BREAKING NEWS

Former Defense Minister Ya'alon reveals party name, Telem

"I have devoted my entire life for the promise, existence and security of the State of Israel," Ya'alon said.

JANUARY 2, 2019 14:36

Updated: JANUARY 2, 2019 18:11

Former defense minister and IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon decided to follow in the footsteps of his namesake who also held both those posts, Moshe Dayan, on Wednesday, when he named his new party after a party formed by Dayan.

The party will be called Telem [Furrow], which is an acronym for National Statesmanlike Movement. When asked what the party would be called in English, a spokesman for Ya'alon said "Telem, Tnua leumit mamlachtit."

Dayan formed his party in May 1981 with MKs Yigal Hurvitz and Zalman Shoval. It won two seats in the June 1981, before Dayan died four months later.

Ya'alon said he was a soldier for Israel for decades and he would continue to serve the public in his new party.

"This is a holiday for me in which the citizens of Israel are being given good news and my colleagues and I are being given hope and tremendous responsibility," Ya'alon said.

Telem is the fifth party formed since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initiated elections on December 24. But parties are expected to join together by the February 21 deadline to run together in the April 9 election.

For instance, it is likely that Telem could run together with former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz's Hosen L'Israel (Israel Resilience) Party. The list could then split back into two after the election if Gantz wants to join a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Ya'alon has declared he would not sit in a Netanyahu-led government.