Who they are
Born in Baltimore in 2002, Shalev spent his childhood between Israel and New York and settled in Zichron Ya'akov at twelve. He went through the Rabin pre-military academy, enlisted in 2021, served in the Maglan commando unit until 2024, and has fought in Gaza and Lebanon as a reservist since. In 2023 he co-founded Katef el Katef, a movement of combat reservists campaigning for equal service across every sector.
Positions and record
Reservists: Burden-sharing and welfare for those who served in Gaza.
Draft: Broaden service across every sector.
Generation: Post-war civic activism entering politics.
Committee clash: Ejected by security guards from a January 2025 Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee hearing on the Haredi draft law after telling MK Yinon Azoulai, who has never served in the IDF, that he had no standing to weigh in on conscription policy; in Israel Hayom op-eds later that year he accused the government of overusing elite reservists rather than drafting eligible Haredi men.
Private remarks: Recordings leaked from a B'Yachad activists' conference (i24NEWS, June 15, 2026) quote him envisioning Israel helping build a Palestinian security body in Judea and Samaria as a step toward eventual agreements, calling the current Palestinian Authority "very weak" and "not a partner" -- a more measured framing than his on-air rejection of a Palestinian state. The same tape has him warning that Gadi Eisenkot's delay in joining Bennett "endangers state security" and blaming the Lapid alliance for falling poll numbers; his campaign called the wording "unsuccessful."
Where they stand
Holds the party line on every issue.
Judea & Samariaparty lineIsraeli sovereignty in Area C and autonomy in Areas A and B, with no Palestinian state west of the Jordan.
Two states / withdrawalSovereignty / annexation
Gaza & Securityparty lineThe army keeps the right to operate anywhere in Gaza. Egypt takes Turkey and Qatar's place on the Board of Peace overseeing the strip, and Qatar is declared an enemy state.
Deal & disengagementFull military control
Haredi Enlistmentparty lineEveryone is drafted. Those who refuse lose their stipends, National Insurance discounts and rate relief, and 8.8 billion shekels moves to those who serve.
Universal draftPreserve exemptions
Judiciaryparty lineA constitution on the Declaration of Independence, an inquiry into 7 October and an eight-year cap on the premiership, with judicial review settled by broad consensus.
Court can strike lawsKnesset can override
Economyparty lineThe shopping basket 30 per cent cheaper in three years by breaking up the food conglomerates, a single food authority, European standards, and a company opened in a day.
Social spendingFree market
Educationparty lineA national council fixes 60 per cent of every curriculum and funds a school only if it teaches all of it, while heads and town halls take over the daily running.
State runs the schoolsParents and communities
Religion & Stateparty lineCivil union at the interior ministry regardless of religion or sex, conversion therapy banned, the kashrut monopoly broken, and Shabbat transport left to each town.
Civil / pluralistReligious authority
Nation & Citizenshipparty lineBennett voted for the Nation-State Law. It runs on a constitution on the Declaration of Independence, and offers Bedouin citizens integration or the full force of the state.
Equal citizenshipJewish national state
