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Middle East Forum Israel Election 2026
Parties / Unaligned

Unity (HaAchdut) האחדות

MEF poll average, seats
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Seats in every 2026 poll; line is a five-poll rolling mean; dotted line = threshold
Leader
Gilad Erdan, Party chairman; former minister and ambassador to the UN and US; not a sitting MK. Yuli Edelstein, incumbent MK and former Knesset speaker, is No. 2. [source, September 3, 2026]
Bloc
Unaligned
Founded
Launched August 6, 2026 in Tel Aviv by Erdan and Edelstein, initially unnamed (Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com/erdan-and-edelstein-unveil-sti...); name 'Unity' announced August 11, 2026 in Beit Shemesh (JPost, https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-905229). Website: haachdut.org.il.
Seats, 25th Knesset
0
Status 2026
Withdrew from the race on 2026-09-04 after merger talks with Blue and White failed and polling stayed far below the threshold; Unity does not appear among the 38 lists filed with the CEC (Jerusalem Post, https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907605, 2026-09-04; Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-election-takes-shape-a..., 2026-09-08).
List Status
No list filed: Gilad Erdan withdrew the party on 2026-09-04.
MEF Poll Average
(below threshold in most polls); range to across 0 polls in the window

Background

Yuli Edelstein, removed as Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman in July 2025 over his Haredi conscription bill, announced on July 3, 2026 that he was leaving Likud because he 'couldn't defend its agenda' on draft exemptions (Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com/edelstein-i-left-likud-because...). Gilad Erdan confirmed in May 2026 he was weighing a new party; the two met Gantz, Shaked and Simchi at Edelstein's home on July 20 without agreement on leadership (Ynet, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1o0ibanme). They launched the party on August 6, 2026 saying 'Likud no longer represents its voters' and committing to a broad Zionist government and universal service (Times of Israel). Former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch joined August 10, the name Unity and slogan 'Real right. Real enlistment.' followed on August 11, and judoka Oren Smadja joined August 12 (JPost; Haaretz). Erdan opened merger talks with Gantz on August 26 (Ynet).

Knesset List

No list filed: Gilad Erdan withdrew the party on 2026-09-04.

Platform and Positions

Haredi draftSlogan 'Real right. Real enlistment.'; the party 'has positioned itself as a right-wing party calling for universal IDF conscription' and committed to joining only a broad Zionist government. Edelstein left Likud because he could not campaign for a party backing exemptions: 'What will we do? Continue to allow freeloading?' [source, September 3, 2026]
otherErdan: 'I am a man of the right, I am not willing to support a government that advances things that contradict my beliefs'; 'Our enemies are Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, not the other political side.' He would not boycott parties but requires them to accept the party's principles. Leader statements. [source, August 28, 2026]
securityParty statement on the name: 'Unity is a mobilization of everyone. Unity is shared responsibility.' Erdan to JPost: matters that divided the right in the past, such as a Palestinian state, are no longer at issue after October 7 (paraphrase of a truncated passage; see not_verified). [source, August 11, 2026]
economyBloch to JPost: the education system needs better teachers, more authority for principals and more respect for educators; she said Israel 'abandoned' Haredi students. No economic platform document located. [source, August 25, 2026]
judiciaryNo published position located. Erdan told Gantz that shared basic principles must precede list placements (N12, 2026-08-28). [source, August 28, 2026]

Recent Moves

What MEF Has Published

No MEF pieces matched in the archive since 2025.

Not Verified

Sources