Blue and White (political alliance)

Blue and White
כחול לבן‎
LeaderBenny Gantz
Founded21 February 2019 (2019-02-21)
Dissolved14 August 2022 (2022-08-14)
HeadquartersTel Aviv
Ideology
Political positionCentre[3]
Member partiesIsrael Resilience
Yesh Atid (2019–2020)
Telem (2019–2020)
Colours  Blue
  Dark blue
  White
SloganBenny. Choosing Honesty. (2021)
Most MKs35 (April 2019)
Election symbol
פה‎ (2019–2020)
ف‌ه‎ (2019–2020)
כן‎ (2021–)
ك‌ن‎ (2021–)

[4]
Website
kachollavan.org.il Edit this at Wikidata

Blue and White (Hebrew: כָּחוֹל לָבָן Kaḥol Lavan) was a centrist[2] and liberal Zionist[5][6] political alliance in Israel. It was established by the Israel Resilience Party, Yesh Atid and Telem to run in the April 2019 Knesset election,[7] in hopes of defeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blue and White defines itself as a pluralistic alliance representing all citizens on the political and religious spectrums.[8] The phrase "blue and white" refers to the colors of the Israeli flag, and is colloquially used to describe something as being typically Israeli.[9]

Following the March 2020 elections, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz was tasked with forming a new government after receiving endorsements from a majority of 61 MKs.[10] Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Gantz instead opted to put himself forward as interim Speaker of the Knesset while continuing negotiations to form a coalition government with Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud and other parties.

The effect was a break-up of the Blue and White alliance.[11] The alliance split on 29 March 2020, with the Israel Resilience Party keeping the name Blue and White. Yesh Atid and Telem left the alliance and formed a separate faction in the Knesset.[12] On 20 April, a coalition deal was signed with Likud, in which Netanyahu would serve first as prime minister, and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz would serve as prime minister starting October 2021, as well as giving the party ministerial portfolios such as defense ministers and foreign minister.[13] However, this deal was never realized, because the Knesset collapsed in December 2020 after a major budget dispute, triggering new elections in March 2021. In the 2021 legislative election, Blue and White won eight seats and joined the government.[14] After that coalition collapsed the following year, the party formed an alliance with the Gideon Sa'ar-led New Hope called National Unity, which was led by Gantz. The alliance won 12 seats.

  1. ^ Yakter, Alon; Tessler, Mark (26 February 2018). "Netanyahu's new rival is surging in Israel's polls". The Washington Post. Gantz's centrist political party, Blue and White, leads the opposition despite being particularly vague on Israel's most important ideological cleavage: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
  2. ^ a b Halbfinger, David M. (21 February 2019). "2 Israel Centrists, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, Join Forces Against Netanyahu". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. ^ [1][2]
  4. ^ "כחול לבן בראשות בני גנץ". Central Election Committee for the Knesset (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  5. ^ Bishara, Hakim (14 December 2020). "Opposition Mounts Against Proposed Appointment of Far-right Chairman to Israeli Holocaust Museum". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 26 March 2024. the liberal Zionist Blue and White party, headed by Defence Minister Benny Gantz, the son of Holocaust survivors.
  6. ^ ""Blue and White" - Kahol Lavan Party". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 26 March 2024. Gantz said the two parties would establish a "responsible, realistic, secure, and liberal" government. Such a coalition, he said, will "say no to racism, no to extremism, and yes to unity for all parts of the country and all types of citizens… ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, secular; Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Jews." Gantz added that voters "shouldn't have to pick from the extremes."
  7. ^ Staff writer. "United Gantz-Lapid party to be called "Blue and White"; no women in top 6". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  8. ^ מצע כחול לבן. כחול לבן (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  9. ^ מילוג המילון העברי החופשי – כחול לבן פירושים (in Hebrew). Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  10. ^ Wootliff, Raoul (15 March 2020). "Rivlin to task Gantz with forming government after he receives 61 endorsements". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  11. ^ Hoffman, Gil (26 March 2020). "Blue and White splits as unity deal with Likud approaches". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  12. ^ Raoul Wootliff (29 March 2020). "Knesset panel okays breakup of Blue and White; Gantz keeps name". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  13. ^ Gil Hoffman (21 April 2020). "The deal is done: Netanyahu, Gantz ink coalition pact". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  14. ^ "תוצאות האמת של הבחירות לכנסת ה-24 תוצאות ארציות תוצאות סופיות רשמיות". Central election committee (in Hebrew). 31 March 2021.