Thirty-fifth government of Israel (May 2020–June 2021)

Composition and parliamentary support

The governing coalition drew members from both right-wing and centrist parties as well as religious factions. Together the partners held 74 seats in the 23rd Knesset, forming a majority bloc tasked with passing budgets and emergency measures. The parties in the coalition and their Knesset seat counts were:

• HaLikud (Likud) — 36 seats
• Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) — 15 seats
• Shas — 9 seats (Shas)
• Yahadut HaTorah (United Torah Judaism) — 7 seats
• HaAvoda (Labor) — 3 seats (Labor)
• Derekh Eretz — 2 seats
• HaBayit HaYehudi (The Jewish Home) — 1 seat (The Jewish Home)
• Gesher — 1 seat (Gesher)

Mandate, structure and key features

The coalition was notable for its formal agreement to rotate the premiership: the leader of Blue and White, Benny Gantz, was slated to serve as alternate prime minister and to assume the office of prime minister after an interim period. The government included both secular and religious portfolios and relied on a mix of discipline by party factions and negotiated understandings to advance legislation. Many of its immediate tasks were oriented toward pandemic management, emergency budgeting and measures to support businesses and healthcare services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Context and political significance

The thirty-fifth government emerged after a prolonged period of political stalemate and repeated elections. Parties on different points of the political spectrum agreed to a temporary partnership in order to provide a functioning executive during an acute public-health and economic crisis. The broad composition reflected practical compromises: major portfolios were divided among coalition partners, and religious parties secured influence on social and judicial matters while centrist partners sought safeguards against unilateral policy changes.

Tenure and conclusion

During its roughly thirteen-month tenure the government enacted emergency regulations, stimulus measures and pandemic-related public-health policies. Political disagreements over priorities, budgets and timelines, together with shifting parliamentary alliances, contributed to the coalition's instability. The thirty-fifth government concluded on June 13, 2021 and was succeeded by a different governing arrangement. The episode is often cited as an example of how extraordinary circumstances can produce unexpected alliances in parliamentary systems, and of the limits of such coalitions when routine politics reassert themselves.

For further reading on the parties and personalities involved, see profiles of Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz and the individual parties, including Shas, Labor, The Jewish Home, and Gesher. Parliamentary records and analyses of the 23rd Knesset provide detailed vote totals and timelines.