Ofer Shelah
Ofer ShelahPhoto by Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL

MK Ofer Shelah announced on Thursday that he would be leaving the Yesh Atid party and forming a new party led by him. He announced that Roi Cohen, President of the Israel Chamber of Independent Organizations and Businesses, had joined him.

"The next government must have a representation of a clear path and a worldview that so many Israelis share. I call on anyone who wants to revitalize the center-left to join me,” Shelah said at a press conference.

Shelah had been in a longstanding dispute with Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid over Shelah’s demand that the party hold primaries to determine its next leader, a demand which Lapid refused.

MK Yoav Segalovitz of Yesh Atid spoke later on Thursday on Radio 103FM and commented on Shelah’s decision to leave the party.

"Ofer made a decision and I wish him success with all my heart. He is both a friend and a partner on a path, and he made a decision to go somewhere else. In the end he was a part of us. We are in the process of change within Yesh Atid, it is clear to us that they need to be done. I regret the fact that Ofer did not have the patience to wait but we are all adults,” said Segalovitz.

Asked whether Yesh Atid will feel Shelah’s absence from a political point of view, he replied, "I think we are a stable party with a lot of people, a good group of people with quite a bit of experience, and we are the only centrist party that also shows stability. I joined Yesh Atid not because of Bibi's indictments but because I think a dramatic change needs to be made in the agenda of the country.”

He added, "Ultimately we are a team, and we are team players. At least in the future we will not pay a price for Shelah's departure. I think there is only one major player on the field at the moment and that is Yesh Atid, and anyone who sees himself as part of the center-left or as a centrist should get behind us.”