by Amelie Botbol, JNS Staff
Bereaved parents, former security chiefs, hostage relatives and social activists are among dozens of first-time lawmakers.
Israel’s 26th Knesset is set to be sworn in on Tuesday, bringing dozens of new lawmakers into parliament following the Oct. 27 general election.
The newcomers include former security chiefs, retired military officers, senior government officials, social activists, bereaved parents and relatives of former hostages.
The new parliament will include 33 women, compared with 29 when the previous Knesset was sworn in four years ago.
The inaugural ceremony is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. with a reception for Israeli President Isaac Herzog, followed by the opening parliamentary session and swearing-in at 4 p.m.
The lawmakers take office amid political uncertainty, with neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 53-seat bloc nor its principal opponents, who hold 48 seats, commanding a parliamentary majority. The remaining 19 seats are held by Arab parties.
Herzog on Sunday tasked Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government following consultations with the newly elected factions.
Parliamentary positions
Eisenkot announced on Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with party leaders Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan, Avigdor Liberman and Yair Lapid on candidates for key parliamentary positions as coalition negotiations continued.
Under the agreement, former minister Matan Kahana would become Knesset speaker, incoming MK Roy Folkman would chair the House Committee, Liberman would head the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and B’Yachad (Together) lawmaker Liran Avisar Ben-Horin would chair the Finance Committee.
Eisenkot said the composition of the committees would be discussed this week and submitted to the Knesset plenum for approval next Wednesday. Special parliamentary committees would also be established, with details to be announced later.
Former security chiefs and senior officials
Eisenkot’s Yashar party, which won 21 seats to become the second-largest faction, is bringing 15 first-time lawmakers into parliament.
Among them are Yoram Cohen, who headed the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) from 2011 to 2016, and retired Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun, a former head of the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit.
Other newcomers include Shaul Meridor, former director of the Finance Ministry’s Budget Department; Tair Ifergan, a former director general of the Labor Ministry; and Debora Shapirian Bachar, who previously served in the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies.
Also joining Yashar are Oshrat Gani Gonen, former head of the South Sharon Regional Council; Tal Ohana Hachmon, former mayor of Yeruham; and Inbar Harush Giti, former director general of the Pnima movement.
Adi Altschuler, founder of Krembo Wings, a youth movement bringing together children with and without disabilities, and Zikaron BaSalon, which encourages Holocaust survivors to share their stories in intimate gatherings, is also entering parliament.
Other newcomers include Alex Rif, founder of the Cultural Brigade, which promotes Russian-speaking Israeli culture, and Yaffa Tegegne, an activist advancing opportunities for Israelis of Ethiopian descent.
Bennett’s new team
Bennett’s B’Yachad party, which won 12 seats, is bringing six first-time lawmakers into the Knesset.
Among them is retired Maj. Gen. Noam Tibon, who traveled to Kibbutz Nahal Oz on Oct. 7, 2023, to rescue his son, journalist Amir Tibon, and his family during the Hamas terrorist assault.
Other newcomers include Keren Turner, a former director general of the finance and transportation ministries, and Liran Avisar Ben-Horin, a former director general of the Communications Ministry and CEO of Masa Israel Journey.
Avisar Ben-Horin, who also headed the Jewish Agency’s aliyah delegation in the United States and served as chief of staff to the director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, told JNS she hoped the incoming lawmakers would bring a different approach to political disagreements.
“Yesterday, we entered the Knesset for the first time, and everything was so professional and precise. I said this is a serious parliament, a parliament of statehood, professionalism and technology. From the first security guard who recognized our faces to the room where everything was organized, from the computer in our hands to the parking card and the explanations of parliamentary tools, everything was professional,” she said.
“My hope is that this Knesset, with 46 new lawmakers, so many women and so many professionals, will bring a new language that will allow us to deal with divisions and disagreements,” she added.
She said that even disagreements within her own political camp should be approached with an understanding of the country’s shared past and future.
Avisar Ben-Horin said she intends to bring professionalism to her parliamentary work and focus on substantive issues, including integrating the ultra-Orthodox community into broader Israeli society.
“Our goal is to bring the Haredim into the Israeli camp: into military and national service, the workforce and state education. These are our missions, and we will focus on them,” she said.
She also pledged to address Israel’s cost of living, saying the party would work toward bringing prices closer to 2008 levels and in line with, or closer to, those of OECD countries.
Another incoming B’Yachad lawmaker is Michal Hirsch Negri, former director general of the Ra’anana Municipality, whose son, Maj. (res.) Roee Negri, was killed fighting Hamas terrorists at Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, 2023.
Speaking to JNS, Negri said her election marks her first entry into national politics after spending most of her career in public service.
“I come to the Knesset with most of my experience coming from public service. I served as CEO of the Ra’anana Municipality, was responsible for education in the city, and over the past few years trained managers across local authorities,” she said.
“I have always been in public service. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility, as well as respect and privilege, to help bring about change and fix what needs to be fixed in the country,” she added.
Negri said she also sees her election as a way to carry forward her son’s legacy.
“I feel that I am carrying a very big torch for my son, who on Oct. 7 sacrificed himself to save the country and its citizens. I feel that I am continuing to do that today, using the tools I have. It is a tremendous privilege and responsibility,” she said.
Negri said her priorities include education and strengthening local government, drawing on her professional experience in both fields.
“Education is one of the central issues I am bringing with me. I have held every kind of position in education, and over the past two years I worked with organizations, managers, teachers and people in the field to develop our faction’s plan,” she said.
She also emphasized the need to grant local authorities greater independence and decision-making powers.
“Local government is the body that meets residents’ needs, and that is also true in education, where we are talking about the community,” she said.
Negri added that military service and ensuring that those who fulfill their obligations receive appropriate recognition and benefits are also among her priorities.
“This is not only about service for everyone, but also about making sure that those who serve and fulfill their obligations receive what they deserve. That is also an important part of what I want to do,” she said.
Other B’Yachad newcomers include Bruria Naim Arman, an educator and former school principal, and Yonatan Shalev, a social entrepreneur and civic activist who, at 24, will become the youngest member of the new Knesset.
Families shaped by Oct. 7
Several incoming lawmakers have deeply personal connections to the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre and the subsequent war.
Among them is Likud’s Talik Gvili, mother of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, a police officer killed fighting Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. His body was abducted to Gaza and returned to Israel in January 2026 after more than two years in captivity.
Another new Likud lawmaker is Elisha Madan, an IDF reservist who lost both legs in an explosion while fighting in Gaza.
Yashar’s newcomers include Shira Shapira, mother of Aner Shapira, an IDF soldier killed on Oct. 7 while protecting fellow festivalgoers from grenades thrown by Hamas terrorists into a roadside shelter near Kibbutz Re’im.
Before being sworn in on Tuesday, Shapira visited her son’s grave at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
Another newcomer is Elisaf Peretz, son of Miriam Peretz, whose two sons, Uriel and Eliraz, were killed during their military service.
Yisrael Beiteinu’s Sharon Sharabi is the brother of former hostage Eli Sharabi and their brother Yossi Sharabi, who was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri and later killed in Gaza captivity.
The Religious Zionist Party’s Tzvika Mor is the father of Eitan Mor, who was abducted from the Nova music festival and held hostage in Gaza for more than two years.
Mor, who was ranked fifth on the party’s list, told JNS that becoming a member of the Knesset was a great privilege, not only for him personally but for the people of Israel.
“It is a great privilege for me to sit in the Israeli Knesset. It is not just about me, but about the people of Israel. We have a country, a Knesset and a government of our own, and we are no longer persecuted in exile,” he said.
Mor said the occasion also carried deep personal significance given his family’s history.
“My grandparents on both sides survived the Holocaust. They were in Auschwitz, and I feel very excited on this day. I am sure that if they were still with us today, although they passed away a long time ago, they would have been very happy and proud that their grandson is a member of the Knesset,” he said.
Mor outlined three main priorities for his parliamentary work: education, Jewish identity and security.
“After everything we went through, with our son being held in captivity, I also want to contribute in the area of security,” he said.
Mor was a leading figure in the Tikva Forum, which represented hostage families opposed to partial hostage-release agreements with Hamas.
New faces on the right
Likud, which won 27 seats to remain the largest party, is bringing several new figures into parliament in addition to Gvili.
They include political commentator Yaakov Bardugo, a former Army Radio presenter and Channel 14 commentator considered close to Netanyahu.
Another newcomer is attorney David Peter, a former constitutional law researcher at the Kohelet Policy Forum and supporter of the government’s judicial reform program.
Erez Tadmor, a journalist and political commentator, also enters the Knesset, while former Labor Party lawmaker Eli Goldschmidt returns after a lengthy absence.
United Torah Judaism’s newcomers include Moshe Rosenthal, a businessman and community activist; Eli Stark, a haredi public activist; and Yehuda Leib Weissfish.
The Religious Zionist Party is bringing in reserve Lt. Col. Itamar Eitam, while former MK Moshe Feiglin, leader of the Zehut movement, returns to parliament after several years.
Otzma Yehudit’s Hanamel Dorfman, a former chief of staff to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is another newcomer.
Shas leader Aryeh Deri announced on Sunday that he would not take his Knesset seat, allowing another party representative to serve. Deri said he would remain party chairman and continue overseeing the faction’s parliamentary work.
Protest leaders and Arab lawmakers
Two prominent activists who participated in protests against the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform proposals are entering the Knesset as members of Yair Golan’s party, The Democrats.
Yaya Fink, a social entrepreneur and former director general of the Darkenu movement, was among the founders of Lobby 99, a nonprofit promoting public-interest lobbying.
Omri Ronen, a reserve officer and prominent member of the Brothers in Arms protest movement, is another newcomer.
Yisrael Beiteinu is bringing in retired Col. Talia Lankri, a former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council, and Rafi Ben-Shitrit, a former mayor of Beit She’an.
The Joint List, which won 11 seats, is bringing seven first-time lawmakers into parliament, including Faten Ghattas, a communist political activist; Bakher Awawdeh, a social entrepreneur; and Maha Sabah Karkabi, a sociologist.
Ra’am, which won eight seats, is bringing in two newcomers: Ibrahim al-Touri, a social activist, and Masri Abdel Karim, an educator.
The Knesset by the numbers
According to figures published by the Vote Smart website and previously reported by JNS, 73% of the incoming lawmakers served in the IDF.
Women account for 28% of the new parliament, with Yashar having the highest proportion at 52%, followed by The Democrats and B’Yachad at 50% each.
Nearly half of the lawmakers, 47%, hold master’s degrees, while 9% have doctorates.
Likud’s Haim Katz, 78, is the oldest member, while Netanyahu remains the longest-serving MK, having accumulated approximately 32 years of parliamentary service.
The opening ceremony will include a reading from Psalms by Avi Harush, father of Sgt. Reef Harush, who was killed fighting in Gaza in April 2024.
The new lawmakers enter the Knesset at a pivotal moment for Israel, with the country facing pressing security and economic challenges and an uncertain path toward forming its next government.
Amelie Botbol, JNS Staff
Source: https://www.jns.org/news/israel-news/new-faces-new-stories-as-israels-26th-knesset-convenes
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