Kahana Named Knesset Speaker Candidate

48. That is the number of seats held by the Zionist parties opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the incoming Knesset. These lawmakers, who control less than half of the 120 total seats, announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement on key leadership roles for the new legislative body. The decision came as the 26th Knesset prepared to be sworn in, marking a shift in power following a recent election that stripped Netanyahu’s coalition of its parliamentary majority.

Leaders from the opposition bloc, including Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan, and Gadi Eisenkot, agreed to nominate Matan Kahana for the position of Knesset speaker. Kahana, who is No. 5 on the list for Eisenkot’s Yashar party, will challenge the incumbent speaker, Amir Ohana, who represents Netanyahu’s Likud party. Ohana has stated he will schedule a session to select his successor within a week if a majority of lawmakers formally requests it.

The selection of Kahana resolved a dispute between the coalition leaders. Bennett and Liberman initially backed Lapid for the speaker role, but Eisenkot insisted the position go to a member of his party. According to Hebrew media reports, Eisenkot and Liberman reached an agreement on the matter during a meeting on Monday. This compromise allowed the other parties to finalize the broader deal on committee assignments.

Avigdor Liberman, the leader of Yisrael Beytenu, will lead the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. This is one of the most powerful committees in the Knesset, overseeing both foreign policy and military matters. In a separate assignment, Liran Avisar Ben Horin, a former Communications Ministry director general and incoming member of the B’Yachad party, will chair the Finance Committee. She will be the first woman to hold that specific chairmanship.

The finalized committee structure is scheduled for Knesset approval on Wednesday. The parties also reached an agreement on special committees, though details on those assignments have not yet been released. The rapid finalization of these roles underscores the urgency of the opposition to establish its institutional framework before the new session begins in earnest.

Kahana has served in the Knesset since 2019, entering on a right-wing ticket led by Bennett. He later served as the religious affairs minister in the government led by Bennett and Lapid that replaced Netanyahu’s cabinet in 2021. After that government collapsed, Kahana joined Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party but left in 2025 to form Yashar with Eisenkot. His background spans multiple political coalitions, positioning him as a bridge between different factions of the anti-Netanyahu camp.

The opposition faces a numerical challenge. While they hold 48 seats, the parties aligned with Netanyahu control 53. The remaining 19 seats belong to Arab parties, most of whom are viewed as potential government partners by the opposition, with the exception of the Democrats party led by Yair Golan. To secure a legislative majority, the opposition is negotiating with Haredi parties, which control 13 seats. Liberman recently called for a compromise on exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men from military service, a move that backtracks on a central promise made during the election campaign.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s Likud party announced that it will bring a motion to the cabinet on Monday to appoint Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar as interior minister. This dual role was initially offered to MK Ofir Katz, who declined to focus on coordinating right-wing maneuvers in the Knesset. Sa’ar previously served as interior minister in Netanyahu’s 2013 to 2014 government. The position has been vacant since July 2025, when Moshe Arbel resigned amid a dispute over the Haredi draft issue, forcing Netanyahu to assume some of the responsibilities until the High Court of Justice pressured the government to fill the role.