Former prime minister Naftali Bennett announced on Wednesday that he has appointed Yonatan Shalev, a 23-year-old military reservist activist, as the newest addition to his party’s electoral slate ahead of the 2026 national election.

Shalev is the co-founder of the Shoulder to Shoulder movement, which represents reservists and young soldiers and advocates for Haredi conscription. In a joint statement with Bennett’s party, the group said the party was its “moral and natural home” and that it had joined Bennett “because only he has proven that he will fix Israel and build a better future for the youth of Israel.”

Bennett, for his part, said that “when Israel’s leadership collapsed” after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror attack, “the young generation stood up, fought and saved the State of Israel. We discovered that we have the best young generation in the history of the State of Israel. For the day after, we need the energies of this wonderful generation to lift Israel up again.”

Shalev fought in the Israel Defense Forces following the October 7 attack. His appointment was immediately welcomed by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who together with Bennett formed a government that unseated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021-2022. Both men’s parties are hoping to defeat Netanyahu at the ballot box again this year.

“Congratulations to Yonatan Shalev on entering politics! Under the ‘Covenant of Brothers,’ that automatically makes you my nephew,” Lapid tweeted, in a reference to his alliance with Bennett.

While the announcement did not state what spot Shalev was being given on Bennett’s slate, it did say that the political newcomer will be at the “forefront” of the electoral list and leadership of the party, which is, for now, called Bennett 2026.

Shalev is a harsh critic of the government, accusing it in a podcast interview this month of a lack of........

© The Times of Israel