Fourth Quarter founder Yoav Heller says Israel needs political renewal, not more boycotts

Yoav Heller, founder of the Fourth Quarter movement, says Israel needs political renewal rather than boycotts. In an interview, he outlined plans to break political polarization, rejected boycotts as a basis for forming a government, and advocated for a hawkish defense policy alongside domestic reforms including judicial reform, tackling organized crime, and improving education.

Yoav Heller, founder of the Fourth Quarter movement, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that Israel needs political renewal rather than boycotts. Heller, who holds a doctorate, said his movement began four years ago as a grassroots effort to reduce polarization and develop policy proposals through dialogue across the political spectrum. The decision to enter politics was backed by 69% of the movement's activists, he said. Heller acknowledged limited name recognition remains a challenge and said the party could seek a partnership with an established politician, form an alliance with other new political forces, or run independently with several better-known candidates. He said he would not stand in the way of a broader political merger if his participation threatened its viability. Heller rejected political boycotts as a basis for forming Israel's next government. While saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should leave office, Heller said that if voters choose Netanyahu, the political system should respect the result. He was sharply critical of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom he described as a major problem for Israeli politics, while also criticizing The Democrats party but opposing their exclusion from a future coalition. Heller said his preferred government would take a hawkish approach to defense while advancing several major domestic reforms, including an agreed judicial reform leading toward a constitution within five years, tackling organized crime in Arab society, creating a new framework of civic responsibility and state benefits, and seeking major improvements in Israeli education. If given a ministerial role, Heller said his first choice would be the Justice Ministry, with judicial reform his first priority.