Before entering politics in 2012, Lapid was an author, TV presenter and news anchor. The centrist Yesh Atid party, which he founded, became the second-largest party in theKnesset by winning 19 seats in its firstlegislative election in 2013. The greater-than-anticipated results contributed to Lapid's reputation as a leading centrist.
From 2013 to 2014, following his coalition agreement withLikud, Lapid served as Minister of Finance under Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu. In 2013, Lapid ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" byThe Jerusalem Post.[3] He was also recognized in 2013 as one of the leading Foreign Policy Global Thinkers,[4] and ranked as one ofTime magazine's 100 "Most Influential People in the World".[5] He serves on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and the Sub-Committee on Intelligence and the Security Services.[6]
On 17 May 2020, Lapid became the Leader of the Opposition, after thethirty-fifth government of Israel was sworn in.[7] On 5 May 2021, he began talks with other parties to try to form a coalition government.[8] On 2 June 2021, Lapid informed Israeli PresidentReuven Rivlin that he had agreed to arotation government withNaftali Bennett and was prepared to replace the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.[9] The new government was sworn in on 13 June 2021.[10]
Lapid became the prime minister of Israel on 1 July 2022 after Bennett stepped down as prime minister following the dissolution of the Knesset. Lapid remained prime minister until a new government was formed afterthe November 2022 election.[11] Serving for only 181 days, he is the shortest-serving permanent Israeli prime minister.
Biography
Lapid in the early 1980s while serving as a military correspondent for the IDF's weekly newspaper
Yair Lapid was born inTel Aviv, the son of journalist and politicianYosef "Tommy" Lapid, who served as Justice Minister, and novelist and playwrightShulamit (Giladi) Lapid. His father was born inNovi Sad,Yugoslavia (nowSerbia) to Hungarian Jewish parents,[12] and his mother was born in Tel Aviv. His maternal grandfather David Giladi, originally fromTransylvania (now Romania), was a writer and journalist who was among the founders of the newspaperMaariv.[13][14][15] He has a sister, Merav, who is a clinical psychologist. Another sister, Michal, died in acar crash in 1984.[16] His paternal grandfather Bela (Meir) Lampel, a lawyer and Zionist activist, was murdered inMauthausen concentration camp, while his great-grandmother Hermione Lampel was sent toAuschwitz, where she was murdered in a gas chamber.[17][18]
Lapid grew up in Tel Aviv and London. His childhood home in Tel Aviv was in theYad Eliyahu neighborhood, in a residential building known as the Journalists' Residence, as several prominent journalists lived there. He attended high school at theHerzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, but struggled with learning disabilities and dropped out without earning abagrut certificate.[16][19] Lapid spent most of hismandatory military service in theIsrael Defense Forces as a military correspondent for the IDF's weekly newspaper,Bamahane ("In the base camp").[20] He has given different versions of how he began his service in the IDF before being transferred toBamahane, alternatively claiming to have begun his service in theArmored Corps until he was transferred after suffering an asthma attack due to a smoke grenade and to have started his service in theIsraeli Air Defense Command before being pulled out due to suffering an asthma attack from dust and haze during basic training.[21][22] After completing his military service, he began working as a reporter forMaariv and published poetry in literary journals. He also had a career as an amateur boxer.[23]
Yair Lapid in Jacob Goldwasser's 1991 filmBeyond the Sea
In 1988, at age 25, Lapid was appointed editor ofYedioth Tel Aviv, a local newspaper published by theYedioth Ahronoth group. In 1991, he began writing a weekly column in a nationwide newspaper's weekend supplement—first forMaariv, and later for its competitor,Yedioth Ahronoth. His column's name, "Where's the Money?", became his political slogan decades later.[27]
In 1994, Lapid started on TV, hosting the leading Friday evening talk show on Israel TV's Channel 1.[29] In 1997, he had an acting role in an Israeli film about theGulf War,Song of the Siren.[30] He next hosted a talk show on TV Channel 3. In the 1990s, Lapid hosted a current affairs talk show called "Yair Lapid" onChannel 2.[31]
From 1989 to 2010, Lapid wrote and published books spanning a variety of genres. His first was a thriller, of which he has published three more; the others include two children's books, two novels, and a collection of his newspaper columns. In addition, he wrote a drama series,War Room, that aired on Channel 2 in 2004. He has written a total of 12 books. His most successful book,Memories After My Death, was a biography of his late father.[32]
Lapid was also a songwriter for numerous Israeli musicians, among themRami Kleinstein,Yardena Arazi, andRita. Some of the songs he wrote became hits which reached the top of the charts in Israel.[33][32]
In January 2008, Lapid was the host ofUlpan Shishi (Friday Studio), Channel 2's Friday night news magazine. That year, theCameri Theater performed his first play,The Right Age for Love.[34]
In January 2012, controversy arose after Lapid was admitted byBar-Ilan University into adoctorate program, studying towards a PhD inhermeneutics. This was in violation of rules stating that all doctoral candidates must hold at minimum a bachelor's degree. Lapid, who had failed to complete high school, was admitted to the university based on his extra-academic credentials and career in journalism and writing. After the Knesset Education Committee launched an investigation, the Council for Higher Education canceled the program under which Lapid was admitted, which had allowed students without a BA to study towards a doctorate.[35][36]
In September 2013, the Israeli edition ofForbes magazine estimated Lapid's net worth at 22 millionshekels.[37]
On 8 January 2012 Lapid announced that he would be leaving journalism in order to enter politics.[38]
On 30 April he formally registered his party, "Yesh Atid" (Hebrew:יש עתיד,lit., "There's a Future").[39] The move was timed to coincide with the general expectation in Israel for early elections to be held in the early fall of 2012.[40]
A few days after Yesh Atid's registration, in a surprise move,Benjamin Netanyahu formed a national unity government. It was then thought that Lapid's party would have to wait until late 2013 before it could participate in national elections. But in October 2012, following the departure of Kadima from Netanyahu's coalition over how to implement a Supreme Court decision ending the exemption from the military draft for the ultra-Orthodox, Netanyahu announced that elections would take place in late January 2013, affording Yesh Atid its first opportunity to run. In November 2012, Yesh Atid was polling an average of 11.6%, or 13–14 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The results of the January election showed the party winning an unexpected 19 seats, making Yesh Atid the second-largest party in the19th Knesset.[41]
Minister of Finance (2013–2014)
After the election, Yesh Atid joined the new government led by Netanyahu. Lapid was namedfinance minister on 15 March 2013.[42] Only nine months later, a survey was published showing a continuing trend of decreasing popularity, with 75% of those polled claiming to be disappointed by his performance, and his party achieved only 10 seats in the Knesset, as opposed to the 19 it got at the beginning of the year.[43]
On 2 December 2014, Netanyahu fired Lapid as finance minister.[44] At the same time, Netanyahu also dismissedHatnua party leaderTzipi Livni from her cabinet post.[45]
Yesh Atid in the Knesset opposition (2015–2021)
Yesh Atid won eleven seats in the2015 election, a decrease of eight seats.[46] In the resulting Knesset, Yesh Atid sat in the opposition to a government headed by Netanyahu.[47]
In 2016, Lapid presented his platform, the "Seven Point Plan for Israel", which included a robust security doctrine, a regional conference with Arab states based on the necessity of separating from the Palestinians, reforms of the political system to clean up corruption, the State of Israel that strikes a balance between its Jewish and democratic character, a strengthened law enforcement system, an economy propelled forward by innovation, and increased emphasis on education and science.[48][49] Lapid and Yesh Atid claimed to spearhead the fight against corruption in Israel. The "Nachshon Plan", unveiled in 2017, stipulates that any person found guilty of corruption will be banned from serving in public office. To prevent political bribery, it also abolishes "coalition funds".[50]
First tenure as leader of the opposition (2020–2021)
In theApril 2019 andSeptember 2019 elections, Yesh Atid joined the centristBlue and White coalition headed byBenny Gantz. Neither election resulted in the formation of a government. Yesh Atid again ran in the coalition for the2020 election, but left the coalition after Gantz formed a unity government headed by Netaynahu (with plans for arotation). Yesh Atid continued to sit as an opposition party.[51][52] Lapid served asleader of the opposition[53]
Lapid (l.) with president Reuven Rivlin in May 2021
On 5 May 2021, Lapid was entrusted with the second mandate to form a new government, after the incumbent Netanyahu failed to do so with the first mandate.[8] On 9 May 2021, it was reported that Lapid and Bennett had made major headway in the coalition talks.[54] However, on 10 May, coalition talks seemed to be jeopardized as theRa’am party announced it was suspending coalition talks, due to escalation in theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict.[55] On 13 May his path to being Prime Minister was further complicated whenNaftali Bennett reportedly decided against joining a Lapid government due to the ongoing military conflict with Gaza.[56]
On 30 May 2021, Bennett announced in a televised address that Yamina would indeed join a unity government with Lapid, after all but one of Yamina's MKs agreed to back this decision.[57] On 2 June 2021, following negotiations with Lapid and Bennett, Ra'am leaderMansour Abbas officially signed a coalition agreement with Lapid and agreed to allow his party to join.[58] The Knesset ultimately voted in favor of the new government by a one-vote margin on 13 June.[59] the government was sworn in that same day, with Lapid becoming theAlternate Prime Minister of Israel and theMinister of Foreign Affairs.[60]
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Alternate Prime Minister
Prime Minister Lapid with U.S. PresidentJoe Biden, 2022
Lapid became the caretakerPrime Minister of Israel on 1 July 2022,[67] after the Knesset had voted to dissolve and call a snap election the previous day.[68] The rotation government agreement had specified that if a snap election were called while Bennett was still prime minister, Lapid would rotate into the premiership and serve as caretaker prime minister until the next government would be formed after the election. During his premiership, Lapid continued to hold the additional office of minister of foreign affairs.[69]
On 14 July 2022, Lapid participated in the firstI2U2 Group summit with US PresidentJoe Biden, Indian PMNarendra Modi and UAE presidentMohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During the meeting, Lapid praised the establishment of this new partnership, stressing that "anyone who understands that we live in a new world with new challenges would succeed and flourish".[70]
In early August 2022, Israel was involved in aseries of clashes with thePalestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip dubbed "Operation Breaking Dawn".[71] The three-day August operation was widely regarded as successful. The operation was overseen primarily by Lapid and Gantz (who was serving asdefense minister).[72] The operation was limited in its scope.[73]
On 10 October 2022, Lapid "strongly" condemned "Russian attacks on the civilian population in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine" duringstrikes on energy infrastructure that killed at least 11 people.[74]
Second tenure as leader of the opposition (2022–present)
In thesnap election, Yesh Atid won 24 seats.[75] A new government was formed byBenjamin Netanyahu, who succeeded Lapid as Prime Minister on 29 December 2022.[76] Lapid became the Leader of the Opposition for a second time on 2 January 2023.[77]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed that opposition parties Yesh Atid and National Unity enter an emergency unity government amid theGaza war,[79] after Leader of the Opposition Lapid urged Netanyahu put "aside our differences and form an emergency, narrow, professional government."[80] Only Gantz's National Unity accepted the offer. Lapid took issue with the structure Netanyahu offered, as well as the fact that Netanyahu would not removeItamar Ben-Gvir andBezalel Smotrich as ministers in his government. Lapid regarded both of these men to be extremists.[81][82]
Lapid with US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken in Washington, D.C., 8 April 2024
In June 2024, he urged Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu to accept Biden's proposal for aceasefire in theGaza war.[86] In December 2024, he was critical of the decision to close the Israeli embassy in Dublin saying that it would "give victory to antisemitism and anti-Israel organizations".[87]
In February 2025, he supported US PresidentDonald Trump's proposal for the voluntary resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza.[88] During aFoundation for Defense of Democracies meeting in the same month, Lapid unveiled his proposed "Egyptian Solution" to resolve theGaza war. The plan would see Egypt administer Gaza for 8–15 years, and allies in the international community would in return pay off Egypt's foreign debt amounting to $155 billion.[89]
Lapid has said that he would demand a resumption of negotiations between Israel and thePalestinian Authority.[91] His party's 2013 platform calls for an outline of "two states for two peoples", while maintaining the largeIsraeli settlement blocs, a united Jerusalem, and ensuring Israel's safety.[92] In January 2013, just days before the election, Lapid said he would not join a cabinet that stalled peace talks with thePalestinian Authority, and added that a single country for both Israelis and Palestinians without a peace agreement would endanger Israel's Jewish character. He said, "We're not looking for a happy marriage with the Palestinians, but for a divorce agreement we can live with."[93] As part of a future peace agreement, Lapid said Palestinians would have to recognize that the large West Bank settlement blocs ofAriel,Gush Etzion andMa'aleh Adumim would remain within the State of Israel.[94] According to Lapid, only granting Palestinians their own state could end the conflict and Jews and Arabs should live apart in two states, while Jerusalem should remain undivided under Israeli rule.[95][96]
Of the diplomatic stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Lapid said, "Most of the blame belongs to the Palestinian side, and I am not sure that they as a people are ready to make peace with us."[97] He has also dismissed the possibility of a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians as unrealistic.[98]
In June 2015, after the March 2015 elections, Lapid visited the United States, and after an hour-long interview, American journalistJeffrey Goldberg wrote, "Lapid is a leader of the great mass of disillusioned centrists in Israeli politics. He could conceivably be prime minister one day, assuming Benjamin Netanyahu, in whose previous cabinet he served, ever stops being prime minister. Now functioning as a kind of shadow foreign minister, Lapid argues that Israel must seize the diplomatic initiative with the Palestinians if it is to continue existing as a Jewish-majority democracy, and he is proposing a regional summit somewhat along the lines of the earlierArab Peace Initiative. Lapid is not a left-winger—he has a particular sort of contempt for the Israeli left, born of the belief that leftists do not recognize the nature of the region in which they live. But he is also for territorial compromise as a political and moral necessity, and he sees Netanyahu leading Israel inexorably toward the abyss."[99]
In September 2015, Lapid laid out his diplomatic vision in a major speech atBar Ilan University[100] in which he said, "Israel's strategic goal needs to be a regional agreement that will lead to full and normal relations with the Arab world and the creation of a demilitarized independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. That's where Israel needs to head. Separation from the Palestinians with strict security measures will save the Jewish character of the state". In September 2025, Lapid expressed opposition to plans to annex parts of the West Bank, before supporting a bill toannex the Israeli settlement ofMa'ale Adumim in October.[101][102]
He is enthusiastic about annexing theGolan Heights, and has also declared that he is guided by a principle of "maximum Jews on maximum land with maximum security and with minimum Palestinians."[103] Lapid supports recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the area, and stated in 2017 that withIran attempting to establish a foothold in Syria, Israel cannot be expected to relinquish the Golan Heights.[104]
Religion and state
In 2013, when Yesh Atid sat in the government, Lapid pushed for increased public transportation onShabbat, as opposed to the current law that mandates most public transportation shut down.[105]
Additionally, Lapid strongly supportsrecognition of civil marriage in Israel. Currently,marriage and divorce for Jews are controlled by theChief Rabbinate of Israel, which will not officiate marriages between Jews and non-Jews, and some Israelis from the Soviet Union who are not Jewish according to the Rabbinate's interpretation of Jewish law therefore cannot marry other Jews in Israel.[106] Although Israel recognizes civil marriages that are performed abroad, there is no mechanism for performing civil marriage in Israel. In 2015, under Lapid's leadership, Yesh Atid championed a bill to institute civil marriage, but the bill was defeated in the Knesset, with 50 votes against and 39 in favor.[107]
Israel-diaspora relations
When Netanyahu granted the Chief Rabbinate a monopoly onconversion to Judaism and walked back his promise to Diaspora Jews in 2017 to build a state-recognized section at theWestern Wall where men and women could pray equally, Lapid strongly criticised the decision, saying that the Israeli government alienated "senators, congressmen, the majority of the pro-Israel lobby, major donors, the people we turn to when we need help ensuring that Israel will get advanced weapons, that the military assistance will increase, that there will be sanctions on Iran".[108] He imploredAmerican Jews to "not give up on us. We have no intention of giving up on you. We are one people. It might take time. It might take elections. But in a democracy, the majority decides, and the majority in Israel want us to be one nation."[108] Lapid asserts that it is Israel's responsibility to recognize all streams of Judaism, including streams which don't follow Orthodox Jewish Law.[109]
Lapid is a leading proponent of a deep bipartisanUS-Israel relationship. He has upbraided Netanyahu for alienating American Democrats: "The fact that the [Israeli] government completely identifies with the conservative, evangelical faction of the Republican party is dangerous."[110]
When Jewish Democratic CongressmanTed Deutch's request to attend the embassy opening in Jerusalem was ignored, Lapid said, "There's no way the government of Israel didn't notice this. It's the job of the Prime Minister's office to look at the list and say: We are nonpartisan and are not just attached to Republicans."[110]
Haredim
During the 2013 election campaign, Lapid spoke of "equal shares of the burden" for all Israeli citizens. He said he would work to see all Israeli citizens, including the thousands ofHaredim, who had up until that point been exempt from most civil service, be included in military and civil service.[111][112] On 27 May 2013, Lapid threatened to topple the government unless ultra-Orthodox would be subject to criminal sanctions for draft-dodging. In the view of some Haredim, Lapid's plan represents a "spiritual holocaust", as they believe that their Jewish studies are what upholds Israel. Some Haredim have declared that even at the risk of being criminals, they will continue in their Jewish studies and refuse to enlist or perform civilian service.[113][114] Lapid denied that he was seeking to destroy the Haredi way of life, saying: "Not one of us wishes, Heaven forbid, to force hiloniyut [secularism] on you or to impose our version of Israeli identity. This state was established so that Jews could be Jews, and live as Jews, without having to fear anyone."[115]
Stance on anti-Israel bias
Lapid is a vocal opponent of theBDS movement, which seeks to economically isolate Israel, saying that "we can no longer abandon this battle to the haters of Israel. We need to defend Israel's good name in the world. They are besmirching us, and the time has come to answer them." Lapid has also helped college students in the United States oppose BDS.[116]
Lapid has repeatedly accused theUnited Nations of bias against Israel. He has sharply criticized theUnited Nations Human Rights Council for voting for "61 resolutions condemning human rights abuses across the world, and 67 resolutions which condemned Israel" in the past decade, claiming that this demonstrates an agenda against Israel. Lapid blamesUNESCO for "erasing Jewish history".[117]
He has pointed to the creation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) as an example of alleged bias, noting that it services onlyPalestinian refugees and gives them hereditary status so that the number of refugees has expanded from approximately 750,000 to five million.[118]
Lapid has in various instances asserted that presenting "both sides" of the conflict in effect "serves Hamas," and has argued in support of only showing the Israeli side.[119]
Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance
Lapid, whose father was aHolocaust survivor, spoke out againstPoland's controversialHolocaust bill, which would criminalize accusing the Polish nation of being complicit in the Holocaust. Lapid said: "No Polish law will change history. Poland was complicit in the Holocaust. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered on its soil without them having met any German officer."[120] He added that his "grandmother was murdered in Poland by Germans and Poles".[121] Lapid also wrote that there were "Polish death camps". TheAuschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum stated that Lapid's claims about alleged Polish cooperation in the Holocaust were a "conscious lie" and that Lapid was "using Holocaust as a political game" that mocked the victims, also likening his allegation to the claims made byHolocaust deniers.[122][123]
In February 2018, Polish Prime MinisterMateusz Morawiecki said that "there were Jewish perpetrators" of the Holocaust, "not only German perpetrators".[124] Lapid condemned Morawiecki's words, saying: "The perpetrators are not the victims. The Jewish state will not allow the murdered to be blamed for their own murder."[125]
Lapid's bookMemories After My Death chronicles his father's life and observations as Israel evolved over its first sixty years.[126]
Awards and recognition
In April 2013, Lapid appeared onTime magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People in the World 2013" in the category Leaders.[5] The following month, he ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" byThe Jerusalem Post.[3] He also was listed as one of the "Foreign Policy Global Thinkers 2013".[4]
Published works
The Double Head: thriller (1989)
Yoav's Shadow: children's book (1992)
One-Man Play: novel (1993)
Elbi – A Knight's Story: children's book (1998)
The Sixth Riddle: thriller (2001)
Standing in a Row: collection of newspaper columns (2005)
^אטילה שומפלבי (5 January 2018)."יאיר לפיד: 'לא מצאו עליי כלום, אז המציאו סיפור'" [Yair Lapid: 'They did not find anything about me, so they invented a story'].Ynet (in Hebrew).Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved29 November 2017.
^"לא קצין, אבל ג'נטלמן" [Not an officer, but a gentleman].mako.co.il (in Hebrew). 9 January 2012.Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved29 November 2017.
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