Sharren Haskel
Born in Toronto, a former Border Police officer and later Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sharren Haskel resigned from the government in July 2026 to protest a law protecting Haredi military service refusers. She immediately founded the Israel First party, with a security-oriented and economically liberal platform.
- Ideology
- Security-oriented Zionist right; economic liberalism combined with progressive positions on LGBT rights and cannabis.
- Current role
- Founder and chair of the Israel First party; former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Born
- March 4, 1984Toronto, Canada
Key takeaways
- 01
Born in Toronto; a former Border Police officer during the Second Intifada, then spent one year in the United States and six in Australia as a veterinary nurse.
- 02
Knesset member for Likud (2015) and then New Hope; campaigner for LGBT rights and the decriminalization of cannabis.
- 03
Appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2024.
- 04
Resigned on July 14, 2026, to protest a law granting immunity to Haredi military service refusers.
- 05
Founded the Israel First party the following day, based on five principles: security, a free economy, education, civil liberties, Zionist unity.
- 06
Has led a joint list with the Aleh Yarok (Green Leaf) party since September 3, 2026.
Controversies
Convicted former spy Jonathan Pollard publicly supported her party in August 2026, without, however, becoming a candidate on its list, a choice that was itself controversial.
Her sworn testimony that New Hope Knesset members had allegedly been instructed to film their votes for Likud's candidate for State Comptroller, contradicting Likud's denials, led the Attorney General to order a police investigation into these contradictory statements (July 2026). The outcome of the investigation remains uncertain.
In early September 2026, her party was polling close to or below the electoral threshold, with no established campaign headquarters.
Born on March 4, 1984, in Toronto to an Israeli father and a mother born in Morocco, Sharren Haskel moved to Israel about a year later and grew up in Kfar Saba. She served in the Border Police during the Second Intifada, then spent a year in the United States and six years in Australia as a veterinary nurse before earning a degree in political science. She is married to Eyal Harpaz and has a daughter, born in 2020.
She entered the Knesset in 2015 on the Likud list, then joined Gideon Saar's New Hope party in 2020, following him into the merger with National Unity (2022–2024). Back in an independent New Hope in 2024, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the Knesset, she became an active campaigner for LGBT rights and the decriminalization of cannabis.
In December 2025, she participated in a protest march to Jerusalem over Haredi conscription, and on July 14, 2026, she resigned from her position as deputy minister in response to a law granting immunity from arrest to military service refusers, accusing Saar of betraying her. The following day, she founded the Israel First party, which Jonathan Pollard subsequently supported publicly.
In July 2026, she also testified in an affidavit before the Supreme Court that New Hope Knesset members had been instructed to film their votes for Netanyahu-backed State Comptroller candidate Michael Rabello, triggering a police investigation into these contradictory statements.
In early September 2026, her new party was polling close to or below the electoral threshold.
Sharren Haskel was born on March 4, 1984, in Toronto. Her Israeli father, Amir, comes from a family of Palmach veterans from Moshav Tzofit. Her mother, Fabienne, is an English teacher born in Morocco. The family moved to Israel about a year later, and Sharren grew up in Kfar Saba.
From the age of 18, she served in the Border Police (Magav) during the Second Intifada. She manned checkpoints and was deployed to demolitions and demonstrations, amid daily violence.
After her discharge, she studied for a year in the United States, then spent six years in Australia, where she trained and worked as a veterinary nurse. She then returned to Israel and earned a degree in political science and international relations from the Open University of Israel before going into politics. She is married to Eyal Harpaz; their first child, a daughter, was born in October 2020.
Haskel entered the Knesset on August 14, 2015, replacing Danny Danon on the Likud list. On December 23, 2020, she left Likud to join New Hope, the new party founded by Gideon Sa'ar. She was fifth on its list in the March 2021 election, in which the party won six seats.
She stayed with the party during its merger with National Unity (2022-2024), holding 11th place on the joint list. In 2024, she returned with New Hope when it became independent again. She was then appointed Deputy Foreign Minister.
Throughout her time in the Knesset, she became known as an active supporter of LGBT rights and of decriminalizing cannabis, and spoke out publicly on both issues many times.
In December 2025, Haskel took part in an 80 km protest march from Kfar Saba to Jerusalem over Haredi conscription, together with Yoaz Hendel and Gadi Eisenkot, among others. On July 14, 2026, she resigned as Deputy Foreign Minister in protest against a law giving Haredi draft evaders immunity from arrest until November 30, 2026. She called the law "legally and morally corrupt, especially during wartime," and publicly accused Gideon Sa'ar of betraying her on this issue. The next day, July 15, 2026, she founded the Israel First party. Jonathan Pollard, a former spy convicted in the United States, joined her list on August 23, 2026.
On July 23, 2026, she filed a sworn statement with the Supreme Court. She said that New Hope's whip, Michel Buskila, had told the party's MKs to film themselves voting for Netanyahu's candidate for state comptroller, Michael Rabello (the Prime Minister's personal lawyer), so the recording could be shown to Netanyahu himself. By law, this vote must be secret. Gideon Sa'ar filed his own sworn statement rejecting the claims as "not only baseless, they're also irrelevant and are designed to generate a media provocation." He said he had in fact told members not to film. Likud, through its director-general David Sharan and several MKs, also filed sworn denials.
The Supreme Court had already annulled Rabello's election on July 2, 2026, and ordered a new vote, because MKs had filmed their ballots in breach of the secret vote. Faced with these conflicting statements, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asked the police in late July 2026 to determine "which statement is true" and to consider opening a criminal investigation against whichever side turns out to be lying. In early September 2026, Haskel's party was polling near or below the 3.25% electoral threshold. It had no campaign headquarters, and its list was limited to her and Jonathan Pollard.