Yair Lapid

Positions and record

• Founded Yesh Atid in 2012; the party broke through to win 19 seats in its first election (2013)
• Served as Finance Minister (2013-14) in Netanyahu's third government
• Served as Foreign Minister (2021-22) and caretaker Prime Minister (2022) in the short-lived Bennett-Lapid government
• Won Yesh Atid's first leadership primary in March 2024, narrowly defeating Ram Ben-Barak
• Long advocated positions opposed by much of religious Israel, including ending the Haredi yeshiva-study draft deferment, civil marriage, and state recognition of non-Orthodox streams
• After Yesh Atid sank to roughly 6-7 seats in polling, announced a joint slate with Naftali Bennett in April 2026 called 'Together' (Beyachad), led by Bennett, to contest the 2026 election