Tzipi Livni child, Livni was a member of the Betar youth movement and played basketball for Elitzur Tel Aviv. Growing up in an Israel dominated by the Labour Party, Livni says she felt marginalized, believing that the establishment had minimized her parents' contribution to Israel's founding. Despite the hard-line image of the Irgun, she says her parents had respect for the Arabs and acted only against the British army, not civilians. During the 1984 Likud primaries, her father, who had served in the Knesset for Herut and Likud as a moderate, did not campaign for a seat in the Knesset, and urged
2008 Kadima leadership election 2008 Kadima leadership election An election for the leadership of Kadima was held on 17 September 2008 as a concession to Kadima's coalition partner, Labour, which had threatened to bring down the government if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert didn't stand aside following police investigations into alleged corruption during his terms as minister and as mayor of Jerusalem. As Kadima remained the largest party in the Knesset and the coalition, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the designated new leader after balloting, had the chance to form a government without a need for elections. The two front-runners throughout the campaign consistently remained Mofaz