Shelly Yachimovich

During the 18th Knesset, Yachimovich continued to lead Knesset in passing legislation, and was referred to as a diligent parliamentarian. She has been described as a staunch social-democrat, highly critical and belligerent, who does not hesitate to take on fat cats and the lobbyists who represent them. She has been described as using unorthodox politics, with critics noting she managed to aggravate both economic right and dovish left with her stances.

Though the Labor Party gained seven seats in the January 2013 elections, Yachimovich was defeated in the party leadership election held 22 November 2013 in which Isaac Herzog was elected leader of the Labor Party, defeating Yachimovich by 58.5% to 41.5%. In doing so, he became Leader of the Opposition.

Yachimovich is an atheist. On Judaism, she says "My Judaism is one of identity: I am part of a family and part of a people with a shared fate, history, culture and customs. My extended (ultra-Orthodox) family was destroyed in the Holocaust and my parents who survived were angry at God and felt betrayed. Paradoxically, even though I have a much more conciliatory attitude and harbor no resentment toward religion, and feel connected to the sources on the social level – their anger contained much greater faith. To be totally honest, I turn to God in times of trouble, just in case. He helps, and then like an ingrate, I return to my secularism."

Following the announcement on the formation of a unity government on 8 May 2012 and Kadima's departure from the opposition, the Labor Party became the largest party in the opposition. As such, Yachimovich was nominated unopposed as Leader of the Opposition. She held this post for 70 days, until Kadima left the government and became the largest opposition party once again.

After Ehud Barak left the Labor Party to form Independence in January 2011, a poll found that Yachimovich was the most popular of the likely candidates for leadership of the Labor Party. On 3 March 2011 Yachimovich declared her candidacy for party leadership and sought to sign up new members for the party. By the time the membership drive ended on 6 June, Yachimovich, according to estimates, had signed up more than 17,300 new members.

Despite criticisms, her entry to political life was preceded and followed by numerous other Israeli journalists who ran for a Knesset seat, including Nitzan Horowitz, Yair Lapid, Nachman Shai, Uri Orbach, Ofer Shelach and Merav Michaeli. Public debate has continued to question this practice, leading to a failed Knesset bill to be debated in 2010 and again in 2012, proposing a cooling-off period of 6 months for journalists before entering politics.

In 2009, Yachimovich leaked an undisclosed version of the forthcoming State Budget bill's Arrangements Act, the traditional addendum to the yearly budget, on her website and invited ordinary citizens to provide comments on its contents. She also released a detailed criticism of many of the State Budget's proposals, mainly in regard to proposed cutbacks to governmental services. The publication of the complete document, which under normal circumstances is being kept under the strictest secrecy in the Ministry of Finance and only distributed in small portions to selected officials, has been described as explosive, and an unprecedented event in the bill's history. As a result of the leak, the Bill came under public scrutiny and was susceptible to a wide debate in the Knesset and over the media, eventually causing the Ministry of Finance to withdraw some of its proposals for budget cutbacks. Furthermore, the case brought into question the Arrangements Act's objectives, with critics noting it bypasses the Knesset by essentially cancelling out previous legislation in a swipe of hand.

She retained her seat in the 2009 elections, in fifth place on the Labor list. Shortly afterwards, she came out vocally against party leader Ehud Barak for negotiating a place for Labor in the Likud-led coalition of the thirty-second government of Israel. Believing that Labor would act as a dead weight on Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government, she opposed joining the coalition and warned that Labor would serve as a fig leaf for right-winged governmental agenda. The debate escalated to Yachimovich and six other Labor MK's being named as 'Labor rebels', who formed an anti-Barak alliance and restrained from voting along party lines, although officially being part Netanyahu's government. Trying to appease her, Barak offered Yachimovich an appointment as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor in the upcoming government. She refused the offer despite admitting it was a post she was aiming at, and continued opposing Labor's part in the government, up until early 2011 when Barak diverted from the party and the remaining MK's agreed on leaving the government.

She received The Knight of Quality Government award from the Movement for Quality Government in Israel in 2008. The selection committee commemorated her as being one of the very few elected officials who attacks Crony capitalism practices; who consistently supports the Supreme Court and State Comptroller legitimacy and standing; and who voices out for the issues of the less-privileged classes of society.

The 17th Knesset, which span from April 2006 to February 2009, saw the Labor party joining the Kadima-led coalition under prime-minister Ehud Ulmert in the thirty-first government of Israel. Yachimovich was quickly growing critical of Labor's role in the government, as she believed the party was not executing its social-democratic mandate. She also became frustrated of then party leader Peretz, citing his choice to become Minister of Defense over an economically related minister, as a choice that created a personal, ideological and political drift between them. She consequently started to divert from voting along party lines and opposed the 2006 State Budget bill. Responding to criticisms, she justified her stance by claiming that most Knesset members and ministers who voted for the State Budget bill had not actually read it, and had not debated its long term consequences, which she deemed irrational. In the February 2007 party leadership primaries, she endorsed Ehud Barak over Ami Ayalon, pointing out that while she couldn't see the difference between them as both were not representing social-democratic values, Barak still had a better shot at leading the party to electoral victories.

On 29 November 2005, two weeks after Amir Peretz was interviewed by Yachimovich on "Meet the Press" for the occasion of his election as leader of the Labor Party, Yachimovich announced she was leaving journalism and entering politics. She ran in the Labor primaries and achieved the ninth place on the party's list for the 2006 elections, in which she was elected to the Knesset.

Yachimovich was criticized on her sharp move from journalism to politics. Critics noted that it was inappropriate for a watchdog journalist to become a member of the system she was supposed to be guarding. Others alleged that the interview she had with Peretz shortly before joining politics must have lacked professional impartiality, according to journalism ethics. Following criticisms, a cooling-off period of three months was imposed on journalists by Israeli broadcast regulator The Second Authority in late 2005. Yachimovich later claimed on her behalf that she didn't have the slightest idea of joining politics on her mind during that interview. She also declared that she opposes any cooling-off periods on joining politics, arguing that these should instead be imposed on parliamentarians and civil servants who upon leaving the public sphere immediately join high-profile positions in the private sector, exploiting their influence to make private profits.

Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest financial institutions, had announced in late 2002 that it was about to cut 10% of its workforce of about 900 employees, many of whom tenured under the bank's employment contract. Criticism of the plan came from the Histadrut labor union, which questioned the necessity of such a massive layoff amidst ILS 1 billion in profits for the bank that year. First filing legal action against the bank via the Tel Aviv District Labor Court, the Histadrut union also went on to embark on a massive public relations campaign against the bank's management. The bank's main shareholder, Israeli businesswoman Shari Arison, one of Israel's wealthiest women, led a press conference to defend the layoffs, on advice from her public relations consultant Rani Rahav. Arison expressed regret for the layoffs, characterizing management's decision as an example of national responsibility. Critics rejected her argument as being poorly constructed, claiming that her remarks only seemed to demonstrate that for the country's wealthiest, national responsibility means profit maximization. Histadrut labor union chairman Amir Peretz, who was facing upcoming Histadrut leadership elections, then led a campaign personally attacking Arison, publishing billboards with the slogan 'Shari Arison laughs, 900 families cry'. Agitated about the slogan, Arison threatened Poster Media, the company that put up the billboards and which was partly owned by Arison, with a $10 million libel suit, successfully halting the campaign.

While studying in Beersheba, she worked as a correspondent for the Al HaMishmar newspaper. She went on to become an anchor for the Israel Broadcasting Authority's radio station Reshet Bet, earning a reputation as opinionated and critical of conventional wisdom and the establishment. She has also been described as an assertive, abrasive radio journalist with very pronounced feminist and social-democratic views. As a journalist, she covered women's and social welfare issues. In October 2000, following a work dispute, she left her radio job and joined Channel 2 TV, where she hosted a political talk show and served as a news commentator. She also did a weekly program for Israel Army Radio (Galei Tzahal).

As a journalist, Yachimovich was credited in giving prominent stage on national radio for activists of Four Mothers advocacy group who campaigned for Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon. The group was established in February 1997 by four mothers who have lost their sons in the Israeli helicopter disaster. The founders formed a pressure group advocating a withdrawal, pointing out the excessive cost in human lives of a continuing Israeli presence in Southern Lebanon. Yachimovich and military affairs journalist Carmela Menashe were the first to give stage to the group's agenda, helping the grass-roots movement strike at the heart of Israeli public debate. The growing discussion over Israel's role in Southern Lebanon eventually led prime minister Ehud Barak to announce a withdrawal plan in 2000, amid vocal criticism over Yachimovich's agenda from military officials. Four Mothers' group leaders later noted that Menashe's and Yachimovich's support was crucial in promoting their goal.

Yachimovich was born in Kfar Saba. Her father, Moshe, was a construction worker and her mother, Hanna, a teacher. Both parents were Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel from Poland. She became politically engaged at an early age, and was expelled from Ostrovsky high school in Ra'anana at age 15 for hanging up posters denouncing the principal's style of leadership. She was conscripted in 1978, and in 1985, Yachimovich graduated from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with a degree in behavioural science.

Shelly Rachel Yachimovich (Hebrew: שלי רחל יחימוביץ׳ , born 28 March 1960) is an Israeli politician, who served as the leader of the opposition three times, a member of the Knesset, and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. She served as leader of the Israeli Labor Party between 2011 and 2013. Before entering politics, she was a journalist, an author, and a television and radio commentator.