, and now Likud.
Bnei Akiva	Sons of Akiva	Religious		The Jewish Home	Historically associated with Mafdal, and now The Jewish Home.
Habonim Dror	The Builders of Freedom	Labor		Labor Party	Associated with the Labor Zionism and the United Kibbutz Movement, and unofficially with the Israeli Labor Party.
Hashomer Hatzair	The Young Guard	Labor		Meretz	Associated with the left faction of Labor Zionism, historically associated with Mapam and the Kibbutz Artzi movement, and unofficially with Meretz.
HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed	The Working and Learning Youth	Labor		Labor Party	Associated with the Labor Zionist movement, Histadrut, and unofficially with the Israeli Labor Party.
Meretz Youth	Meretz Youth	Labor		Meretz	Youth wing of Meretz (under 18), now associated with The Democrats
Noar HaAvoda	Labor Youth	Labor		Labor Party	Young-wing of the Israeli Labor Party (under 18), now associated with The Democrats.
Noar HaIhud HaLeumi	National Union Youth	Religious		Religious Zionist	Youth wing of the Religious Zionist Party.
Noar HaGvaot	Hilltop Youth	Religious		Otzma Yehudit	Historically associated with Kach, and its various successor parties.
Noar Yesh Atid	Yesh Atid Youth	Liberal		Yesh Atid	Youth wing of Yesh Atid (under 18).
HaMahanot HaOlim	The Immigrants Camps	Labor		None	Associated with the Labor Zionist movement.
HaNoar HaTzioni	The Zionist Youth	Liberal		None	Historically associated with the General Zionists.
Ariel	Lion of God	Religious		Religious Zionist	Split from Bnei Akiva, unofficially associated with Religious Zionist Party.
HaNoar HaDati HaOved VeHaLomed	The Religious Working and Studying Youth	Religious		None	Founded in 1952, historically associated with Hapoel HaMizrachi.
Noar HaLikud [he]	The Likud Youth	Revisionist		Likud	Youth wing of Likud (under 18).
Young Meretz	Young Meretz	Labor		Meretz	Young-wing of Meretz (18-35).

See also

• Politics of Israel
• List of political parties by country
• Liberalism in Israel
• Labor Zionism
• Revisionist Zionism