IESET.
Movements·israel_bennett_change_coalition_2021_2022

Bennett–Lapid 'Change Coalition' 2021–2022

ISR·20212022·Yamina + Yesh Atid + Blue-White + Labor + Meretz + New Hope + Yisrael Beiteinu + Ra'am
Leaders: Naftali Bennett (PM, Yamina, 13 Jun 2021 – 1 Jul 2022) · Yair Lapid (Alternate PM & Foreign Minister, Yesh Atid) · Avigdor Liberman (Finance Minister, Yisrael Beiteinu) · Mansour Abbas (Ra'am — first Arab-Islamist party in an Israeli coalition)
positionsclassical_liberalsocial_democraticempirical_pragmatist

Doctrine — stated goals and content

Eight-party 'change coalition' spanning the widest ideological range in Israeli parliamentary history — right (Yamina, New Hope, Yisrael Beiteinu), centre (Yesh Atid, Blue-White), left (Labor, Meretz) and Ra'am (United Arab List, first Arab-Islamist party ever in an Israeli government). Broke Benjamin Netanyahu's continuous 12-year run (2009–2021). Economic posture: centrist-liberal reformist under Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman — core content was the Arrangements Law package attached to the November 2021 budget (Israel's first passed budget since 2018) that raised the statutory retirement age for women from 62 to 65 gradually, cut red tape on imports ("what's good for Europe is good for Israel" parallel-import standards reform), reformed agricultural tariffs, and advanced kashrut liberalisation. Fiscal stance: let the pandemic-era 1pp VAT cut expire back to 17%, shrank the cyclical deficit sharply (FY2022 deficit 0.6% of GDP on strong post-COVID rebound), raised the sugary-drinks and disposable-ware taxes. Left-right: centrist-technocratic coalition held together by opposition to Netanyahu rather than a unified economic doctrine; Meretz / Labor pulled transfer and climate policy leftward, Liberman / New Hope pulled regulatory and fiscal policy rightward. Coalition collapsed June 2022 when right-wing defections (Idit Silman, Nir Orbach) cost it a majority; Knesset dissolved 30 June 2022. Seats: 61-59 razor majority. Approval: Bennett peaked ~45% early, fell to ~25% by collapse. Coherence line: 'anti-Netanyahu technocratic centrism with first-ever Arab coalition partner — reform by narrow consensus'.

Policy-content fingerprint — how the framework codes this movement on its axes

product market competition
regulatory.product_market_competition
Product-market regulation, entry barriers, licensing burdens, network-industry regulation, price controls.
increased · moderate
more competition-friendly (lower entry barriers)
Parallel-imports reform accepting EU standards; agricultural-tariff reform; kashrut market opened to private certifiers.
labour market flexibility
regulatory.labour_market_flexibility
Ease of hiring/firing, collective-bargaining scope, minimum wage rigidity, temporary/permanent contract regulation.
increased · weak
more flexible (easier hiring/firing, less rigid bargaining)
Gradual retirement-age rise for women 62→65; modest employment-protection adjustments.
spending level
fiscal.spending_level
General government spending as share of GDP, excluding transfers already captured under fiscal.transfer_expansion to avoid double-counting.
decreased · moderate
lower spending share
Pandemic supports wound down; FY2022 deficit 0.6% of GDP vs 11.4% in 2020.
tax progressivity
fiscal.tax_progressivity
Progressivity of the personal income tax schedule, including top marginal rates, bracket spread, and targeted credits (EITC-equivalents).
increased · weak
more progressive (higher top rates, wider spread, larger targeted credits)
Sugary-drinks and disposable-ware levies; child-tax-credit expansion for working parents.
judicial independence
institutional.judicial_independence
Independence of the judiciary from executive and legislative encroachment. Specifically captures court-packing, selective prosecution, judicial reshuffles.
unchanged · weak
No major judicial legislation; explicit holding pattern vs Netanyahu-era proposals.

Policies enacted

Schools of thought aligned or opposed

partial
classical_liberal
Parallel imports, kashrut market opening, retirement-age rise align with liberal-reform agenda.
partial
social_democratic
Meretz/Labor transfer and climate policy inputs.
aligned
empirical_pragmatist
Technocratic 'Arrangements Law' omnibus reformism.

References

Notes

First Israeli budget passed since March 2018 — three-year political deadlock broken by this coalition.