ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the failure of the center-left parties in Israel, including Kadima, Labor, Meretz, Yesh Atid, Hatnuah, and the Zionist Union (an amalgam of Labor and Hatnuah), to sufficiently challenge Netanyahu’s rule over the past nine years is due to a combination of factors: the center-right adopting some of the positions of the center-left, the cooptation of the opposition, the stalemate in the peace negotiations and continued violence, the lack of unity among the center-left, the continued challenge of the center-left to appeal to more religious and Mizrahi Israeli voters and to align with the parties of Arab Israelis, latent sexism in Israeli political culture that hampered the success of female leaders of center-left parties, and multiple mistakes made by center-left leaders. The chapter will also discuss some of the possibilities for a revival of the center-left.
