ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to draw a map of populism in Israel and of the research carried out in this area as a basis for future research. This map is based on existing scholarship, which primarily focuses on right-wing populism, as well as on preliminary observations regarding centrist populist manifestations in Israeli politics, focusing in particular on the case of the Yesh Atid (YA) party and its leader, Lapid. A large share of Israeli literature that focuses on populism draws on Canovans conceptualization. Current knowledge of Israeli populist actors as communicators lacks three essential elements: First the literature includes recent scholarship, focuses on earlier time periods, resulting in a scarcity of knowledge about contemporary populist communication styles. Second, most of the studies that do exist describe only one or a few actors, usually not in a comparative context. Third, although the literature on Israeli populist actors refers to communicative dimensions, communication is neither the focus nor the disciplinary lens in studies.
