Meet Democrat's lineup: Who’s who in the 26th Knesset
Who’s who in the Democrats party? Meet the people behind the names, explore their backgrounds, and discover their paths to the 26th Knesset
Israel’s 26th Knesset is set to be sworn in on Tuesday, bringing 120 new and returning members of Knesset into the chamber after October’s election. It is a class that mixes political heavyweights with first-time parliamentarians: 47 of the incoming MKs have never served in the Knesset before, while 55 were not members of the outgoing parliament.
The incoming Knesset reflects an unusually broad cross-section of Israeli public life. Alongside longtime party leaders and former ministers, it includes business figures, religious educators, community activists, former security officials and newcomers from across the country’s political and social spectrum.
Thirty-three of the 120 MKs are women, and the class ranges from veteran politicians returning to the Knesset after years away to first-timers who won a seat on their first national run. Among the returnees is Eli Goldschmidt, who left the Knesset 25 years ago as a Labor MK and is now returning as a Likud representative.
Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud remains the largest single party, with 27 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21 and Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad with 12. The Joint List won 11 seats, while The Democrats and Ra’am each took eight; Yisrael Beiteinu, United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit won seven apiece, and Shas and Religious Zionism six each.
The arithmetic leaves no bloc with a majority: Netanyahu’s right-religious bloc holds 53 seats, Eisenkot’s opposition bloc 48, and Arab-led parties the remaining 19, making the incoming Knesset one of the most fragmented in recent memory. Gadi Eisenkot was awarded the first mandate by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and now has just under a month to form a government out of the aforementioned parties.
A new name with deep political roots, the Democrats emerged in 2024 when Labor and Meretz joined forces under Yair Golan. Bringing together two longstanding traditions of Israel’s left, the party seeks to turn that shared inheritance into a new political chapter. In this installment of our Knesset profile series, we meet the people behind the party- their backgrounds, their priorities and their visions for Israel’s future.
Read more from i24NEWS’ profile series on the parties of the 26th Knesset >> Click here
Yair Golan — No. 1
Yair Golan built his career in the IDF, rising through the Paratroopers Brigade to command Central Command and Northern Command and serve as deputy chief of staff. He was a candidate for chief of staff in 2018 but was not selected, leaving active service at the end of that year.
He entered politics in 2019 as a founder of Ehud Barak’s Israel Democratic Party, was elected to the Knesset and later joined Meretz. Known for his outspoken left-wing views, he served as deputy economy and industry minister from 2021, focusing on occupational safety and health, before becoming Labor leader in 2024 and founding The Democrats through a merger with Meretz.
He garnered international headlines after October 7th, entering the combat zone on his own and saving the lives of a handful of people at the Nova Music Festival.
Born in Rishon LeZion in 1962, Golan is married to Ruthie, has five children and lives in Rosh HaAyin. He holds a political science degree from Tel Aviv University and a master’s in public administration from Harvard.
Naama Lazimi — No. 2
Naama Lazimi began her career in political organising and public policy. She worked as a parliamentary adviser to MK Shelly Yachimovich, chaired the University of Haifa’s student association and founded Chazon, a centre for political training and conflict resolution.
She entered municipal politics in 2018, winning a seat on Haifa’s city council. There she chaired the gender-equality committee and the Haifa Museums board, while serving on welfare, education and audit bodies. She later lectured on gender, the periphery and local government, and advised the Jewish National Fund’s northern region. Elected to the Knesset in 2021, she chaired the Special Committee for Young People and served on the Finance and Education Committees.
Born in Migdal HaEmek in 1985, Lazimi is married with two children. A former Defense Ministry officer and Home Front Command reserve captain, she holds political science degrees from the University of Haifa.
Gilad Kariv — No. 3
Gilad Kariv built his career as a Reform rabbi, lawyer and religious-freedom advocate. After interning in the State Attorney’s High Court department, he joined the Israel Religious Action Center, leading its public and political work before becoming its director.
He later served as CEO of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism and of the Telem pre-military academy, while sitting on the boards of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency. He entered the Knesset in 2021 after winning second place in Labor’s primaries, chairing the Constitution Committee. He is a leading voice on religious pluralism, the “who is a Jew” question in Israel, and the haredi draft law.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1973, Kariv is married with three children and lives in Givatayim. A former Unit 8200 officer, he holds degrees from the Hebrew University, Hebrew Union College and Tel Aviv University.
Efrat Rayten — No. 4
Efrat Rayten began her career in television, becoming known as an actress and former children’s TV star on the Children’s Channel. She later hosted and appeared in numerous television programmes on Channel 10.
She retrained as a lawyer, completing law studies at Sha’arei Mishpat College in 2004 and joining Goldfarb Seligman, where she specialises in contract, corporate and defamation law. She has represented clients including the Israel Medical Association and families of those killed in the Nahal Tzafit disaster, where a flood ravaged a pre-military program. She has been an MK since 2021.
Born in Ramat HaSharon in 1972, Rayten is married with two children and lives in Jaffa. She served in the IDF Southern Command entertainment troupe.
Yaya Fink — No. 5
Yaya Fink grew up within the political system, serving as chief of staff to Labor leader and opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich. He later founded Lobby 99, a crowdfunding-based political organisation, and the media channel Democrat TV, and served as CEO of the Darkenu movement.
A social activist, Fink has been one of the leaders of the protests in favor of a universal IDF draft bill and of the 2023 judicial reform protests. He is the head of the social justice division at the Histadrut, the Israeli worker’s union.
Born in 1984, Fink is married with two children. He serves as a captain in the reserves in the Maglan unit, where he was a team commander. Fink completed a law degree at Tel Aviv University and interned in the State Attorney’s economic department, which handles government corruption, security offences and white-collar crime.
Gaby Lasky — No. 6
Gaby Lasky built her career as a human-rights lawyer specialising in freedom of expression and the right to protest. She founded and is a partner at Gaby Lasky and Partners, a law firm focused on those issues. She was also the secretary general of Peace Now, and has worked as an activist for
She has been active in Meretz for years, chairing its young peace forum and women’s forum, and currently chairs the party’s board. She also served as secretary-general of Peace Now. She is the highest ranking former Meretz MK on the Democrat’s list.
Born in Mexico in 1967, Lasky made aliyah on her own at the age of 15. is married with twin children and lives in Petah Tikva. She holds honours degrees in political science and political communication from Tel Aviv University.
Omri Ronen — No. 7
Omri Ronen is a social activist and IDF reservist. He interned in the State Attorney’s Office’s economic department, which handles cases involving government corruption, security offences, and white-collar crime. He co-founded the Yahav Educators for Zionism non-profit and became a leader of the Brothers and Sisters in Arms movement, a reservist protest group which emerged during the protests against the judicial overhaul.
Since October 7th, he has served hundreds of days in reserve duty, took part in fighting around the Gaza envelope and initiated a project to rehabilitate housing in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where he was born and where his grandmother and her carer were killed during the massacre.
Born in 1992, Ronen is married with two children. He serves as a captain in the reserves in the Maglan unit, where he was a team commander.
Michal Rozin — No. 8
Michal Rozin built her career in social policy and civil society. She began as an adviser to Labor MK Yael Dayan and later worked for Meretz MK Naomi Chazan until 1999, before serving as a senior adviser to Industry and Trade Minister Ran Cohen.
After leaving government, she worked as a policy advocate for Shatil and as a political adviser to the Ethiopian immigrants’ umbrella organisation. In 2008 she became CEO of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, a role she held for five years. She is an activist and advocate for the LGBTQ community.
She entered the Knesset in 2021 with Meretz and served on the Education, Culture and Sport and Constitution Committees. She also chaired the subcommittee on higher education and belonged to the mental-health and suicide-prevention lobby.
Born in 1969, Rozin is married with three children and lives in Petah Tikva. She holds degrees in education and public policy from Ben-Gurion University.
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