Through the 1977 Looking Glass – Why Israel Needs a New DASH

This is not about nostalgia. This is about unfinished business.

In May 1977, Israel woke up to a political earthquake. After nearly 30 years of uninterrupted rule by the Labor Party, Menachem Begin’s Likud swept to power. But tucked within the headlines of that revolution was another force that captured the spirit of the moment: a bold new centrist party called DASH – the Democratic Movement for Change.

DASH gave voice to a frustrated middle class. It promised clean government, practical reform, and national healing after the trauma of the Yom Kippur War and a string of corruption scandals.

Nearly half a century later, Israel finds itself once again standing in front of the 1977 looking glass – a reflection not just of history, but of the deep, cyclical forces that shape our political life. And it begs a serious question: Is it time for a new DASH – one that can actually endure?

Composed of professors, generals, technocrats, and civil society leaders – many new to politics , including the recently deceased Zionist giant Stef Wertheimer – DASH embodied the appetite for fresh thinking, trustworthy leadership, and an end to ultra-Orthodox political extortion. But within two years, it imploded.

Today, as Israel reels from the trauma of October 7th and the ongoing war in Gaza – and as corruption, judicial crisis, ideological extremes, and deep societal fractures mount – we again peer into the 1977 looking glass and see ourselves.

The conditions that gave rise to DASH are back. But so is the danger: that any new reformist movement could once again burn bright – and die young. It doesn’t have to be that way.

 In 1977, Israelis were angry — at a government that failed them in war, at politicians more interested in preserving power than protecting the public, and at a political elite that had stopped listening. Sound familiar?

Fast forward to today: protests fill the streets. Faith in democratic institutions is crumbling. Ideological rigidity has replaced civil discourse. Meanwhile, millions of Israelis – from military reservists to tech entrepreneurs, from traditional centrists to religious moderates – feel politically homeless.

They are the exhausted majority, and they want something else. Something reasonable. Something credible.

DASH collapsed because it lacked ideological unity, had too many leaders, and lacked organizational discipline.  These are mistakes we can learn from and avoid as we once again readjust our political landscape.

 Calling for the Formation of the Shiluv Chadash Party

Today, the primary alternatives to Netanyahu come from the center-left. Israel needs Shiluv Chadash, a center-right, Zionist, pro-democracy party – reflecting Israeli majority sentiment. Rooted in Zionism, security-conscious, pro-innovation, and deeply committed to democratic principles, Shiluv Chadash will represent the majority of Israelis who believe in the Jewish character of the state and the rule of law, who want a strong IDF and a healthy economy, and who are tired of choosing between chaos and stagnation.

It must have a clear leader – someone with integrity and experience, who can command trust across sectors and communities. A veteran IDF general, a respected jurist, or a leading tech entrepreneur with vision and humility could fit the bill. The remainder of the party list should be comprised of equally talented individuals, reflecting the Israeli center.

 Shiluv Chadash should focus on the core issues that matter to the Israeli majority:

• Security: Strengthening national security with pragmatism, not provocation. Defending Israel’s borders, strengthening regional alliances like the Abraham Accords, de-escalating domestic extremism, and re-establishing relations with the West.
• Economy: Lowering the cost of living through liberal economic policies, cutting bureaucratic red tape, and empowering innovation.
• National Identity: Upholding Jewish identity while protecting civil rights, religious freedom, protecting minority rights – and responsibly addressing the Palestinian issue.

• Government Reform: Combatting corruption, setting term limits, limiting the number of ministers, and balancing judicial powers.
• Social Cohesion: Uniting Israelis – religious and secular, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi, and Arab and Jew – around a shared national purpose.

 Israel’s protest movements over the last two years have proven the strength of civil society – but civil society alone cannot govern. We need a political movement that’s prepared to do the slow, boring, essential work of coalition-building, policy-writing, and public trust. It must avoid being a one-man show, and most of all, it must be built to last, not just to win one election.

Israel in 2025 is not the same as Israel in 1977. But once again we stand at a national crossroads. The decisions we make now will shape not just our politics, but the very soul of our democratic, Jewish, and just society.

DASH may have failed. But its promise didn’t. In the 1977 looking glass, we see not only who we were – but who we could still become.

Now is the time. Shiluv Chadash should be founded by competent, honest, and principled Israeli leaders – not tomorrow, but today.