The Leader of the Opposition (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַאוֹפּוֹזִיצְיָה, Rosh HaOpozitzya) is the politician who heads the official Opposition bloc in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The leader of the Opposition is by convention the head of the political party not within the government according to the most votes received in the previous election.
| Leader of the Opposition
יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ הַאוֹפּוֹזִיצְיָה Yoshev Rosh Ha-Opozitzya | |
|---|---|
| Term length | While leader of the largest political party not in government |
| First holder | Meir Ya'ari |
List of Opposition leaders
Leaders of the largest opposition party
| Name (Birth–Death) |
Portrait | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meir Ya'ari מאיר יערי (1897–1987) |  | Mapam | 1949 – 1951 | |
| Peretz Bernstein פרץ ברנשטיין (1890–1971) |  | General Zionists | 1951 – 1952 | |
| Meir Ya'ari מאיר יערי (1897–1987) | | Mapam | 1952 – 1955 | |
| Peretz Bernstein פרץ ברנשטיין (1890–1971) | | General Zionists | 1955 | |
| Menachem Begin מנחם בגין (1913–1992) | .jpg) | Herut/Gahal | 1955 – 1967 | |
| Meir Ya'ari מאיר יערי (1897–1987) | | Mapam | 1967 – 1969 | |
| Yitzhak-Meir Levin יצחק-מאיר לוין (1893–1971) |  | Agudat Yisrael | 1969 – 1970 | |
| Menachem Begin מנחם בגין (1913–1992) | | Likud | 1970 – 1977 | |
| Shimon Peres שמעון פרס (1923–2016) |  | Alignment | 1977 – 1984 | |
| Yuval Ne'eman יובל נאמן (1925–2006) | .jpg) | Tehiya | 1984 – 1988 | |
| Shulamit Aloni שולמית אלוני (1928–2014) |  | Ratz | 1988 – 1990 | |
| Shimon Peres שמעון פרס (1923–2016) | | Labor | 1990 – 1992 | |
| Yitzhak Shamir יצחק שמיר (1915–2012) | .jpg) | Likud | 1992 – 1993 | |
| Benjamin Netanyahu בנימין נתניהו (born 1949) |  | Likud | 1993 – 1996 | |
| Shimon Peres שמעון פרס (1923–2016) | | Labor | 1996 – 1997 | |
| Ehud Barak אהוד ברק (born 1942) |  | Labor | 1997 – 1999 | |
| Ariel Sharon אריאל שרון (1928–2014) |  | Likud | 1999 – 2000 | |
Designated Opposition Leaders
After Amendment 8 to the "Knesset law" of 1994 was passed, the Leader of the Opposition became the person elected by the largest faction of the opposition.
| Name (Birth–Death) |
Portrait | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ariel Sharon אריאל שרון (1928–2014) | | Likud | 30 July 2000 – 7 March 2001 | |
| Yossi Sarid יוסי שריד (1940–2015) |  | Meretz | 7 March 2001 – 4 November 2002 | |
| Binyamin Ben-Eliezer בנימין בן אליעזר (1936–2016) |  | Labor | 4 November 2002 – 28 February 2003 | |
| Amram Mitzna עמרם מצנע (born 1945) |  | Labor | 28 February 2003 – 13 May 2003 | |
| Dalia Itzik דליה איציק (born 1952) |  | Labor | 13 May 2003 – 25 June 2003 | |
| Shimon Peres שמעון פרס (1923–2016) | | Labor | 25 June 2003 – 10 January 2005 | |
| Yosef Lapid יוסף לפיד (1931–2008) |  | Shinui | 10 January 2005 – 23 November 2005 | |
| Amir Peretz עמיר פרץ (born 1952) |  | Labor | 23 November 2005 – 16 January 2006 | |
| Benjamin Netanyahu בנימין נתניהו (born 1949) |  | Likud | 16 January 2006 – 6 April 2009 | |
| Tzipi Livni ציפי לבני (born 1958) | .jpg) | Kadima | 6 April 2009 – 2 April 2012 | |
| Shaul Mofaz שאול מופז (born 1948) |  | Kadima | 2 April 2012 – 9 May 2012 | |
| Shelly Yachimovich שלי יחימוביץ׳ (born 1960) |  | Labor | 9 May 2012 – 23 July 2012 | |
| Shaul Mofaz שאול מופז (born 1948) | | Kadima | 23 July 2012 – 5 February 2013 | |
| Shelly Yachimovich שלי יחימוביץ׳ (born 1960) | | Labor | 5 February 2013 – 25 November 2013 | |
| Isaac Herzog יצחק הרצוג (1960–) |  | Zionist Union (Labor) | 25 November 2013 – 31 July 2018 | |
| Tzipi Livni ציפי לבני (born 1958) | | Zionist Union (Hatnuah) | 1 August 2018 – 1 January 2019 | |
| Shelly Yachimovich שלי יחימוביץ׳ (born 1960) | | Labor | 1 January 2019 – 30 April 2019 | |
| Vacant[lower-alpha 1] | 30 April 2019 – 17 May 2020 | |||
| Yair Lapid יאיר לפיד (born 1963) |  | Yesh Atid | 17 May 2020 – 13 June 2021 | |
| Benjamin Netanyahu בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ (born 1949) | _(cropped)_2.jpg) | Likud | 13 June 2021 – 29 December 2022 | |
| Yair Lapid יאיר לפיד (born 1963) | .jpg) | Yesh Atid | 29 December 2022 – present | |
Notes
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