Former prime minister Naftali Bennett aon Tuesday added four women to Beyachad’s Knesset slate. There are now 17 women on his party’s list.
B'Yachad is led by Bennett and is a core party in the opposition bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the October 27 election.
Esti Ayalon Kubo, the former head of Israel’s economic delegation to China, was added to the slate. She has extensive experience in economic diplomacy and represented Israel at numerous international economic forums, B'Yachad said.
Kubo was born in Ethiopia and made aliyah to Israel with her family. In 2024, she was on The Jerusalem Post’s list of 50 most influential Jews.
New additions to the B'Yachad slate
Social entrepreneur Olessia Kantor, who founded the Lev Esh initiative after the October 7 massacre, was added to the list. Lev Esh provides therapy for survivors coping with PTSD and anxiety.
Kantor also established a philanthropic foundation that assists women and children impacted by domestic violence.
Bruria Naim Erman, director-general of B'Yachad, was added to the slate. She held a high-ranking position in the Transportation Ministry.
Erman has served as director-general of B'Yachad since its founding and is an entrepreneur who specializes in community relations.
Orly Harel, the leader of B'Yachad’s women’s branch, was added to the list. She has worked as an entrepreneur in the fields of generative AI and medicine and is also a prominent social activist.
Harel was previously active in the Likud Party and founded the Likud Women of Jerusalem Forum.
After announcing the additions, Bennett said each candidate reflected a “true Israeli mosaic of top-notch women of action, each in her own field.”
Women make up a majority of candidates; inclusion not based on gender
While women make up a majority of Beyachad’s candidates, their inclusion was not based on gender considerations, he said, but instead was based on “a simple decision we made when we set out: to include the very best people.”
“Together, we will fix what’s broken,” Bennett said.
Other female candidates on the Beyachad list include former government directors-general Keren Terner and Liran Avisar Ben Horin. Terner served as director-general of the Communications Ministry, and Ben Horin served as director-general of both the Finance and Transportation ministries
B’Yachad merged with Yesh Atid in April. Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen chairs the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality.
Bennett became prime minister in 2021 in a rotation government with opposition leader Yair Lapid, the chairman of Yesh Atid.
Bennett has contrasted the current government’s record with that of his own. His government had included more female ministers and directors-general than any previous government in Israel’s history, he said.
Last month, Bennett said his next government would use all available state tools to combat violence against women.