Blue and White (political alliance)

Blue and White (Hebrew: כָּחוֹל לָבָן Kaḥol Lavan) was a centrist and liberal Zionist political alliance in Israel. It was established by the Israel Resilience Party, Yesh Atid and Telem to run in the April 2019 Knesset election, in hopes of defeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blue and White defines itself as a pluralistic alliance representing all citizens on the political and religious spectrums. The phrase "blue and white" refers to the colors of the Israeli flag, and is colloquially used to describe something as being typically Israeli.

Following the March 2020 elections, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz was tasked with forming a new government after receiving endorsements from a majority of 61 MKs. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Gantz instead opted to put himself forward as interim Speaker of the Knesset while continuing negotiations to form a coalition government with Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud and other parties.

The effect was a break-up of the Blue and White alliance. The alliance split on 29 March 2020, with the Israel Resilience Party keeping the name Blue and White. Yesh Atid and Telem left the alliance and formed a separate faction in the Knesset. On 20 April, a coalition deal was signed with Likud, in which Netanyahu would serve first as prime minister, and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz would serve as prime minister starting October 2021, as well as giving the party ministerial portfolios such as defense ministers and foreign minister. However, this deal was never realized, because the Knesset collapsed in December 2020 after a major budget dispute, triggering new elections in March 2021. In the 2021 legislative election, Blue and White won eight seats and joined the government. After that coalition collapsed the following year, the party formed an alliance with the Gideon Sa'ar-led New Hope called National Unity, which was led by Gantz. The alliance won 12 seats.