The wives of Netanyahu, Bennett, Lapid and Israel's leaders

As coalition negotiations continue between elements of the "change bloc" and the chareidi parties, members of the 26th Knesset, new and returning, filed into the chamber Tuesday evening for the swearing-in ceremony. Within a short time, they had taken their oaths of loyalty to the State of Israel and its laws, becoming official MKs before the live cameras. Upon entering the building, each was given a ceremonial flower pinned to their lapel and photographed with family members in a designated area.

Officially, the presence of MKs' families on swearing-in day forms a central part of the ceremonial schedule marking the opening of the Knesset. The families accompany the members, especially the 46 newly elected ones, from the moment they arrive in the morning and throughout the day's events. It is also the public's opportunity to meet the anonymous figures closest to Israel's most famous political leaders.

The most famous first lady of all is Sara Netanyahu, 68, wife of the prime minister (for now). Sara is an educational psychologist by training. Her position alongside the prime minister during his long tenure and her presence at the Prime Minister's Residence have given her significant public and media exposure. Last night, during the commotion that erupted during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech, his wife Sara was seen confronting Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett.

Gadi Eisenkot with his wife at the Knesset swearing-in ceremony (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Chana Eisenkot — Architect

Chana Eisenkot, 60, wife of Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party and the former chief of staff who entered politics, is an architect by profession. Over the years, she managed to maintain relative anonymity during the decades her husband advanced through the military ranks to become the 21st IDF chief of staff.

In 2019, Naftali Bennett published a post thanking Eisenkot's wife. Bennett wrote: "Chana Eisenkot, the quiet hero, thank you! For over 40 years your husband Gadi has been absent from home, commanding combat forces, fighting on various fronts, and you have paid a heavy price. For the sake of the state. You are Israel's quiet heroes."

Chana is a mother of five children. Her son, Staff Sergeant Gal-Meir Eisenkot hy"d, 25, the youngest of her children, fell on December 7, 2023, while serving as a combat medic, from the explosion of a booby-trapped shaft in Jabaliya during a commando operation to retrieve the bodies of hostages. Eleven months later, her sister Chayuta lost her son, Captain Yogev Pazi, 22, in an encounter in Jabaliya.

Lihi Lapid — Author and disability rights activist

Lihi Lapid, 58, wife of Yair Lapid, is an author and prominent activist for people with disabilities and their integration into society. When Lapid entered the position of prime minister, Lihi briefly became the prime minister's wife as well.

Their second daughter Yael, who was born with autism, became a turning point in her life, and subsequently Lihi became a prominent activist for people with disabilities and their integration into society. Since 2016, she has served as honorary president of Shekel (Community Integration for People with Disabilities), an Israeli organization that operates community housing programs, sheltered employment centers and therapeutic centers for people with special needs.

Naftali and Gilat Bennett (Photo: Marc Israel Salem, Pool)

Gilat Bennett — Pastry chef and parenting instructor

Gilat Bennett, 49, wife of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, has maintained a relatively low public profile over the years. Gilat is a pastry chef and parenting instructor by profession.

After their marriage, and with the development of the startup company "Cyota" that Bennett managed, the couple moved to New York and lived there for about five years. In New York, Gilat studied at the French Culinary Institute and worked as a pastry chef in several restaurants.

After the couple returned to Israel, she opened an ice cream factory in Kfar Saba called "Gilati," but sold it after the birth of their firstborn son. Subsequently, she was certified at the Adler Institute as a parenting instructor and sleep consultant, professions in which she works today.

In December 2021, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the family found itself in a storm following a vacation that was planned in a country defined as a "red country" and under restrictions. The affair sparked public criticism around the question of equality between the guidelines given to the public and the conduct of the prime minister's family.

Ruti Golan

Ruti Golan, wife of former deputy chief of staff and Democrats chairman Yair Golan, has maintained a low public profile over the years and defined herself as a private person. They are parents to five sons and live in Rosh HaAyin.

In an interview with Channel 12 News in May 2025, she spoke candidly about the tensions in the marriage and family following the political career and the part Golan takes in the protests. "When he entered politics, I tried to escape in every possible way. I was in China and India, I couldn't believe myself. I waited 38 years for him to be released from the army so we could finally be together, I raised the children alone — and then came politics and ruined everything."

"And then I also have to be ashamed? Walk around in some kind of shame as if something is wrong with me? I had ups and downs with it. It's not simple. At first I was angry at him, then I was angry at the army. There's a lot of anger. What can you do? Get up and leave."

Ella Lieberman — Bialik Institute employee and Joint activist

Ella Lieberman, wife of Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman, is a community activist and holds a master's degree in community and welfare studies. She leads a religious lifestyle and observes mitzvos (while Lieberman is secular), and she maintains a low public profile and rarely gives interviews or appears in the media.

Over the years she has been involved in several main areas: working at the Joint organization as a project manager and coordinator, where she deals with programs for the advancement and integration of Bukharan immigrants and immigrant populations in Israel. In addition, she worked at the veteran publishing house Bialik Institute. In the distant past, she worked as a kindergarten teacher in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem.