The party family tree

The axis gives 1968–2005 a third of the width and 2005–2026 the rest, where most of the record falls; the double line on the axis marks the change of scale, at 2005. A bar under a mark is an event that ran over several years. On a phone, marks too close to read side by side are stacked above and below the line. Point at a mark for what happened, or tap a list's line or name for its full history, with sources, below.

Read the relationship, not only the line. An electoral alliance puts separate parties on one ballot. A party merger joins their organizations. A Knesset faction is their parliamentary grouping after an election. A leader can move without moving a whole party.

Selected organizational and electoral milestones for all 15 profiled 2026 lists. Lines and marks show the stated relationship, not inherited platforms or a claim that every predecessor merged legally. Historical lists retain their names at the time.

Historical vote shares belong to the lists that actually ran. Blue and White in 2019, for example, included parties absent from Gantz's 2026 list; comparing the name alone would compare different electorates. See the historical vote map, the election timeline, the Party Map and the full ballot directory.

Political branchFind current or earlier names

Showing 15 of 15 current profiled lists. Checked October 5, 2026; undated party histories are marked below.

Likud

Likud and secular right. Current profile, ballot entry.

1973Electoral alliance
HerutLiberal PartyFree CenterNational ListMovement for Greater Israel
Likud joint list
Five organizations formed an electoral alliance.
IDI, Likud (publication date not given)
1988Party merger
Likud alliance components
Likud party
The component organizations merged into a single party.
IDI, Likud (publication date not given)
2005Split or departure
Likud
Sharon leaves to form Kadima
A departure from Likud, not a renaming of Likud.
IDI, Likud (publication date not given)
2013Electoral alliance
LikudYisrael Beiteinu
Likud–Beiteinu list
A joint election list; the parties retained separate identities.
IDI, Yisrael Beitenu (publication date not given)
2026Published 2026 list
Likud
Likud, ballot letters מחל
Listed separately in the published submitted roster.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Yisrael Beiteinu

Likud and secular right. Current profile, ballot entry.

1999Party established
Yisrael Beiteinu
Established by Avigdor Liberman; initially appealed especially to former Soviet Union immigrants.
IDI, Yisrael Beitenu (publication date not given)
2003Electoral alliance
Yisrael BeiteinuNational Union
National Union joint list
Ran together in 2003; Yisrael Beiteinu ran independently again in 2006.
IDI, Yisrael Beitenu (publication date not given)
2013Electoral alliance
Yisrael BeiteinuLikud
Likud–Beiteinu
A shared ballot, rather than a single new party.
IDI, Yisrael Beitenu (publication date not given)
2026Published 2026 list
Yisrael Beiteinu
Yisrael Beiteinu, ballot letters ל
A separate submitted list under Liberman.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

B'Yachad

Bennett, Lapid and Gantz. Current profile, ballot entry.

2012Leader's political path
Bennett becomes Jewish Home chairLapid founds Yesh Atid
Two separate political paths
Bennett led Jewish Home in the 2013 and 2015 joint lists with Tkuma.
IDI, Bennett and Lapid join forces, 2026-04-29
2018Split or departure
Bennett and Shaked leave Jewish Home
New Right
New Right missed the threshold in April 2019.
IDI, Bennett and Lapid join forces, 2026-04-29
2019–2020Electoral alliance
New Right + Tkuma + Jewish HomeYesh Atid + Israel Resilience + Telem
Yamina / Blue and White
Bennett and Lapid ran in different electoral alliances.
IDI, Bennett and Lapid join forces, 2026-04-29; IDI, Blue and White (publication date not given)
2021Leader's political path
Bennett's New Right, branded YaminaLapid's Yesh Atid
Separate lists; rotation government
Their governing partnership was a coalition, not a party merger.
IDI, Bennett and Lapid join forces, 2026-04-29
2025–2026Electoral alliance
Bennett 2026Yesh Atid
B'Yachad, ballot letters רק
Bennett registered his new party in 2025. In April 2026 it announced a joint electoral run with Yesh Atid. The roster names Bennett as list leader.
IDI, Bennett and Lapid join forces, 2026-04-29; CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Blue and White

Bennett, Lapid and Gantz. Current profile, ballot entry.

2019Electoral alliance
Israel ResilienceYesh AtidTelem
Blue and White
The three-party alliance contested the two 2019 elections and the 2020 election.
IDI, Blue and White (publication date not given)
2020–2021Split or departure
Blue and White alliance
Gantz retains Blue and White name
The alliance disbanded. Gantz's party ran alone under this name in 2021.
IDI, Blue and White (publication date not given)
2022Electoral alliance
Gantz's Blue and WhiteNew Hope
National Unity
A new joint list, rather than the original 2019 three-party alliance.
IDI, Blue and White (publication date not given)
2026Published 2026 list
Gantz's list
Blue and White, ballot letters כן
The published roster again lists Blue and White under Benny Gantz. Reuse of a name does not restore the 2019 alliance.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Yashar!

Bennett, Lapid and Gantz. Current profile, ballot entry.

2026Published 2026 list
Gadi Eisenkot's new organization
Yashar!, ballot letters דרך
IDI identifies Yashar! as a party led by Eisenkot; the CEC lists it separately. A leader's previous affiliations do not make it a legal continuation of Blue and White or National Unity. These sources do not date its registration.
IDI, Yashar! (publication date not given); CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

The Democrats

Labor and Meretz. Current profile, ballot entry.

1968Party merger
MapaiAhdut HaAvodaRafi
Labor
These parties established the Labor Party.
IDI, Labor (publication date not given)
1992Electoral alliance
RatzMapamShinui
Meretz joint list
Its component parties initially remained separate.
IDI, Meretz (publication date not given)
1997Party merger
RatzMapamPart of Shinui
Meretz party
The joint list became a merged party; the merger did not include all of Shinui.
IDI, Meretz (publication date not given); IDI, Division of the Religious Zionism faction, 2022-11-20
2024Partial merger
LaborMeretz
The Democrats
IDI calls this a partial merger: Labor and Meretz retained organizational and institutional independence. Yair Golan heads the combined organization.
IDI, The Democrats (publication date not given)
2026Published 2026 list
The Democrats
The Democrats, ballot letters אמת
A single submitted electoral list under Golan.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Shas

Haredi parties. Current profile, ballot entry.

1984Party established
Sephardic Haredi founders
Shas
Founded in response to institutional disadvantage and under-representation relative to Ashkenazi Haredim; Rabbi Ovadia Yosef headed its Council of Torah Sages.
IDI, Shas (publication date not given)
2026Published 2026 list
Shas
Shas, ballot letters שס
A separate submitted list. Shared Haredi interests do not make Shas a component of United Torah Judaism.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04; IDI, United Torah Judaism (publication date not given)

United Torah Judaism

Haredi parties. Current profile, ballot entry.

1988Split or departure
Agudat Yisrael
Degel HaTorah runs separately
Degel HaTorah formed to represent the Lithuanian Haredi community, distinct from the Hasidic parties in Agudat Yisrael.
IDI, Degel HaTorah (publication date not given)
1992Electoral alliance
Agudat YisraelDegel HaTorah
United Torah Judaism
A joint electoral list. Its components have continued as separate parties.
IDI, United Torah Judaism (publication date not given)
2026Published 2026 list
Agudat YisraelDegel HaTorah
UTJ, ballot letters ג
Both component names appear in the submitted roster title.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Religious Zionism–Zehut

Religious right. Current profile, ballot entry.

2013–2015Electoral alliance
National Union–TkumaJewish Home
Jewish Home joint list
Tkuma cooperated electorally with Jewish Home.
IDI, Religious Zionist Party (publication date not given)
2021Name change
National Union–Tkuma
Religious Zionist Party
Tkuma adopted the Religious Zionist Party name; that name also identified a broader joint list.
IDI, Religious Zionist Party (publication date not given)
2022Electoral alliance
Religious Zionist PartyOtzma YehuditNoam
Religious Zionism joint list
A shared ballot followed by separate Knesset factions. IDI records two registered parties representing Otzma: Jewish National Front and Eretz Yisrael Shelanu. Electoral brands and legal parties are not always identical.
IDI, Religious Zionist Party (publication date not given); IDI, Division of the Religious Zionism faction, 2022-11-20
2026Electoral alliance
Religious Zionist PartyZehut
Religious Zionism–Zehut, ballot letters ט
Smotrich and Feiglin head this submitted joint list; Otzma and Noam have separate entries.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Otzma Yehudit

Religious right. Current profile, ballot entry.

2004Party established
Baruch Marzel's organization
Jewish National Front
IDI traces Otzma's organizational roots to this party.
IDI, Otzma Yehudit (publication date not given)
2013Electoral alliance
Jewish National FrontHatikva
Otzma LeYisrael
The joint list failed to enter the Knesset.
IDI, Otzma Yehudit (publication date not given)
2015Name change
Otzma LeYisrael
Otzma Yehudit; joint run with Yahad
Changed its name and ran with Eli Yishai's Yahad; that list also missed the threshold.
IDI, Otzma Yehudit (publication date not given)
2021–2022Electoral alliance
Otzma YehuditReligious Zionist PartyNoam
Religious Zionism joint list
The far-right parties shared a ballot; they did not become one party.
IDI, Otzma Yehudit (publication date not given); IDI, Division of the Religious Zionism faction, 2022-11-20
2026Published 2026 list
Otzma Yehudit
Otzma Yehudit, ballot letters ב
A separate submitted list under Itamar Ben-Gvir.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Noam

Religious right. Current profile, ballot entry.

2019Party established
Noam
Founded as a religious conservative party identified with the Haredi-nationalist stream.
Knesset Channel, Noam (publication date not given)
2022Electoral alliance
NoamReligious Zionist PartyOtzma Yehudit
Religious Zionism joint list
After the election, the shared list divided into separate Knesset factions.
IDI, Division of the Religious Zionism faction, 2022-11-20
2026Published 2026 list
Noam
Noam for Israel, ballot letters ני
A separate submitted list under Avi Maoz.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Joint List

Hadash, Ta'al, Balad and Ra'am. Current profile, ballot entry.

2015Electoral alliance
HadashTa'alBaladRa'am
Joint List
Four parties formed a joint electoral list.
IDI, The Joint List (publication date not given)
2019Split or departure
Joint List
Two lists in April; reunified in September
The original alliance reunited for the September 2019 and 2020 elections.
IDI, The Joint List (publication date not given)
2021Split or departure
Joint List
Hadash–Ta'al–Balad / separate Ra'am
Ra'am left the alliance and contested separately.
IDI, The Joint List (publication date not given)
2022Split or departure
HadashTa'alBaladRa'am
Hadash–Ta'al / Balad / Ra'am
These were three separate electoral lists.
IDI, Arab party lists in 2022, 2022-10-18
2026Electoral alliance
HadashTa'alBalad
Joint List, ballot letters ודם
IDI identifies the current alliance's three components. Ra'am remains a separate roster entry.
IDI, The Joint List (publication date not given); CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Ra'am

Hadash, Ta'al, Balad and Ra'am. Current profile, ballot entry.

1996Electoral alliance
New United Arab List (Ra'am)Mada (Arab Democratic Party)
Ra'am–Mada joint list
Ra'am was established in 1996 and first ran with Mada.
IDI, Ra'am (publication date not given)
1999Party merger
MadaRa'am
Mada absorbed into Ra'am
An organizational absorption, rather than a continuing two-party electoral alliance.
IDI, Ra'am (publication date not given)
2006–2013Electoral alliance
Ra'amTa'al
Ra'am–Ta'al
Ran together in the 2006, 2009 and 2013 elections.
IDI, Ra'am (publication date not given)
2015–2020Electoral alliance
Ra'amHadashTa'alBalad
Joint List (with April 2019 split)
Ra'am participated in the broader alliance, then left before the 2021 election.
IDI, The Joint List (publication date not given)
2021–2026Published 2026 list
Ra'am
Separate list in 2026, ballot letters עם
Ra'am joined the Bennett–Lapid coalition in 2021; coalition membership did not merge it with those parties.
IDI, Ra'am (publication date not given); CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

Reservists–Economic

New organizations. Current profile, ballot entry.

2025Party established
Yoaz Hendel's new organization
The Reservists
IDI dates the establishment of Hendel's party to 2025.
IDI, The Reservists (publication date not given)
2026Electoral alliance
The ReservistsThe Economic Party
Reservists–Economic, ballot letters די
The CEC title identifies a joint list under Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha. This does not establish a legal merger or continuity with Hendel's former parties.
CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04

People of Israel

New organizations. Current profile, ballot entry.

2026Published 2026 list
Ofer Winter's organization
People of Israel, ballot letters ך
IDI identifies Amcha Yisrael as a party established ahead of this election by Winter; the CEC includes a separate submitted list. These sources establish no predecessor-party merger or exact registration date.
IDI, Amcha Yisrael (publication date not given); CEC 2026 submitted roster, updated Oct 4, 2026-10-04