The reshaping of the map within the Yair Lapid camp continues ahead of the 2026 elections, with MP and former minister Meir Cohen, one of the most prominent veteran figures and founders of the Yesh Atid party, announcing that he will not run in the upcoming elections on the “Together” list that brings together Naftali Bennett and Lapid, in a move that adds a new prominent name to the series of departures that have now included a large number of members of the previous list.
According to a report by journalist Moran Azoulay in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the party officially announced that Cohen will not run for membership in the next Knesset on the “Together” list, indicating at the same time that he will be appointed president and head of the Yesh Atid conference.
Cohen is considered one of the oldest and most closely associated figures with the party, as he joined it shortly before the 2013 elections after spending a decade as mayor of Dimona, and was then placed fourth on the list.
With Yesh Atid’s entry into the government for the first time, Cohen was appointed Minister of Welfare, a position he also returned to in the Bennett-Lapid government between 2021 and 2022.
Over the years, he also served as Vice-Speaker of the Knesset, and was one of the party’s most prominent figures in social files and issues related to the Negev and peripheral regions.
Cohen justified his decision by wanting to make room for a new generation within the party, saying: “Yair and I founded Yesh Atid together, and I have been a member of it since its first day.”
He added: “After 25 years in the education system, as a teacher and school principal, and 23 years in politics, including two terms as mayor and twice as Minister of Welfare, I happily and proudly make my place for the next generation in the party and for the people who will lead it into the future.”
Cohen confirmed that he will continue his activity within Yesh Atid, adding: “I believe in the party’s values, and I believe that we are the best team in Israeli politics, and I will continue to work so that Yesh Atid and Yair at its head lead the State of Israel.”
For his part, Lapid was keen to stress that Cohen is not leaving the party, and said: “This is not a farewell. “Meir is my older brother.”
He added: “He has always been and will remain the person closest to me in Yesh Atid, and he will continue to be one of the pillars of the party and its central figures.”
Lapid indicated that he asked Cohen to run in the elections this time also in an advanced position on the list, but Cohen chose, according to him, to make way for “the next generation of Knesset members in the party.”
Although Cohen continues to lead Yesh Atid, his decision not to run adds a new prominent name to a list that has witnessed extensive changes since the 2022 elections.
Of the 24 members who entered the Knesset on the Yesh Atid list after the 2022 elections, 8 of them left the Knesset or the party, or announced that they would not continue to run on its behalf.
The list includes Orna Barbivai, Meir Cohen, Yoel Razvozov, Eliezer Stern, Yoav Ceglovic, Boaz Toporowski, Idan Roll and Ron Katz.
In the 2022 elections, Yesh Atid won 24 seats, becoming the second largest bloc in the Knesset.
Some withdrawals began early from the term, as former Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov announced in January 2023 that he was “taking a break from public life,” before resigning from the Knesset.
As for Orna Barbivai, who was second on the list, she left after several months to run for mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
In January 2025, Idan Rolle withdrew from Yesh Atid and founded the “National Majority” bloc, before later announcing his withdrawal as well from the Knesset and from political life.
The wave of departures accelerated as the 2026 elections approached, as Boaz Toporowski, one of the founders of Yesh Atid, announced in June his retirement from political life, and Ron Katz followed him the following month.
This month, Yoav Ceglovic announced his departure from the party and resignation from the Knesset, in light of the contacts he is making to join the “Ra’am” list led by Mansour Abbas.
Shortly after, Eliezer Stern also left the party after 11 years in Yesh Atid, before later joining the Yashar! Which is led by Gadi Eisenkot.
These withdrawals also come against the backdrop of the transformation that Yesh Atid witnessed before the elections, after Lapid united with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and formed the “Together” list.
As the deadline for closing the lists approaches, the unified list faces a significant crowding in the number of candidates against a smaller number of spots that are considered electorally secure.
In addition to the current representatives in Yesh Atid, Bennett included a long series of candidates affiliated with him, while opinion polls give the list a number of seats that is less than the number of names seeking advanced positions in them.
Thus, Cohen’s departure does not appear to be merely a personal decision to make room for the “new generation.” Rather, it comes at a time when the Lapid-Bennett list is under double pressure: a wave of accumulated withdrawals and increasing internal competition for a limited number of winnable seats.
