Yesh Atid facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yesh Atid יש עתיד‎
Leader	Yair Lapid
Founded	29 April 2012 (2012-04-29)
Headquarters	Tel Aviv
Ideology	Liberal Zionism Anti-clericalism Two-state solution
Political position	Centre
National affiliation	Blue & White (2019–20)
International affiliation	Liberal International
Colours	Blue      Orange
Slogan	We are here to change. באנו לשנות‎
Knesset	24 / 120
Election symbol
פה‎ ف‌ه‎
^ A: The party has also been evaluated as centre-left and centre-right.

Yesh Atid (which means There Is a Future in Hebrew) is a political party in Israel. It is known for its centrist views. The party also supports Liberal Zionism, which combines support for Israel as a Jewish state with liberal values. Yesh Atid was started in 2012 by Yair Lapid, who used to be a TV journalist. His father, Tommy Lapid, was also a politician.

In 2013, Yesh Atid took part in its first election. The party came in second place, winning 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (Israel's parliament). After this, Yesh Atid joined a group of parties that formed the government. This group was led by the Likud party.

For the 2015 election, Yesh Atid chose not to support Likud. The party lost some seats and then became part of the opposition. The opposition is made up of parties that are not in the government.

In 2019, Yesh Atid joined with another party to create a new group called Blue and White. This group also had centrist ideas. Later, in March 2020, Yesh Atid left this group. It then formed its own group in the Knesset.

Yesh Atid ran alone in the 2021 election. It won 17 seats, making it the second-largest party. At that time, Yesh Atid was the biggest party in Israel's government. Its leader, Yair Lapid, even served as Prime Minister in 2022.

In the 2022 elections, Yesh Atid won 24 seats. This was more than it had ever won before. However, the party could not form a government. Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, formed the new government. Yesh Atid then returned to being an opposition party.

How Yesh Atid Started

In January 2012, TV anchor Yair Lapid announced he was leaving journalism for politics.

Around 2010, people in Israel started talking about Yair Lapid. He was a well-known journalist and TV anchor. Many wondered if he would leave his job to become a politician. At first, Lapid said these rumors were not true.

He gained a lot of support through social media, especially on his Facebook page. Lapid announced that he would not join older, existing parties. He also said he wanted to change how the government worked. He believed all Israelis should serve in the army. He also wanted to change Israel's school system.

In January 2012, Lapid officially announced his decision. He said he was leaving journalism to enter politics. He would lead a brand new party.

In April 2012, it was reported that the new party would be called "Atid." Lapid said his party would not include any current members of the Knesset. On April 29, Lapid officially registered his party as "Yesh Atid." The name "Atid" alone had been rejected.

On May 1, the party held its first meeting. Lapid shared his plan, which included military service for all Israelis. The party rules stated that Lapid would choose the candidates for the Knesset. He would also make all the final decisions. He was guaranteed to be the party chairman for several years.

Lapid has said his party is different from his late father's party. He noted that Yesh Atid includes a wider range of people, including religious figures.

Ballot paper of the party.

Yesh Atid aimed to appeal to middle and upper-middle class voters. It promised to fight against the existing government and push for cleaner politics. This was similar to new centrist parties in Europe. Yesh Atid voters often have higher incomes and more education. They tend to have moderate views on money and safety issues.

Yesh Atid in the Knesset

19th Knesset (2013-2015)

Party logo used during the 2013 Israeli legislative election.

In the election held on January 22, 2013, Yesh Atid surprised many. It won the second-highest number of seats in the Knesset, with 19. The party was very popular in wealthier cities like Tel Aviv and Herzliya. Before the election, polls had predicted Yesh Atid would only win 8-11 seats.

After the election, Yair Lapid supported Benjamin Netanyahu for Prime Minister. On March 15, 2013, Yesh Atid signed an agreement to join the government. This government was led by the Likud party.

Almost a year later, a survey showed that Yesh Atid's popularity was decreasing. If elections were held then, the party might only win 10 seats. Many people surveyed said they were disappointed with Lapid's work. Lapid became the finance minister, which meant he had to make tough choices. He had to cut spending and raise taxes. This affected his popularity.

20th Knesset (2015-2019)

Before the 2015 Election

Before the 2015 election, Lapid tried to form alliances with other parties. He talked with Tzipi Livni and Moshe Kahlon. However, these efforts were not successful. Livni joined with another party, and Kahlon decided to run alone.

Lapid's campaign mostly criticized Netanyahu and his Likud party. He continued to focus on the economy rather than national security. However, he also started speaking more about the peace process. The party focused on the needs of the middle class.

After the 2015 Election

Yesh Atid won 11 seats in the 20th Knesset. This made it the fourth-largest group of parties. However, its popularity grew throughout 2017 and 2018. It even started to compete with Likud in opinion polls.

2021 to Present

In the 2021 Israeli legislative election, Yesh Atid ran by itself. It became the second-largest party in the Knesset, winning 17 seats. It received many votes in cities across Israel, including Tel Aviv.

In May 2021, it was reported that Lapid and Naftali Bennett were close to forming a new government. This group was called the "Change bloc" because it aimed to replace the existing government. Yesh Atid was described as taking a more serious and responsible approach.

In October 2021, Yesh Atid joined the Liberal International as an observer member. This group connects liberal parties around the world.

The 2022 Israeli legislative election was Yesh Atid's best result yet. It won 24 seats and received the most votes in many areas. However, it could not form a government. The party then returned to being in the opposition.

In October 2023, Yesh Atid announced its first leadership election. Yair Lapid ran against another member, Ram Ben-Barak. The election was held on March 28, 2024. Lapid won with 52.5% of the votes, beating Ben-Barak by a small number of votes.

Current Knesset Members

What Yesh Atid Believes In

Yesh Atid is mainly seen as a centrist party. This means it tries to find a middle ground in politics. However, some people also see it as slightly "centre-right" or "centre-left." The party supports both free markets and socially liberal ideas. This shows a leaning towards individual freedom.

The party aims to represent the secular middle class in Israel. It focuses on issues like government reform and ending special rules. For example, it wants to end military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox citizens. Yesh Atid also supports restarting peace talks with the Palestinians. It also wants to stop building more Israeli settlements.

Party Goals

When Yesh Atid was registered, Lapid listed eight main goals for the party:

• Changing Israel's priorities: Focusing on everyday life, like education, housing, health, transportation, and policing. It also aims to improve life for the middle class.
• Changing the government system: Making the government work better.
• Equality in education and military service: Ensuring all Israeli students learn important subjects. It also wants all Israelis to serve in the army. The party encourages all citizens to work, including ultra-Orthodox and Arab citizens.
• Fighting political corruption: Reducing corruption in government. It wants a smaller government with fewer ministers. It also aims to strengthen the law and protect the High Court of Justice.
• Economic growth: Creating ways to grow the economy and fight poverty. This includes reducing rules, improving transportation, and lowering living and housing costs. It also wants to help small businesses.
• Education reform: Working with teachers to create new education laws. It wants to remove most final exams and give schools more freedom.
• Creating a constitution: Making a set of basic laws for Israel. This would help manage relationships between different groups of people.
• Working for peace: Aiming for a "two states for two peoples" plan. This means having both an Israeli and a Palestinian state. The plan would also keep large Israeli settlement areas and ensure Israel's safety.

Other Positions

Yesh Atid also supports these ideas:

• Religious freedom: Allowing different types of Judaism (like Reform and Conservative) to have public funding. This would be similar to the funding given to Orthodox Judaism.
  • It wants non-Orthodox groups to be able to perform religious conversions and weddings. These would be accepted by the state.
  • It supports equal prayer for men and women at the Western Wall.
• Public transportation: Allowing some public transportation to run on Shabbat (Saturdays).
• Peace talks: Restarting peace talks with the Palestinians. It also wants to stop building new Israeli settlements.
• Environment: Slowly ending Israel's use of fossil fuels. The goal is for Israel to produce no net carbon emissions by 2050.

Yesh Atid also supports increasing LGBT rights. The party supports these policies:

• Allowing surrogacy for same-sex couples.
• Creating civil marriage in Israel. This would include marriage for same-sex couples.
• Allowing same-sex adoption of Israeli children.
• Making punishments stronger for hate crimes against queer people.
• Banning conversion therapy.
• Allowing people to change their gender on their identity card without needing surgery.
• Creating rules for how queer people are treated in schools. It also wants to include mandatory queer studies.

Leaders

Leader			Took office	Left office
		Yair Lapid	2012	Incumbent

Election Results

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
2013	Yair Lapid	543,458	14.33 (#2)	19 / 120		Coalition
2015		371,602	8.81 (#4)	11 / 120	8	Opposition
Apr 2019		with Blue and White		15 / 120	4	Snap election
Sep 2019				13 / 120	2	Snap election
2020				13 / 120		Opposition
2021		614,112	13.93 (#2)	17 / 120	4	Coalition
2022		847,435	17.79 (#2)	24 / 120	7	Opposition

See Also

• Elections in Israel
• Shinui