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2025 Blue and White leadership election

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2025 Blue and White leadership election
2025
Leader before election

Benny Gantz

 Elected Leader

TBD

The 2025 Blue and White leadership election is an announced upcoming leadership election for the Israeli political party Blue and White. It is widely expected that incumbent leader Benny Gantz will run.

Background

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The leadership vote arose out of a disagreement within National Unity (also known as "State Camp"), an Israeli political alliance which the party belongs to.[1] When it had contested the 2022 Knesset election, the alliance included the Israel Resilience Party (led by Gantz); the New Hope party (led by Gideon Sa'ar); and Gadi Eisenkot and Matan Kahana, who and were elected to the Knesset as independent members of the alliance's electoral list. However, in 2024, New Hope left the alliance leaving only Gantz's Israel Resilience Party and the two MKs serving as independents within the alliance.

In early 2025, amid slipping support for the alliance in opinion polling for the next Israeli legislative election, speculation arose that Benny Gantz (head of National Unity) might be challenged for leadership of the alliance by Eisenkot (a member of the Knesset belonging to the alliance, and a former chief of the IDF).[1] Eisenkot joined the alliance in 2022 with the condition that Gantz would agree to later democratize its internal structure.[2] Haaretz reported that Gantz had previously promised Eisenkotz that a leadership election would be held before the next legislative election, and Gantz's avoidance of arranging for such a vote had become a point of frustration between them.[3] Reports emerged that Eisenkot was considering leaving the alliance and running on a competing electoral list for the next election, and that most of the Jewish parties of the Knesset's opposition were making overtures to him, including Bennett.[2] Scenario polls that included a party led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett contesting the legislative election, as is widely expected, showed that National Unity would win several more seats with Eisenkot at its helm than it would with Gantz.[3] In February, Gantz stated that he intended to remain the alliance's leader.[4]

On 8 June, the alliance announced that it would schedule a leadership election to be held in the coming months, and would additionally open its membership for public registration.[4] The election will be held amongst members of the party's central committee, which will be expanded as part of the process.[5] Haaretz reported that Eisenkot is considering a challenge to Gantz,[4] though Eisenkot announced on 30 June that he would leave the alliance and the Knesset.[6] The following day, it was announced that the alliance would be renamed "Blue and White", which it held previously,[7] though the party decided to rename the Knesset faction Blue and White-National Unity, which was approved by the Knesset House Committee on 7 July 2025.[8]

After Eisenkot's departure, Gantz confirmed that his party would still carry forward with holding a leadership primary, and that other aspects of planned democratization of party would be implemented. Gantz also announced that the party will increase the size of its party assembly in order to allow for public membership of the party, and that votes would be held to elect a number of lower positions in party leadership as well.[9]

Candidates

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Potential

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The following individual is described as very likely to run:

References

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  1. ^ a b Hecht, Ravit (29 January 2025). "Analysis: Eisenkot to Replace Gantz? Pressure Rises for New Leader of Key Israeli Opposition Party". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Benny Gantz's faction to hold leadership primaries as election looms". The Jerusalem Post. 8 June 2025. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b Sokol, Sam (8 June 2025). "Gantz's National Unity to hold primaries in coming months, as support down in polls". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Shpigel, Noa (8 June 2025). "Centrist National Unity says it will hold its first-ever elections for party leader". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  5. ^ Karni, Yuval (8 June 2025). "לראשונה: פריימריז לראשות המחנה הממלכתי" [For the first time: primaries for the Leadership of the National Unity Party]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  6. ^ "In political shakeup, National Unity No. 2 Eisenkot set to leave party, quit Knesset". The Times of Israel. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  7. ^ Sokol, Sam (12 July 2025). "After two MKs quit, Gantz's National Unity party to revert to Blue and White name". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Knesset panel approves changing name of Gantz's party to Blue and White-National Unity". The Times of Israel. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  9. ^ Sokol, Sam (14 July 2025). "Gantz's Blue and White-National Unity announces party membership to become open". Times of Israel. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
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