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Benny Gantz

Benny Gantz

Former IDF chief of staff; former Blue and White leader

Appears in 3 stories

Born: June 9, 1959, Kfar Ahim
Party: Blue and White Israel Resilience Party
Education: Tel Aviv University, University of Haifa, National Defense University
Previous offices: Knesset member, Justice Minister of Israel

Last updated Nov 10, 2026

Stories

Israel's president opens coalition talks after October 27 election

Rule Changes

Withdrew Blue and White from the October 27 election

Gadi Eisenkot and Avigdor Liberman met on November 9 and agreed to open talks with the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, with a softer military draft law on offer. They also agreed that a Yashar lawmaker, Matan Kahana, would be the bloc's candidate for Knesset speaker.

Updated Yesterday

Benny Gantz drops out of Israel's election race

Force in Play

Out of the race; Blue and White was absent from the October 27 ballot, and he urged supporters to vote anyway

Blue and White finished withdrawing from the October 27 election on October 21, when every candidate on Benny Gantz's list signed resignation papers and the Central Elections Committee confirmed the party will not compete. Its ballot slips, printed with the letters "Ken," will not be handed out and are marked with an X on polling-station posters. Any slips found during the count, including at military and overseas polling stations, will be ruled invalid.

Updated Oct 30

Bennett and Lapid merge parties to challenge Netanyahu in 2026 vote

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Welcomed Together merger; National Unity remains a separate party

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, former Israeli prime ministers, briefly removed Benjamin Netanyahu from power in 2021. On April 26, they announced a merger of their parties into a slate called 'Together, Led by Bennett.' Netanyahu responded within hours. He posted a video showing the pair's 2021 coalition-signing ceremony with Arab party leader Mansour Abbas, captioned 'They did it once, they will do it again.'

Updated May 31