Naftali Bennett adds four female candidates to B’Yachad slate, bringing total women on list to 17

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Tuesday the addition of four women to the B'Yachad Party's Knesset slate, bringing the total number of female candidates to 17. Bennett stated his team “for repairing Israel received significant reinforcements,” emphasizing that the additions reflect a “true Israeli mosaic of top-notch women of action, each in her own field.” The new candidates include Esti Ayalon Kubo, former head of Israel's economic delegation to China; Olessia Kantor, founder of the Lev Esh initiative; Bruria Naim Erma, director-general of the B'Yachad Party; and Orly Harel, head of B'Yachad's Women's Branch and an AI expert. Bennett clarified that while women constitute a majority of B'Yachad's candidates, their inclusion was based on merit, not gender, stating, “to include the very best people.”