The Democrats, a left-wing Zionist social-democratic party was founded in Israel on Sunday, June 30, 2024. The party was created from the merger of the Labor and Meretz parties.
In the elections to the twenty-fifth Knesset, the Meretz party did not win the threshold percentage and as a result, Labor became the only extreme-left party in the Knesset with only four mandates. After Labor Chairwoman Merav Michaeli resigned (or was ousted, take your pick), she was replaced on May 28 by a former member of Meretz, Yair Golan, who played a major role in both anarchists’ onslaughts on Israeli society, during the judicial reform and after October 7.
As part of his election campaign for the leadership of the Labor Party, Golan promised that he would establish a new political entity based on the two leftist parties, as well as other parties.
On Sunday, the liaison teams of Labor and Meretz reached an agreement under which they would unite into one party named “The Democrats.” The deal also includes the unification of the parties’ institutions, so it is not merely a technical block ahead of the next election, but the creation of a new party.
Meretz will receive at least one seat within the top 4 seats on the list, at least one additional seat within the top eight, at least a third seat within the top twelve, and at least a fourth seat within the top sixteen. This means that Meretz can actually have more representatives in the Knesset at each level when the candidates are chosen, but that is the minimum.
Yair Golan will be able to select his own candidate for the second position on the list.
