Israel Election 2026: What does Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu stand for?

Yisrael Beytenu, founded in 1999, is one of many parties vying for citizens’ votes in the election for the 26th Knesset, to be held on October 27.

Led by founder and seasoned political operator Avigdor Liberman, Yisrael Beytenu sits on the right of the political aisle on security and national issues but leans secular-liberal on matters of religion and state.

Originally founded as a Likud splinter party to represent olim from the former Soviet Union, particularly Russian-speaking Israelis, Yisrael Beytenu has increasingly sought to broaden its appeal beyond its traditional immigrant base.

In the 25th Knesset, Yisrael Beytenu held six seats and is currently polling at eight to 10 seats.

Born in Moldova, Liberman made aliyah in 1978 and began his political career as a parliamentary adviser to Netanyahu. He rose through Likud's ranks to become the party's director-general before serving as director-general of the Prime Minister's Office during Netanyahu's first term as prime minister in 1996.

Liberman went on to serve in key security and diplomatic positions in previous governments, including as defense, foreign, and most recently as finance minister in the government led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett.

In 2018, he resigned as defense minister from Netanyahu’s government in protest over a ceasefire agreement with Hamas following a round of heavy rocket fire from the terrorist group toward Israel. Liberman has since maintained that Israel must take a tougher stance toward Iran and its proxies.

His resignation helped trigger new elections and deepened his growing rift with Netanyahu, eventually leading Yisrael Beytenu to rule out joining any government led by him and contributing to the political crisis that saw Israel hold five elections in just three years.

At the same time, Yisrael Beytenu remains firmly on the right on territorial and settlement issues. The party has supported expanding construction in the West Bank, while Liberman worked to advance settlement housing as defense minister. Yisrael Beytenu initiated legislation in 2025 to apply Israeli sovereignty to Ma'aleh Adumim and had previously introduced legislation on applying sovereignty to the Jordan Valley.

Liberman has often described Yisrael Beytenu as representing the “pragmatic Right,” combining “diplomatic flexibility and tough on security.” He has stressed the need for what he calls the “serving bloc” - the state-oriented Zionist bloc - to replace Netanyahu’s coalition, which he labels the “evaders bloc.”

According to Liberman, Yisrael Beytenu’s primary goals in the next Knesset are to replace the Netanyahu government, achieve decisive military outcomes against Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, impose universal conscription, combat organized crime, and resolve Israel’s constitutional crisis.

He has summarized his political ambitions as “replacing the October 7 government and becoming prime minister.”

Liberman has repeatedly ruled out sitting in a government led by Netanyahu, saying he would not serve under him as prime minister “even if the world turns upside down.” He has, however, said he would not rule out joining a Likud-led government if Netanyahu were no longer its leader and the party agreed to Yisrael Beytenu’s principles.

He has also ruled out joining a coalition with the haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, citing his support for universal conscription, core curriculum studies, public transportation on Shabbat, and other secular reforms. Liberman has likewise rejected the possibility of joining a coalition with Arab parties, saying such a move would be anti-Zionist.

Yisrael Beytenu is part of the opposition bloc, but a vote for the party is not necessarily a vote for every coalition that could emerge from that bloc.

Its projected strength gives Liberman significant potential leverage in coalition negotiations, while his red lines restrict the coalitions he could join, ruling out a Netanyahu-led government, coalitions reliant on Arab parties, and coalitions including the haredi parties.

Yisrael Beytenu has called for a government centered on Zionist parties, universal military service, a secular approach to religion and state, a hawkish security policy, and opposition to Netanyahu’s continued premiership.

If the opposition bloc reaches 61 seats without the Arab parties, Liberman could be an important coalition partner. If it falls short, however, his refusal to sit with Arab parties sharply constrains the coalition math and could make it difficult for the opposition to form a government without outside support.

At the same time, Liberman has left open the possibility of cooperating with Likud if Netanyahu is no longer its leader. But his opposition to sitting with the haredi parties would still complicate any attempt to recreate the current coalition under a different Likud leader.