2013 Israeli legislative election

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Elections for the 19th Knesset
22 January 2013
Prime Minister before election Benjamin Netanyahu Likud Subsequent Prime Minister TBD

Early parliamentary elections will be held in Israel on 22 January 2013 to elect the 19th Knesset. Originally, public debate over the Tal Law nearly led to an early election in 2012, but this was aborted at the last moment after Kadima briefly joined the government. The elections were later called in early October 2012 after failure to agree on the budget for 2013.

Background

Following the 2009 Israeli legislative election, in which the camp consisting of both the right wing parties and the religious parties won the majority of the seats (65 seats in total), opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu established a relatively broad-based government that included both right-wing parties (Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu), Haredi and religious parties (Shas, United Torah Judaism and The Jewish Home) and the Labor Party from the political left.

Although there were many divisions between the coalition parties on issues of National security and the peace process, Separation of church and state, politics and democracy, the Netanyahu government was relatively stable and was able to overcome various political and national security related crises with no real threat from the opposition. The stability of the coalition government and of the opposition even increased after the split in the Labor Party—the departure of five of its members led by Ehud Barak and the establishment of the Independence Party. After Barak's move, Netanyahu was able to maintain a majority of 66 MK (out of 120 in the Knesset), previously having 74 MKs within his majority coalition.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's initial popularity among the Israeli public, as well as his government, remained stable, as he managed to overcome various events that could have endangered the stability of his government—such as the political speech at the Bar-Ilan University in the beginning of his term in which he endorsed for the first time the notion of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, the Netanyahu government's agreement to freeze Israeli construction in the West Bank, in light of the common belief in the Israeli public that the diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel worsened during Netanyahu's term, the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident and its implications, the outbreak of the Mount Carmel forest fire on December 2010 and the various government oversights which were attributed to this blunder, as well as the growing debate within the Israeli public about an Israeli preemptive attack on Iran.

However, an unprecedented decline in the popularity of Netanyahu and his government occurred in summer 2011 following the 2011 Israeli social justice protests. and mass demonstrations held against the high living costs in Israel, which had a significant effect on the popularity of the Netanyahu government. Nevertheless, this decline passed quickly after Netanyahu's speech at the General debate of the sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2011 following the Palestinian diplomatic campaign to gain full membership in the United Nations and following the 2011 southern Israel cross-border attacks. In addition, Netanyahu's popularity also increased after the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal was approved and after the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit was released. These events actually led to the broadest support Netanyahu ever received since the beginning of his term.

As a result of the high support of the government, Netanyahu announced that early primaries would be held in the Likud party, a move which slightly surprised the Israeli political establishment and led to speculations regarding the possibility that Netanyahu is going to announce further ahead that early general elections would be held, due to his current high popularity amongst the Israeli public.

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  Netanyahu, together with Mahmoud Abbas, Hillary Clinton and George J. Mitchell at the start of the direct talks on 2 September 2010.
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  Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange
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  2011 Israeli social justice protests

Tal Law controversy and its implications

Prior to the decision to dissolve the Knesset attempts to amend the Tal Law, which allows Haredi to indefinitely defer national service, by Yisrael Beiteinu and Kadima and was struck down by the High Court of Justice. It was also supported by the Independence party, but failed after Shas appealed an expedited process pass through the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs, which meant it would have to be rediscussed and could not pass. The dissolution of parliament would force an automatic extension of the law, due to expire on 1 August, for another six to eight months. Netanyahu said a new law should "make the burden [of serving in the IDF or civilian service] more equal and fair." Yisrael Beiteinu said the dissolution should have been postponed so that its proposed Equal National Service for All bill could be voted upon. Similarly, Kadima's Shaul Mofaz told the "Suckers Camp" (מאהל הפראיירים) protesters outside Likud's political convention that this was an "historic opportunity to clean the moral stain that is the Tal Law." He also said that the motion to dissolve the legislature at this state was a "stinky political trick" by Netanyahu, Yacimovich and the Haredi parties. Kadima's chairwoman Dalia Itzik also reiterated calls to have a new law before the election.

On 7 May the Knesset voted on a series of bills in regards to its dissolution and holding the election on 4 September, which passed; however in the early morning of 8 May, a few hours before the Knesset was expected to approve the bill which would bring the 18th Knesset's term to its end, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement with the Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz to join the current government, thus canceling the early election supposed to be held in September.

On 17 July, after the failure of parties to reach a compromise on the issue, Kadima voted to pull out of the coalition. The coalition did, however, still have a majority of seats even without Kadima. Nevertheless, the reduced coalition which was now divided between nationalist groups such as Yisrael Beiteinu and Haredi groups such as Shas, casted doubts regarding the coalition's ability to pass a budget for 2013 on the date prescribed by law. This situation, of the inability to pass the budget, revived the possibility that early elections might be held – a possibility which Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his support of during a special speech he delivered from his public office on October 9.

Date of the election

Since the term of the 17th Knesset ended prematurely, the term of the 18th Knesset is four full years plus eight more months, starting from the month of its election (February 2009). The expected date for a regular election was to be on 22 October 2013, but an early election was announced.

Likud's coalition chairman MK Ze'ev Elkin wanted the election to be scheduled for 4 September 2012. He got support for the motion from Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas and Labor; however, Kadima wanted the election 16 September. Meretz, Labor and Elkin submitted different motions for dissolution. Netanyahu told the Likud party on 7 May that he would like an early election saying that he does not "want there to be a year-and-a-half of political instability accompanied by blackmail and populism. I'd prefer a short electoral campaign of four months that will ensure political stability. I would have been very happy if we could have completed the term, which was also my goal, but it is no secret that with the start of the government's fourth year, the coalition is fraying somewhat. The achievements of this government are a result of a joint vision and a partnership that was possible due to political stability. We have not had such a stable government in decades. We are proposing 4 September, after which, God and voters willing, we will receive a mandate."

The Knesset House Committee's approval on 7 May for the expedition of the bill to dissolve the 18th Knesset allowing for plenum vote. The committee bill was approved by a vote of 13 to four. Though Shas voted against the measure, a party member said that "Shas' unambiguous stance is to support the early elections and the legislation. [Shas MKs] abstained due to confusion. We support the bill."

On 9 October, Netanyahu made a televised address in which he reacted to the inability to pass a budget for the next fiscal year by the deadline of 31 December. He said: "I have decided that it is in Israel's better interest to go to elections now and as quickly as possible. For Israel, it is preferable to have as short a campaign as possible, one of three months over one that would last in practice an entire year and damage Israel's economy." Reactions to the announcement included the Labor Party's Shelley Yachimovich who said that despite lagging in opinion polls to Likud there was a "reasonable probability" of winning and that "the public today understands that security is not just on the borders but is also job and income security and health and education security." Kadima's Shaul Mofaz told Channel 10: "I think the decision for early elections is a day of hope for the citizens of Israel. It is an opportunity to replace the bad Netanyahu government that has isolated Israel politically over the past four years, damaged Israel's deterrence and deteriorated the middle class."

Election calendar

• 6 December 2012 – the last day for submission of the lists of candidates for the Knesset to the Central Election Commission.
• 10 January 2013 – Election day only members of the Israeli diplomatic missions
• 18 January 2013 – after this date the publication of polls and predictions is prohibited.
• 21 January 2013 – starting from 19:00 campaigning using assemblies, meetings, speakers, and media is prohibited.
• 22 January 2013 – Election Day. Polling stations will be open from 7:00 to 22:00.
• 5 February 2013 – the general meeting of the newly elected Knesset.
• 6 February 2013 – the last day to request formation of a new Israeli government from one of the leaders of the factions.
• 20 March 2013 – the last day to report about the task to form a new government by a faction leader to the President.

Surplus-vote agreements

Surplus vote agreements allow a party that has passed the threshold for a certain number of seats but cannot gain a further seat to pass the "surplus" votes, i.e. those above the threshold, to another party to enhance its chances of increasing its number of seats. Several agreements were signed by parties prior to the election:

• Likud Yisrael Beiteinu and The Jewish Home
• Hatnuah and Meretz
• Israeli Labor Party and Yesh Atid
• Am Shalem and Kadima
• Hadash and Balad

Campaign

The decision to have an early election was read as influential over the issue of an attack on Iran. A victory for Likud could bolster the case for an armed strike, however it was also risky during an election. It would however be an election issue.

Likud's Netanyahu said that in a new government he would seek to have as large and stable a governing coalition as possible in order to "deal with the great challenges that we will face." He also said that his other priority would be to tackle the still high levels of crime. "We know that there has been a reduction of 30% in the incidence of murder, but these cases are brutal and underline our acknowledged need to battle these occurrences full force." He said that Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino were tasked with compiling a report into the 37 murders in 2012, incomparison to 52 in 2011, and said he was confident in curbing the trend.

Campaign issues, particularly in regards to attacking the Netanyahu government, are expected to be Netanyahu's relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama over Israel-Iran relations in light of the controversy over the Iranian nuclear programme, the stalling of the Israel-Palestinian peace process, the 2011 Israeli social justice protests and the aforementioned Tal law.

Debate

The Citizens Empowerment Center in Israel is sponsoring an "American-style" debate set for 1 January 2013 between the party leaders. Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud), Shelly Yachimovich (Labor), Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu), Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), and Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) were all invited to the debate. All have agreed to attend except Netanyahu, who has not replied.

Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu merge

Main article: Likud Yisrael Beiteinu

On October 25, 2012, Prime Minister and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman announced that Yisrael Beiteinu and Likud would run together on a single ballot in the 2013 general elections. "A joining of forces will give us the strength to defend Israel from military threats, and the strength to spearhead social and economic changes in the country", Netanyahu said. "In view of the challenges we're facing, we need responsibility on a national level ... We're providing a true alternative, and an opportunity for the citizens to stabilize leadership and government", Lieberman said.

Operation Pillar of Defense

Main article: Operation Pillar of Defense

A map of the areas affected by the conflict.

File:OperationPillarOfDefenseMontage.png

Operation Pillar of Defense

In November 2012, following Gaza militants rocket and mortar fire at Israeli towns and villages and attacks committed against Israeli soldiers stationed near the border with the Gaza Strip, the Israeli political leadership ordered the IDF to launch Operation Pillar of Defense, during which the IAF conducted a series of air strikes against militant targets of the Hamas and against the organization's leaders, including the head of the organization's military wing Ahmed Jabari, whom was assassinated while he was driving his car in Gaza City. As a result, Hamas responded by firing rockets and mortars at various localities in Israel, especially in the southern Israel region, but also in addition, for the first time in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, managed to shoot rockets at Israel's biggest metropolitan area in the central region of Israel.

The operation in the Gaza Strip gained the support of most of the Israeli political parties, including various opposition parties, nevertheless, some Israeli political parties such as Meretz, Hadash, and all of the Israeli-Arab parties expressed their strong opposition to the operation. Some figures in the Israeli left-wing political spectrum stated that the operation was actually an "Election War" aimed at putting aside the socio-economic issues and replacing it with a defense agenda, and claimed that the operation would not help Israel in the long term.

After the Israeli government signed the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, a number of figues in the Israeli right-wing political spectrum, among them Naftali Bennett and Aryeh Eldad, criticized the government's decision. During the operation and the shelling of southern Israel, various parties declared that they would suspend their political campaign until the operation would end—among them the Likud Party and the opposition parties Kadima and the Labor party.

Independence withdrawal

Further information: Independence (Israeli political party)

Party leader Ehud Barak announced on November 26 that he would retire from politics and that Independence was pulling out of the 2013 Israeli legislative elections.

On 26 November, the chairman of the Independence party Ehud Barak announced that he would retire from politics after the next Minister of Defense would be chosen, and that the party's political campaign was suspended. Subsequently, Shalom Simhon became the chairman of the party but on 6 December, announced he was retiring from politics and that Independence was pulling out of the elections.

Palestinian statehood recognition

Main articles: United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 and E1 (Jerusalem)

In the General Assembly of the United Nations held On 29 November 2012 the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which upgrades Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations. The new status equates Palestine's with that of the Holy See. In December 2012, in response to the UN approving the Palestinian UN bid for non-member observer state status, the Israeli government inner cabinet announced that it approves the building of housing units in area E1, connecting Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim.

Disqualification petitions

On December 19th MK Haneen Zoabi was disqualified from being re-elected in the 2013 election for "supporting terrorism and rejecting Israel as a Jewish and democratic state".

The haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism exclude women from their lists based on the belief that women in the Knesset would violate modesty laws. Because of this, the Central Election Committee received petitions in December 2012 to disqualify both parties for being discriminatory. Likewise, the Otzma LeYisrael party headed by Aryeh Eldad and Michael Ben-Ari has come under scrutiny due to its alleged denial of Israel as both a Jewish and democratic state. On December 20, the Committee declared it would not ban any of those parties.

On December 19 the Committee voted to disqualify the Israeli-Arab MK Hanin Zoabi from from being re-elected to the Knesset in the 2013 election on grounds of "supporting terrorism and rejecting Israel as a Jewish and democratic state". However, the ban was overturned by Israel's supreme court.

Participating parties

Further information: List of political parties in Israel

Though Netanyahu stated in early April 2012 that there would not be an early election, Yisrael Beiteinu threatened to leave the government if its replacement for the Tal Law, which had been struck down in February by the Supreme Court of Israel, was not passed. Party leader Avigdor Lieberman then called for an early election, but Netanyahu said he wanted a "feasibility study" to be conducted first. His father, Benzion Netanyahu, died the same day, putting all discussions on hold while the prime minister mourned. Speaker Reuven Rivlin said that the current summer session of the Knesset would be the last and an election would be held at the end of summer. Rivlin said the Knesset could be dissolved by mid-May, 2012. Netanyahu announced early elections on October 9, 2012. The National Election Commission announced that 34 parties had filed to run and the election is expected to cost 250 million Shekels.

Current parties and lists

The following parties include both parties that existed in the 2009 Israeli legislative election as well as newly formed parties and alliances which all have seats in the Knesset (f.ex, some of the newly formed parties or alliances in the list include serving Knesset members whom left their parties of origin and joined them). The parties listed below are ordered by the amount of seats each of these parties in the 2009 Israeli legislative election (or the cumulative amount of seats the parties in each alliance received in the 2009 Israeli legislative election):

Likud Yisrael Beiteinu

Main articles: Likud leadership election, 2012 and Likud Yisrael Beiteinu

Likud leadership election
Netanyahu	Feiglin
76.8% (48,490)	23.2% (14,660)
The "Likud Beiteinu" List
1 Benjamin Netanyahu 2 Avigdor Lieberman 3 Gideon Sa'ar 4 Yair Shamir 5 Gilad Erdan 6 Silvan Shalom 7 Uzi Landau 8 Yisrael Katz 9 Danny Danon 10 Sofa Landver 11 Reuven Rivlin 12 Moshe Ya'alon 13 Yitzhak Aharonovich 14 Ze'ev Elkin 15 Tzipi Hotovely 16 Orly Levy 17 Yariv Levin 18 Yuli-Yoel Edelstein 19 Faina Kirschenbaum 20 Haim Katz 21 Miri Regev 22 David Rotem 23 Moshe Feiglin 24 Yuval Steinitz 25 Robert Ilatov 26 Tzachi Hanegbi 27 Limor Livnat 28 Hamad Amar 29 Ofir Akunis 30 Gila Gamliel 31 Shimon Ohayon 32 Karmel Shama 33 Alex Miller 34 Leon Litinetski 35 David Bitan 36 Uri Faraj 37 Yulia Malinovsky 38 Katy Shitrit 39 Ayoob Kara 40 Smadar Bat Adam Levitan 41 Shuki Ohana 42 David Amsalem 43 Oded Forer 44 Victor Ifraimov 45 Yitzhak Danino 46 Moshe Matalon 47 Keren Barak 48 Avraham Negusa 49 Lia Shemtov 50 David Even Tzur

The winner of the Likud leadership election and number one of the Likud Beiteinu list - Benjamin Netanyahu.

In early December 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially announced that early primaries would be held for the leadership of the Likud Party – this announcement was later supported and approved by the Likud's Central Committee later that month. The date of the Likud primaries was set for 31 January 2012. Netanyahu's main political opponent in the Likud party, Silvan Shalom, was surprised by the move and even declared it to be illegal, but eventually announced that he would not be running against Netanyahu for the leadership of the party, thus leaving Moshe Feiglin as Netanyahu's sole competitor.

During the election day Netanyahu repeatedly attempted to spur the Likud members to come to the polls and vote, nevertheless the turnout remained low. As a result, and due to various many failures at the opening of polling stations across Israel, the voting time was extended by two hours in some places. Nevertheless, at the end of the day the voter turnout was 50% of the total eligible voters. Despite Netanyahu's fears of a low voter turnout, the vast majority of voters supported him, while Moshe Feiglin gained relatively low support.

In early May, Netanyahu's attempts to head the Likud central committee were dealt blow as party members called for a secret ballot, which was seen as an hindrance to him in beating out Danny Danon. Popular Communications and Welfare & Social Services Minister and Likud MK Moshe Kahlon declared he will not contest the upcoming election. The decision was considered surprising, with Likud officials speculating that Kahlon was passed over by Netanyahu for the post of Minister of Finance.

On October 25, 2012, Prime Minister and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman announced the unification of their two parties which would run as a single bloc for the upcoming election. The new party will be called Likud Beiteinu ("The Likud Is Our Home"), with Netanyahu number one on the list followed by Lieberman as number two.

The results of the Likud primaries indicated the absence of prominent Likud members currently serving as ministers from the top positions in the new Likud list (namely, Benny Begin, Michael Eitan, Dan Meridor and Avi Dichter), and on the other hand the entry of two other politicians whom were positioned in top positions in the new Likud list - Tzachi Hanegbi (who left the Kadima party and joined the Likud party), and Moshe Feiglin, who is considered a political hardliner with a unique political perspective that emphasizes policies that reflect Israel's Jewish identity.

On December 14 Avigdor Lieberman resigned as the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister and as Deputy Prime Minister following an indictment for fraud.

Kadima

Main article: Kadima leadership election, 2012

Kadima leadership election
Mofaz	Livni
62.3% (23,987)	37.7% (14,516)
The Kadima list
1 Shaul Mofaz 2 Yisrael Hasson 3 Yohanan Plesner 4 Ronit Tirosh 5 Shai Hermesh 6 Yuval Tzelner 7 Doron Avital 8 Akram Hasson 9 Ahmad Dabbah 10 Eti Livni

The winner of the Kadima primaries - Shaul Mofaz.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's announcement about having early primaries in the Likud started a debate among the Kadima party members over when to hold leadership elections for their party. Following increasing pressure to hold the election, party leader Tzipi Livni announced that the election for the leadership of Kadima would be held on 27 March 2012. In addition to Livni, party members Shaul Mofaz and Avi Dichter announced their intention to run for chairman position of the party.

Mofaz won the election 62.3% to 37.7% with a turnout of approximately 40%. Livni later resigned from her seat in Knesset complaining that Israel was sitting "on a volcano. The international clock is ticking and the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state is in danger. For years, Israeli leaders have been burying their heads in the sand, occupying themselves with political exercises and spin and in that time the threat to Israel has only grown."

Labor Party

Main article: Israeli Labor Party leadership election, 2011

Israeli Labor Party leadership election
Yachimovich	Peretz
54.2% (22,257)	45.8% (18,822)
The Labor Party list
1 Shelly Yachimovich 2 Isaac Herzog 3 Eitan Cabel 4 Merav Michaeli 5 Benjamin Ben-Eliezer 6 Yehiel Bar 7 Omer Bar-Lev 8 Stav Shaffir 9 Avishai Braverman 10 Erel Margalit 11 Itzik Shmuli 12 Mickey Rosenthal 13 Michal Biran 14 Nachman Shai 15 Moshe Mizrahi 16 Danny Atar 17 Ghaleb Majadele 18 Nadia Hilou 19 Nino Abesadze 20 Yossi Yona 21 Daniel Ben-Simon 22 Ofer Kornfeld 23 Hili Tropper 24 Yona Prital 25 Saleh Saad 26 Yariv Oppenheimer 27 Gilad Kariv 28 Estee Kirmair 29 Baruch Zelts 30 Eran Charamuni

File:Shelly Yachimovich.jpg

The winner of the Israeli Labor Party primaries - Shelly Yachimovich.

At the start of 2011, Labor leader Ehud Barak began to face dissent from his party over its presence in the coalition. On 17 January 2011, disillusionment with Barak, over his support for coalition policies, especially regarding the peace process, led to his resignation from the Labor Party with four other Knesset members to establish a new "centrist, Zionist and democratic" party named Independence. Following this move, all Labor Party government ministers resigned. Splitting the Labour Party enabled Barak to keep a faction of Labour MKs loyal to him within Netanyahu's coalition, preventing the departure of all 13 Labour MKs from the coalition. Due to the split, the party remained without a chairman for a while and was even regarded in the public and the media as a party in demise. However, Barak's departure only led a sudden high interest in the party, especially since the remaining half of its members began campaigning to win to position of party chairman.

In the first round of voting which was held on 12 September 2011, MK Shelly Yacimovich managed to get first position and was followed, in a low margin, by Amir Peretz. In the third and fourth places were Isaac Herzog and Amram Mitzna. Since no candidate topped the 40% threshold required, a second round was held a week later on 21 September 2011, in which Yachimovich was able to beat Peretz in a gap of about 10%.

Yachimovich's victory, which placed the emphasis of the party on social values rather than issues of national security, brought a renewed interest in the party following the 2011 social protest and as a result, many polls predicted that the party might win nearly 20 seats, which would make the party become the second largest party after Likud on the account of Kadima. Down the road, and especially after Yair Lapid declared that he would enter politics, Yachimovich's popularity and the popularity of the party were slightly moderated. In January 2012 the party got a lot of media attention after Noam Shalit (father of Gilad Shalit) and former head of the Unit of International Crime Investigations Moshe Mizrahi both announced that they are joining the party.

Shas

Further information: Shas

The Shas list

1 Eli Yishai 2 Aryeh Deri 3 Ariel Atias 4 Yitzhak Cohen 5 Meshulam Nahari 6 Amnon Cohen 7 Ya'akov Margi 8 David Azulai 9 Yitzhak Vaknin 10 Nissim Ze'ev 11 Avraham Michaeli 12 Yoav Ben Tzur 13 Lior Adari 14 Ami Iluz 15 Eli Dadoun 16 Gershon Levi

Shas party leader Eli Yishai

After Aryeh Deri announced his return to politics, and following a series of highly publicised events that led to an increase in the tensions between the Haredi public and the non-Haredi public, Shas's popularity began to falter according to most polls. As a result, Shas chairman Eli Yishai requested that Aryeh Deri join the party instead of establishing an independent party. Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef offered Aryeh Deri the 3rd position on the party list, but Deri rejected it at first and was believed to want to lead the party, start his own party (which was prospectively polled as much as 7 seats), or not participate in the election at all. On 16 October a compromise was reached: Shas will not a have a formal chairman, but will instead be jointly lead by Deri, Yishai and Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias. The direction of the election campaign is in debate, with reports suggesting that Yishai wishes to focus on fighting illegal immigration, and Deri favoring focusing on social justice issues while avoiding mentions of Shas's treatment of Sudanese refugees in Israel.

Hatnuah

Further information: Hatnuah

The "Hatnuah" List

1 Tzipi Livni 2 Amram Mitzna 3 Amir Peretz 4 Elazar Stern 5 Meir Sheetrit 6 David Tzur 7 Yoel Hasson 8 Shlomo Molla 9 Meirav Cohen 10 Orit Zuaretz 11 Aharon Valensi 12 Majalli Wahabi 13 Alon Tal 14 Robert Tiviaev

Tzipi Livni

Since she lost the primaries for the leadership of the Kadima party and resigned from the Knesset, many reports spread in the Israeli media of Tzipi Livni's possible return to politics as the head of a new party of her own. Those reports eventually turned out to be true on November 27, when the logo for her new party titled "Hatnuah - headed by Tzipi Livni" was initially published. At a press conference held during the same day, Livni officially announced the establishment of the Hatnuah party which would be headed by her and which would participate in the upcoming elections. "Hatnuah" (התנועה) means "The Movement" in Hebrew.

Immediately after the establishment of Hatnuah party, seven Knesset members from the Kadima (Meir Shitrit, Yoel Hasson, Shlomo Molla, Robert Tiviaev, Majalli Wahabi, Rachel Adato and Orit Zuaretz) announced that they have left the Kadima party and joined Livni's party. On December 1 it was announced that the Former Labor chairman Amram Mitzna joined Livni's party

The Jewish Home

Further information: The Jewish Home and National Union (Israel)

The Jewish Home leadership election
Bennett	Orlev
67.1% (23,645)	32.7% (11,501)
The Jewish Home List
1 Naftali Bennett 2 Uri Ariel 3 Nissan Slomiansky 4 Eli Ben-Dahan 5 Ayelet Shaked 6 Uri Orbach 7 Zevulun Kalpa 8 Avi Vartzman 9 Moti Yogev 10 Orit Strook 11 Yoni Shetbun 12 Shuli Muaalam 13 Hillel Horovitz 14 Jeremy Gimpel 15 Nachi Eyal

The winner of The Jewish Home party primaries - Naftali Bennett.

The Jewish Home party and the National Union party began preparing for the possibility of running in a joint list for the next elections during the term of the 18th Knesset. While negotiations were successful and the two parties reached consensus, disagreements arose regarding the selection of candidates for the Knesset, as the "The Jewish Home" supported the idea of running open primaries while The National Union opposed it. In September 2012, Ya'akov Katz signed an agreement with Jewish Home leadership candidate Naftali Bennett to form a joint list for the 2013 elections. On 12 October 2012, Michael Ben-Ari announced that due to not being placed in a realistic spots, he and Aryeh Eldad would be running in a separate pro-Land-of-Israel list, called Otzma LeYisrael.

The primaries were held on 6 November 2012 for the position of the party's chairman. Naftali Bennett was elected as the chairman with 67.1% of the votes. Zevulun Orlev, whom was second with 32.7% of the votes, declared that he would end his political career following his defeat in the primaries.

Although Initially the National Union party (an alliance of a four parties - Tkuma, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Moledet) was running separately, in November 2012, as a result of the disagreement within the National Union party regarding forming an alliance with The Jewish Home, the Hatikva party and the Eretz Yisrael Shelanu party left the National Union alliance and started a new party alliance named Otzma LeYisrael. Meanwhile, the Tkuma party decided to run together with the Jewish Home party as an alliance. As part of the agreement it was established that Naftali Bennett would serve as the alliance's chairman while Uri Ariel would be in the second position of the list and that after the elections both parties would merge into a single party.

United Torah Judaism

Further information: United Torah Judaism

The UTJ list

1 Yaakov Litzman 2 Moshe Gafni 3 Meir Porush 4 Uri Maklev 5 Eliezer Moses 6 Yisrael Eichler 7 Ya'akov Asher 8 Ya'akov Asher Guterman

United Torah Judaism's chairman – Yaakov Litzman.

United Torah Judaism is an alliance of two Haredi parties, the Hasidic Agudat Israel party and the Lithuanian Degel HaTorah party.

In 2012 a split occurred among the Lithuanian Haredi public, as a group within the Degel HaTorah party which regards itself as the successor of Rabbi Elazar Shach and affiliated with Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, felt that it is not represented by the party. After it was announced that early elections would be held a group of people associated with the registered a new party under the name Netzah. After Menachem Carmel, whom is affiliated with this group, did not win the third position in the United Torah Judaism list it was officially announced that the "Netzah" would be running in the 2013 Israeli legislative election.

United Arab List–Ta'al

Further information: United Arab List and Ta'al

United Arab List–Ta'al is an alliance of the two Arab parties United Arab List (Ra'am) and Ta'al which was first formed prior to the 2006 Israeli legislative elections. The party list is as follows (in order): Ibrahim Sarsur (party chairman), Ahmed Tibi, Masud Ghnaim, Taleb Abu Arar, Taleb el-Sana, Muhammad Cnaan.

Hadash

Further information: Hadash

The Hadash list

1 Mohammad Barakeh 2 Hana Sweid 3 Dov Khenin 4 Afu Agbaria 5 Nabila Espanioly 6 Ayman Odeh

Hadash's chairman – Mohammad Barakeh.

Primaries were held on 10 November 2012 for the party list for the upcoming elections. The party list is as follows (in order): Mohammad Barakeh (party chairman), Hana Sweid, Dov Khenin, Afu Agbaria, Nabila Espanioly, and Ayman Odeh.

The party delegates also voted to decline the proposal to reserve a certain amount of seats in the list for female representatives (79% were against this proposal).

Meretz

Further information: Meretz

Primaries for the leadership of Meretz
Gal-On	Gilon
60.6% (506)	36.6% (306)
The Meretz List
1 Zahava Gal-On 2 Ilan Gilon 3 Nitzan Horowitz 4 Michal Rozin 5 Issawi Frej 6 Tamar Zandberg 7 Avshalom Vilan 8 Mossi Raz 9 Yifat Solel 10 Uri Zaki

The winner of the Meretz leadership election - Zahava Gal-On.

Following the party's failure in the 2009 legislative elections, some of the party members called for the resignation of the party chairman Chaim Oron and to give way for Zahava Gal-On. Haim Oron indeed left the Knesset and later left the chairmanship of the party. As a result MKs Zahava Gal-On, Ilan Gilon, and youth activist Ori Ophir began campaigning to win the position of the party chairman.

The primaries were held on 7 February 2012 for the position of the party's chairman. Zahava Gal-On was elected as the chairman with 60.6% of the votes. Ilan Gilon was second with 36.6% of the votes, and Uri Ofir was third with 2.8% of the votes.

Primaries were held on 11 November 2012 for the party list for the upcoming elections. The party list is as follows (in order): Zahava Gal-On, Ilan Gilon, Nitzan Horowitz, Michal Rozin, Issawi Frej, Tamar Zandberg, Avshalom Vilan, Mossi Raz, Yifat Solel and Uri Zaki.

Balad

Further information: Balad (political party)

Balad's chairman – Jamal Zahalka.

The party list is as follows (in order): Jamal Zahalka (party chairman), Haneen Zoabi, Basel Atas, Juma Azbargh, and Abed Fukra. In December 2012, it was announced that the Central Elections Committee and a panel of Supreme Court judges would hold discussions on whether to disqualify Haneen Zoabi, as well as the Balad party, from the 2013 election. The request for her disqualification, submitted by MK Ofir Akunis (Likud) and which obtained the necessary number of signatures, stated that "throughout her years in the Knesset, Zoabi has constantly undermined the State of Israel and has openly incited against the government, its institutions and IDF soldiers." The request further noted that Zoabi negates Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state, which makes Knesset candidates eligible for disqualification.

Otzma LeYisrael

Further information: Otzma LeYisrael

The Otzma LeYisrael list

1 Aryeh Eldad 2 Michael Ben-Ari 3 Baruch Marzel 4 Aryeh King

File:Arie Eldad portrait.jpg

Aryeh Eldad

Following the negotiations between the National Union alliance and The Jewish Home party, MK Michael Ben-Ari, along with Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben Gvir, announced that they do not plan to stay in such an alliance and they would form an independent party. MK Aryeh Eldad from the Hatikva party decided also not to take part in the alliance.

On 13 November 2012 they announced that they formed a new joint list called Otzma LeIsrael.

Am Shalem

Further information: Am Shalem

The Am Shalem list

1 Haim Amsalem 2 Moshe Tsarfati 3 Reuven Agasi 4 Daniela Yekira

Haim Amsalem

Rabbi Haim Amsalem was elected to the Knesset as a Shas member during the 17th and 18th legislative elections, as the representative of Rabbi Meir Mazoz, the head of the Kisseh Rachamim yeshiva. During the 18th Knesset Amsalem began to publicly hold controversial positions on key issues such as conversions to Judaism (he would not require a pledge to follow Torah laws, like the Conservative stance), the enforcement of Haredi public integration in the work force, the status of women in Israel, etc. His positions caused a rift between him and the Shas party which eventually led the Council of Torah Sages (מועצת חכמי התורה) to call for his resignation, and lead to complaints against him from public Haredi bodies. On the other hand in 2011 he received the Knight of Quality Government Award on behalf of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.

After Amsalem quit the Shas party, he established a new political movement called "Am Shalem" (a play of words on his last name, since the Hebrew letter of his family name are the same as Am Shalem), and announced that it would take part in the election.

New parties

The following parties are parties which currently have no seats in the Knesset (f.ex, they did not get any seats in the last election and no serving Knesset members left their party of origin recently and joined them).

Yesh Atid

Further information: Yesh Atid

The Yesh Atid list

1 Yair Lapid 2 Shai Piron 3 Yael German 4 Meir Cohen 5 Yaakov Peri 6 Ofer Shelah 7 Aliza Lavi 8 Yoel Razvozov 9 Adi Kol 10 Karin Elharar

On January 2012 TV personality Yair Lapid announced that he was leaving his journalism career in order to enter politics.

During the term of the Israeli 32nd government speculation arose concerning the possibility that Israeli journalist and television personality Lapid would end his career in journalism and begin a career in Israeli politics. Initially, Lapid dismissed these reports and speculations.

Due to the ethical conflict between Lapid's functioning as a journalist and his political aspirations, Lapid informed Channel 2's CEO that he would resign six months before entering politics. Lapid's commitment did not stop the Knesset legislation proceedings aimed at preventing the influx of Israeli journalists running for a position in the Knesset during their first year after they ended their journalist careers.

Despite Lapid's denials about going into politics and in light of his obligations to end his journalism career long before that, Lapid officially announced in early January 2012 that he was leaving his journalism career in order to enter politics and the he would lead a new party. Lapid continued to write his weekly column in Yediot Aharonot until the elections were officially announced.

Lapid ultimately decided to name his party Yesh Atid. His father's (Tommy Lapid) secular movement party Shinui used the election symbol 'yesh'. The party will have to submit a list of 100 founders and will be capped at raising 13.5 million shekels during this election cycle.

Other parties

• Ale Yarok-Liberal List - merged with the Liberal list (הרשימה הליברלית). The party has never passed the threshold and in the 18th elections in won only 13 thousand votes.
• Da'am Workers Party - a Left Party which was active in the 2011 Israeli social justice protests. The head of the party is the Israeli Arab journalist Asma Agbarieh whom is the only Israeli Arab woman to ever head a political party. The party has been running since the 2001 Israeli legislative election, but has failed so far in passing the threshold.
• Dor – The new Pensioners party – the Gil party, which was one of the big successful parties in the 2006 Israeli legislative election and vanished from Israeli politics following it's system failure in the 2009 Israeli legislative election, announced that it intends to run once again with the chairman Rafi Eitan under the new name "Dor – The new Pensioners party" (דור - מפלגת הגמלאים החדשה).
• The Economics Party – In May 2012, a new party called The Economics Party was formed in Israel by Danny and Benny Goldstein, two mattress dealers originally from Maine. The party focuses on peace between Israel and its Arab and Palestinian neighbors, which its platform states can be attained through joint business ventures such as shopping malls on Israel's borders with its neighbors; these businesses would be open to customers of both nationalities. The party has been described as being influenced by American ideas. Yossi Bublil, a top contestant on the Israeli Big Brother television program, was third on the party's list behind the Goldstein brothers. However Bublil subsequently resigned from the party because he insisted on getting the number 2 spot. He was replaced by children's entertainer and clown Yuval Hamevulbal. Aspiring Israeli pollster Yair Michaeli has said that he believes Calcala has "a fighting chance" of getting into the Knesset, although it will be an uphill battle. The party will be headed by Yulia Shamalov-Berkovich.
• Eretz Hadasha ("New Land") – a new left-center party established by the film director Rani Blair and the attorney Eldad Yaniv, whom headed the Israeli political movement The National Left. As part of the party's election online campaign it published various provocative online videos about the alleged conduct of the current government officials.
• Kulanu Chaveirim – In October, 2012, a new party called Kulanu Chaveirim ("We are all friends") was formed. The party is represented by members of the Na Nach chassidic group, followers of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who are known for driving around Israel in colorful vans, blasting music, dancing in the streets, and selling the books of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and of Rabbi Yisroel Dov Odesser. The parties stated objectives are faith, trust, joy and unity amongst Jews. Sharon Kanaffo, one of the party's founders, said: "We believe the Israeli people love Rebbe Nachman of Breslov… we would love to have experts in security or economy join us, but only if they have good intentions and no secret agenda. The point is to make what we do all throughout the year on a larger scale… we want to have a positive impact on people's lives." Asked about the party's agenda, Kanaffo said: "Our list for the Knesset is full of people who only want to do good and help others… though we haven't thought of any specific law we would like to put forward yet."
• Netzah – Followers of Lithuanian Haredi rabbi Shmuel Auerbach launched a new party, called Netzah, that plans to run for the Knesset. Haaretz described this party as part of a general trend toward fragmentation of Haredi politics as a result of divisions between so-called "New Haredim" and the more traditionally minded factions.
• The People's Party (מפלגת העם) – reunited prior to the 2009 election with the some of the politicians whom left the Ale Yarok party and ran then under the name "Holocaust Survivors and Grown-Up Green Leaf Party" (ניצולי השואה עם בוגרי עלה ירוק). In these elections, the party intends to run independently together with some of the main activists from the 2011 Israeli social justice protests.
• Pirate Party – In July 2012, an Israeli chapter of the Pirate Party applied to be officially recognized as a political party in time for the next Knesset election. The Pirate Party says it supports "the freedom to divide and copy" and "the pirating sector".
• Additional parties running in the 19th Israeli legislative election include: Ahim Anahnu ("We are brothers"), Brit Olam LeGe'ulat Yisrael ("Covenant for the Redemption of Israel"), Haim BeKavod ("Living with Dignity"), HaTikva LeShinui ("The Hope for Change"), HaYisraelim, Koah Lehashpi'a, Or, Progressive Liberal-Democratic, Moreshet Avot, One Future, Tzedek Hevrati, The Green and Young for a Green Future in Israel.

Opinion polls

By party

Polls may not add up to 120 seats due to rounding or omitted parties that dropped out or did not poll consistently.

Date	Poll	Kadima	Likud	Yisrael Beiteinu	Labor	Shas	UTJ	National Union	Jewish Home	UAL -Ta'al	Hadash	Balad	Meretz	Yesh Atid	Otzma LeYisrael	Am Shalem	Hatnuah
Seats won in 2009		28	27	15	13	11	5	4	3	4	4	3	3
Seats in the outgoing Knesset		21	27	15	8	10	5	2	3	4	4	3	3	—	2	1	7
3 January 2013	Israel Radio/Geocartography		35		18	8	7	18		11			7	5	6		6
2 January 2013	Haaretz/Dialog	2	34		16	11	6	14		4	4	4	4	9	2		10
1 January 2013	Channel 2/Dahaf		33		17	11	6	13		4	4	3	5	11	2		11
27 December 2012	Globes/Rafi Smith		34		18	11	6	14		3	4	4	4	10		2	10
27 December 2012	Reshet Bet/Meno Geva		34		16	13	6	15		4	4	3	5	9			11
25 December 2012	Dialog	2	35		17	13	6	13		11			4	9			10
21 December 2012	Maariv/Maagar	0	37		20	11	6	12		4	3	3	4	7	2	0	9
20 December 2012	Reshet Bet	0	36		19	11	6	11		3	4	3	4	11		3	9
18 December 2012	Channel 2/Dahaf	0	35		19	11	6	12		4	4	3	3	9	2	2	10
14 December 2012	Yedioth Ahronoth/Dahaf	0	35		19	11	6	11		4	4	3	4	8	2	0	11
14 December 2012	Maariv/Maagar	1	38		20	12	6	11		10			3	8	1	1	9
14 December 2012	Jerusalem Post/Geocartography	0	35		17	10	6	16		4	4	3	6	12	0	0	7
13 December 2012	Knesset Channel/Panels	0	36		18	9	6	13		5	4	2	5	7	3	2	9
12 December 2012	Jerusalem Post/Smith Research	0	39		19	10	6	10		3	4	4	4	9	0	3	9
11 December 2012	Walla/Tns-Teleseker	4	38		17	11	5	9		5	3	3	3	11	0	0	11
10 December 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	2	39		17	12	6	11		5	4	3	3	6	0	3	9
6 December 2012	Channel 2	2	38		19	13	6	12		3	3	3	2	5	1	3	10
6 December 2012	Atzmaut announces withdrawal
6 December 2012	Knesset Channel/Panels	2	36		19	10	5	12		11			5	8	3	3	6
6 December 2012	Reshet Bet/Meno Geva	0	36		20	10	6	11		4	3	4	3	9	3	2	9
5 December 2012	Channel 10/Dialog	2	37		20	10	6	11		5	3	3	4	7	0	3	9
29 November 2012	Yisrael Hayom/New Wave	2	39		20	11	5	10		3	4	3	4	10	0	2	7
29 November 2012	Yedioth Ahronoth/Dahaf	0	37		19	11	5	10		4	4	3	5	9	2	2	9
29 November 2012	Globes/Smith	0	37		20	11	6	11		3	4	4	5	10		3	6
28 November 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	2	39		18	11	6	8		11			5	8	2	3	7
22 November 2012	Knesset Channel/Panels	0	33		24	10	6	13		10			6	11	4	3
18 November 2012	Panels	0	38		22	9	5	11		10			5	13	3	4
18 November 2012	Haaretz/Dialogue	3	41		21	12	5	8		5	3	4	4	9		3
13 November 2012	MAKO/Panels	2	36		21	10	5	12		9			5	15		3
8 November 2012	Knesset Channel/Panels	0	36		23	10	5	13		11			5	13		4
6 November 2012	Channel 2/Maagar	3	39		22	14	6	7		10			3	10
5–6 November 2012	Maagar	4	39		22	15	6	7		9			2	10
4 November 2012	Yedioth Ahronoth	0	35		24	13	6	5		11			4	15	2
28 October 2012	Maariv/Teleseker	4	43		20	10	6	8		11			3	15
28 October 2012	Channel 2/Maagar	3	42		23	13	5	5		10			6	9
28 October 2012	Channel 10/Panels	5	35		23	14	6	9		11			4	13
25 October 2012	Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu announce joint list
18 October 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	9	29	13	20	11	6	6		4	4	3	5	11
17 October 2012	Globes	3	25	15	18	13	6	4	5	11			4	14
11 October 2012	Maariv/Teleseker	6	29	13	17	10	5	2	5	4	3	3	4	17
10 October 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	7	29	15	19	10	6	8		5	4	2	4	11
28 September 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	8	28	14	20	11	7	6		5	4	2	5	8
31 July 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	7	25	15	21	11	6	7		4	4	2	4	12
1 August 2012	Globes	4	27	15	19	9	6	4	5	11			4	13
26 July 2012	Globes	7	28	16	18	9	6	3	4	11			4	11
20 July 2012	Yediot Aharonot/Dahaf	7	25	13	21	10	4	6	4	11			4	13
17 July 2012	Maariv/Maagar	7	27	16	17	9	6	3	3	10			4	11
17 July 2012	Kadima leaves the coalition
17 May 2012	Knesset Channel/Panels	3	30	12	20	6	5	6	3	3	4	3	6	17
13 May 2012	Globes/Smith	9	31	13	17	7	5	3	3	10			4	11
8 May 2012	Maariv/TNS	10	30	12	20	7	6	4	4	11			4	12
8 May 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	11	33	15	19	8	6	5		10			6	6
8 May 2012	Kadima joins the coalition
1 May 2012	Maariv/TNS	11	31	12	18	8	6	4	4	10			5	11
1 May 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	11	32	14	19	8	6	5		4	4	2	5	10
30 April 2012	Ynet/Dahaf	11	30	13	18	7	6	2	2	11			5	11
26 April 2012	Israel Hayom/New Wave	13	31	14	17	9	5	3	2	10			4	12
22–23 April 2012	JPost/Smith	13	31	15	15	8	6	4	3	11			3	11
29 March 2012	TNS	13	30	13	18	7	6	4	4	10			4	11
28 March 2012	Dahaf	12	29	13	18	8	6	4	2	11			3	12
28 March 2012	Channel 10/Dialog	15	32	14	15	9	5	5					5	9
27 March 2012	Shaul Mofaz wins Kadima leadership election, 2012
21 March 2012	Yedioth Ahronoth	12	29	14	13	8	6	3	3	11			3	14
9 March 2012	Teleseker	14	27	14	14	8	4	4	4	10			5	11
4–5 March 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	12	35	15	14	9	7	5		3	5	2	5	8
29 February 2012	Globes/Smith	15	29	15	14	10	5	4	4	10			3	11
17 February 2012	Geocartography	12	39	13	12	9	5	10		10			4	6
31 January 2012	Benjamin Netanyahu wins Likud leadership election, 2012
27 January 2012	Globes/Smith	13	30	14	15	10	6	5	3	3	4	3	3	11
18 January 2012	Maagar	9	28	17	15	7	6	5	4	11			3	8
17 January 2012	Geocartography	11	33	16	13	8	6	2	3	11			4	13
10 January 2012	New Wave	14	28	14	15	9	5	2	3	10			5	15
9 January 2012	Dahaf	8	28	16	14	6	6	2	4	11			4	14
9 January 2012	Teleseker	15	26	14	17	7	4	8		10			3	12
9 January 2012	Panels	9	29	13	12	8								20
8 January 2012	Maagar	12	27	17	14	7	6	5	4	11			3	7
8 January 2012	Haaretz	10	24	14	15									15
29 December 2011	Globes/Smith	19	31	14	18	11	6	4	3	10			4
27 October 2011	Channel 2/Sarid	17	37	15	22
26 September 2011	Maagar	17	27	17	19	9	6	4	3	9			4	2
21 September 2011	Shelly Yachimovich wins Israeli Labor Party leadership election, 2011
5 August 2011	Maagar	25	29	16	11	13	5	4	3	9			4
2 May 2011	Globes/Smith	26	29	18	8	11	5	5	4	10			3
17 January 2011	Channel 10/Dialog	27	30	17	6				6
Seats won in 2009		28	27	15	13	11	5	4	3	4	4	3	3
Seats in the outgoing Knesset		21	27	15	8	10	5	2	3	4	4	3	3	—	2	1	7

Notes

Hypothetical polling

The following table contains polls if Tzipi Livni had been leader of Kadima.

Date	Poll	Kadima	Likud	Yisrael Beiteinu	Labor	Shas	UTJ	National Union	Jewish Home	UAL -Ta'al	Hadash	Balad	Meretz	Yesh Atid	Aryeh Deri
Seats won in 2009		28	27	15	13	11	5	4	3	4	4	3	3
27 March 2012	Shaul Mofaz wins Kadima leadership election, 2012
21 March 2012	Yedioth Ahronoth	15	29	12	13	8	6	3	3	11			4	13	2
9 March 2012	Teleseker	16	27	14	14	8	4	4	4	10			5	10
4–5 March 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	10	37	16	14	9	7	5		3	5	2	5	7
31 January 2012	Benjamin Netanyahu wins Likud leadership election, 2012
18 January 2012	Maagar	13	26	17	14	7	6	5	4	11			3	7	3
9 January 2012	Dahaf	13	28	15	13	6	6	2	4	11			4	11	5
9 January 2012	Teleseker	15	27	14	18	8	5	8		10			3	12

For prime minister

Incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu has maintained a healthy plurality lead in every poll to date.

Date	Poll	Netanyahu	Mofaz	Yachimovich	Lieberman	Lapid	Neither/Don't know
28—29 November 2012	Yisrael Hayom/New Wave	32.8%	4.6%	11.8%	3.8%	3.8%	22.6%
28—29 November 2012	Maariv/Dahaf	62%	-	19%	-	-	19%
		68%	-	-	-	17%	15%
5–6 November 2012	Maagar	44%	1%	8%	-	1%	21%
10 October 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	57-62%	16%	-	-	-	-
			-	17%	-	-	n/a
23 September 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	35%	6%	16%	8%	-	31%
31 July 2012	Haaretz/Dialog	29%	5%	16%	14%	7%	28%
17 July 2012	Maariv/Maagar	41%	-	7%	-	-	52%
		44%	6%	-	-	-	50%
		37%	-	-	16%	-	47%
17 July 2012	Kadima leaves the coalition
8 May 2012	Kadima joins the coalition
8 May 2012	New Wave	39.8%	4.5%	11.3%	4.2%	7.2%	28%
1 May 2012	Maariv/TNS	63.5%	16.3%	-	-	-	16.6%
		62.0%	-	22.8%	-	-	12.1%
		70.6%	-	-	9.5%	-	18.1%
26 April 2012	New Wave	29.1%	4.6%	9.2%	9.2%	7%	40.9%
28 March 2012	Dahaf	54%	16%	-	-	-	30%
27 March 2012	Shaul Mofaz wins Kadima leadership election, 2012
9 March 2012	Teleseker	66.4%	10.3%	-	-	-	21.2%
31 January 2012	Benjamin Netanyahu wins Likud leadership election, 2012
9 January 2012	Teleseker	60.5%	9.6%	-	-	-	29.9%
		57.7%	-	-	-	19.7%	22.6%

Hypothetical polling

The following table contains polls if Tzipi Livni had been leader of Kadima.

Date	Poll	Netanyahu	Livni	Yachimovich	Lieberman	Don't know
28—29 November 2012	Maariv/Dahaf	55%	30%	-	-	15%
27 March 2012	Shaul Mofaz wins Kadima leadership election, 2012
9 March 2012	Teleseker	62.2%	24.6%	-	-	11.7%
31 January 2012	Benjamin Netanyahu wins Likud leadership election, 2012
9 January 2012	Teleseker	55%	23.5%	-	-	21.5%
10 October 2011	Channel 10/Dialog	36%	13%	17%	14%	20%
5 August 2011	Maagar	51%	28%	4%	17%	-

See also

• Elections in Israel
• Knesset
• Prime Minister of Israel

External links

• Elections for the Nineteenth Knesset, Israeli Central Elections Committee
• Elections 2013 at Ynetnews
• Elections 2013 at The Jerusalem Post
• Israeli elections 2013 at Haaretz
• Jeremy's Knesset Insider – poll reports, averages, commentary