Naftali Bennett: Characterized by contradictions

Over the last few weeks, I have been following political maneuvering in Israel. Finally, Naftali Bennett has been installed as Prime Minister, with limited time at his disposal and facing massive threats from outgoing Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. 

If Muslim Ummah wishes to develop ‘working relations’ seek peace, prosperity and security for Palestinians, it has to know the man characterized by contradictions.

I am inclined to quote Anshel Pfeffer, a columnist for Israel’s left-leaning Haaretz newspaper. He wrote in a recent profile of Bennett, “A Jewish nationalist but not really dogmatic. A bit religious, but certainly not devout. A military man who prefers the comforts of civilian urban life and a hi-tech entrepreneur who isn’t looking to make any more millions. A supporter of the Greater Land of Israel but not a settler. And he may well not be a lifelong politician either.”

He is a former ally of Benjamin Netanyahu who has partnered with centrist and left-wing parties to end his 12-year rule. His ultranationalist Yamina party won just seven seats in the 120-member Knesset in March 2021 elections, the fourth such vote in two years. By refusing to commit to Netanyahu or his opponents, Bennett positioned himself as a kingmaker. Even after one member of his religious nationalist party abandoned him to protest the new coalition deal, he ended up with the crown.

Bennett has long positioned himself to the right of Netanyahu. But he will be severely constrained by his unwieldy coalition, which has only a narrow majority in parliament and includes parties from the right, left and centre.

He is opposed to Palestinian independence and strongly supports Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians and the international community see as a major obstacle to peace.

He briefly served as head of the West Bank settler’s council, Yesha, before entering the Knesset in 2013. Bennett later served as cabinet minister of diaspora affairs, education and defence in various Netanyahu-led governments.

“He’s a right-wing leader, a security hardliner, but at the same time very pragmatic,” said Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel Democracy Institute, who has known Bennett for decades and served with him in the military. He expects Bennett to engage with other factions to find a “common denominator” as he seeks support and legitimacy as a national leader.

The 49-year-old father of four shares Netanyahu’s hawkish approach to the Middle East conflict, but the two have had tense relations over the years.

Bennett campaigned as a right-wing stalwart ahead of the March elections and signed a pledge on national TV saying he would never allow Yair Lapid, a centrist and Netanyahu’s main rival, to become prime minister.

But when it became clear Netanyahu was unable to form a ruling coalition, that’s exactly what Bennett did, agreeing to serve as prime minister for two years before handing power to Lapid, the architect of the new coalition.

Netanyahu’s supporters have branded Bennett a traitor, saying he defrauded voters. Bennett has defended his decision as a pragmatic move aimed at unifying the country and avoiding a fifth round of elections.

Bennett, a modern Orthodox Jew, will be Israel’s first prime minister who regularly wears a kippa, the skullcap worn by observant Jews. He lives in the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Raanana, rather than the settlements he champions.

Bennett began life with his American-born parents in Haifa and then bounced with his family between North America and Israel, military service, law school and the private sector. Throughout, he has curate a persona that’s at once modern, religious and nationalist.

After serving in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, Bennett went to law school at Hebrew University. In 1999, he co-founded Cyota, an anti-fraud software company that was sold in 2005 to US-based RSA Security for $145 million.

Bennett has said the bitter experience of Israel’s 2006 war against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah drove him to politics. The month-long war ended inconclusively, and Israel’s military and political leadership at the time was widely criticized as bungling the campaign.

Bennett represents a third generation of Israeli leaders, after the founders of the state and Netanyahu’s generation, which came of age during the country’s tense early years marked by repeated wars with Arab states.

“We will topple dangerous government”, says Netanyahu

It was a national embarrassment. The religious-Zionist parties in the opposition staged a walkout, and Likud MKs refused to let Bennett speak. He went out of his way, as he should have, to thank outgoing prime minister for his ceaseless efforts and years of service to the country. 

Instead of a gracious reception and an orderly transfer of power, Bennett was met with a malicious, pre-planned verbal attack of chaos and venom directed at him and the new coalition.

Netanyahu’s speech was far more antagonistic and aggressive than Bennett’s. There was no sign of goodwill, no acknowledgment of stepping down, and no indication that he’s going to sit quietly in the opposition.

Netanyahu said he will not be leaving politics despite leaving the Prime Minister’s Office. He told his supporters he intends to remain opposition leader, head of the Likud and the party’s candidate for prime minister in the next election.

Netanyahu told his supporters they should keep their heads held high despite losing power. “We will continue to work together,” he said. “I will lead you in a daily struggle against this dangerous left wing government to topple it, and with God’s help, it will happen much faster than you think.”

In contrast with the constant heckling during the speech of incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, MKs in the coalition being formed was completely silent when Netanyahu spoke, making a point of showing him respect.

Mocking Bennett, Netanyahu said after hearing him talk tough about Iran, he was even more worried since “Bennett always does the opposite of what he says.” The new government is unfit to lead the country for even a single day, he said.

“An Israeli Prime Minister needs to know how to say no to the president of the United States,” Netanyahu said, praising his own speech to Congress against the Iran deal and lamenting that there will be no one left who could stand up for Israel that way.

Had Bennett told Israelis he would form a government with Lapid, he would not have gotten elected at all, Netanyahu said, calling him “Fake Right.”

He listed his successes as prime minister, including the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, the construction of new roads and railways and the improvement to quality of life in the country.

“All of this didn’t happen by chance,” Netanyahu said. “It happened because we ran a smart and focused security policy that made our enemies pay a price.”

The government oversaw “courageous” operations behind enemy lines to keep Israel safe, he said.

The accomplishments turned Israel from a “marginal state” into a leading country, Netanyahu said.

Bennett sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel, ending Netanyahu era

Knesset voted to approve the new government formed by Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid. This ended Benjamin Netanyahu’s record-breaking term as prime minister on Sunday night. The new government passed with the support of 60 MKs, while 59 opposed it. Ra’am (United Arab List) MK Saeed Alharomi abstained. 

The MKs in the new coalition and their family members in the visitors’ gallery erupted in applause when the results were announced. The ministers then took turns being sworn in. Bennett was sworn in as Israel’s 13th prime minister and Lapid as the 14th.

When Bennett started his speech introducing his government, Religious Zionist Party Head Bezalel Smotrich and other MKs shouted, “Shame,” while waving posters of victims of terrorism. They were removed from the plenum.

“I am proud that I can sit in a government with people with very different views,” Bennett told his hecklers in the Knesset plenum, adding that they seemed to have a problem with losing power.

Bennett called on all sides of the political spectrum to display restraint. In recent years, Israel had stopped being managed as a country, he said.

“The loud tone of the screams is the same as the failure to govern during your term in office,” Bennett snapped back at the Likud MKs.

Shas and United Torah Judaism MKs heckled Bennett, calling him a liar and a cheat. But Bennett promised to help the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector, even though its MKs would not be part of his government. He pledged to build a new haredi city for the sector’s growing population.

“This is not a day of mourning,” Bennett said. “There is no disengagement here. There is no harm being caused to anyone. There is a change of government in a democracy. That’s it. And I assure it is a government that will work for the sake of all the people.

“We will do all we can so that no one should have to feel afraid. We are here in the name of good and to work. And I say to those who intend to celebrate tonight, don’t dance on the pain of others. We are not enemies; we are one people.”

In the address, Bennett said his government would prevent the nuclearization of Iran and would not permit rocket fire on Israeli citizens from the Gaza Strip. Bennett thanked US President Joe Biden’s administration for its support during the war in Gaza and pledged to maintain bipartisan support in the US.

Bennett made a point of starting his address by praising outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his hard work over the years for the State of Israel and his wife, Sara, for her dedication. Netanyahu deserved credit for his outreach to Ra’am head Mansour Abbas, he said. The new government would take unprecedented steps to reach out to the Arab sector, he vowed.

Lapid canceled his planned speech and merely said the behavior of MKs in the outgoing government reminded him, his mother and all citizens of Israel why it was so important to replace them.

While Netanyahu spoke, MKs in the coalition being formed were completely silent, making a point of showing him respect. The only MKs who heckled him were from the Joint List, until Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz mentioned the criminal charges against Netanyahu near the end of the address.

A crisis was avoided earlier when Ra’am MK Saeed Alharomi said he would not oppose the new government, following a threat.

Nothing could interfere with the swearing in of the new government on Sunday night, Abbas told reporters at the Knesset, adding that “we will all vote in favor of the government.”

In return for his support of the new coalition, Alharomi demanded that a clause in the coalition agreement regarding illegal construction in the Negev be canceled.

Netanyahu and interior minister Arye Deri pressured Alharomi and offered him assurances, including on the topic of the Kaminitz Law that addresses illegal construction, in an attempt to get him to vote against the government.

Netanyahu would remain in power if the prospective new coalition’s razor-thin majority were to lose the support of even one MK in a vote of confidence in the Knesset. If Alharomi abstains in the confidence vote, Joint List MKs could come to its rescue and vote in favor.

The Likud responded that it would be shameful if the government were formed through the backing of MKs who support terrorists and do not recognize Israel as a Jewish-democratic state.

Is Netanyahu hoping against hope?

The musicians aboard the Titanic continued playing as the ship went down, acting as if they were oblivious to the disaster taking place that would soon submerge them. Similarly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a point of looking like he is continuing to do his job, as if this coming weekend will not be his final days at the Prime Minister’s Residence. 

There are no moving trucks. There has been no speech acknowledging defeat. And of course, there has been no contact whatsoever with incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett or anyone close to him.

There are interesting references in private conversations to Ariel Sharon’s last-minute success in blocking Shimon Peres from forming a government in 1990. Sharon helped Agudat Yisrael MK Eliezer Mizrachi go into hiding, protected by bodyguards hired by Sharon, leaving Peres to face the wrath of his wife, Sonia, who made a rare appearance in the Knesset plenum’s visitors’ gallery for naught.

Five of the seven MKs in Yamina have been assigned bodyguards to protect them, as has New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar. But the guards are there to enable them to vote, not to help them avoid voting. If anyone goes into hiding, it might be backbench Ra’am (United Arab List) MKs Walid Taha and Saeed Alharomi.

It would only take one MK to vote against the coalition for it to lose its narrow majority and keep Netanyahu in power. Sources close to those involved in preventing the government’s formation said there was still a 15% to 20% chance that they could manage to stop it.

They said that the leak of the coalition guidelines to Channel 12’s political analyst Amit Segal was proof that there is somebody within the new coalition who is working to sabotage it. Clauses in the coalition deal that would have prevented a Netanyahu comeback were changed after the backlash from the leak that night, and that was already an achievement for Netanyahu.

Knesset Speaker, Yariv Levin has deliberately set the vote on the new government for Sunday in order to add an extra day between the publication of the coalition guidelines and the vote, hoping to maximize the effect of an outcry to potentially wavering MKs. Levin also got away with scheduling it for late Sunday afternoon, not the morning, to allow more time for tension to build.

Only after the agreements are signed will the final appointments be revealed. Labor leader Merav Michaeli has been hiding the role of MK Gilad Kariv, a Reform rabbi whose appointment to certain roles could be considered very controversial. Nachman Shai, who is not an MK, is expected to be named Diaspora Affairs minister, but Kariv, who finished second in Labor’s Knesset primary, will either receive a deputy minister’s post in a sensitive ministry or be put in charge of an influential Knesset committee.

Shas, United Torah Judaism and Likud intend to use Kariv to attack the coalition, continuing their efforts to turn Reform into a dirty word. Kariv’s support for the American left-wing lobby group J Street will undoubtedly be highlighted. Netanyahu already attacked J-Street’s founder, Jeremy Ben-Ami, on social media this week in an effort to paint the Bennett-Lapid leadership as a “J-Street government.”

The comparisons of the new coalition to Iran, Syria and North Korea are just the start. Netanyahu’s associates say he truly believes the entire world will be threatened if Israel’s enemies perceive the Jewish state as weakened without him in power.

His critics, of course, say his actual motivation is to avoid the wrath of his wife, Sara, not Iran. It is no wonder that all compromise proposals Netanyahu negotiated had he been part of a coalition kept his family living on Balfour Street, even during the time he would have rotated out of the premiership.

With that much at stake, it is no wonder that Netanyahu will leave no stone unturned ahead of Sunday’s vote. Only if the vote happens and he is officially out of power will Netanyahu play his final song and get ready to move.

“It’s not over yet,” said a source close to Netanyahu. “He always prepares for the worst scenario, but there is more happening than meets the eye. Let’s see on Sunday.”

Coalition formed to oust Netanyahu

A new governing coalition has been formed and is prepared to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Yair Lapid officially informed President Reuven Rivlin and Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin late Wednesday night.

"I commit to you Mr. President, that this government will work to serve all the citizens of Israel including those who aren't members of it, will respect those who oppose it, and do everything in its power to unite all parts of Israeli society," Lapid told Rivlin.

Yamina leader Naftali Bennett, Lapid and Ra'am (United Arab List) Chairman Mansour Abbas signed an agreement at a meeting on Wednesday night at Ramat Gan's Kfar Hamaccabiah Hotel, in the first coalition deal ever signed by an Arab party.

Abbas had added last-minute demands on Wednesday, following multiple conversations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After Netanyahu offered to cancel a law enforcing fines on illegal Arab building, Abbas demanded the same from the unity government being formed.

The Southern Islamic Movement's Shura Council decided in Kfar Kassem on Wednesday night to empower Abbas to make a final decision about whether to enter the coalition, based on his conversation with Bennett and Lapid. 

"The decision was hard and there were several disputes but it was important to reach agreements," Abbas told reporters after singing the deal.

Another coalition deal was signed with the New Hope Party. The deal guarantees splitting the role of the attorney-general, preventing Palestinian construction in Israeli controlled Area C of the West Bank and legalizing the usage of cannabis. The party received the Justice, Education, Construction and Communications portfolios.

Another dispute appeared to be on the way to a compromise after Bennett's number two in Yamina, MK Ayelet Shaked, accepted a rotation in the Judicial Selection Committee with Labor leader Merav Michaeli. According to the compromise, Shaked would serve on the committee in the first half of the term, along with an MK from Labor, and Michaeli in the second half, along with an MK from New Hope.

But Michaeli then demanded to go first in the rotation, which Shaked requested. One way of resolving the dispute that was discussed is a rotation of portfolios in the second half of the term, with Shaked becoming justice minister, New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar shifting from the Justice to the Foreign Affairs portfolio and Bennett moving from Prime Minister to Interior Minister and alternate Prime Minister when Lapid becomes Prime Minister. Michaeli could also be promoted in that scenario.  

Michaeli and Lapid met late Wednesday night just ahead of the deadline.

The judicial selection committee is due to select six new Supreme Court judges over the next four years. It automatically includes the justice minister, who will be New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar, one additional minister, an MK from the coalition and one from the opposition. There are also representatives from the current Supreme Court and the Bar Association.  

Michaeli said late Tuesday night that she accepted the agreement that gives Shaked the right to serve in the selection committee first. In return, Labor received the Chairmanship of the Knesset Law and Constitution Committee. She said she was proud to make history in ousting Netanyahu.

Shaked was not the only MK in Yamina causing problems. MK Nir Orbach, who has been touted as a possible coalition Chairman, was undecided about whether to vote for the government in the minutes before the deadline.

Orbach and Bennett met late Wednesday night after the coalition was announced. The meeting was positive, according to Yamina, and they will hold another one Thursday.

Lapid needed to tell President Reuven Rivlin and Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin by Wednesday midnight that he can form a government. Had he not done so, the mandate would have gone to the Knesset, where any MK had the opportunity to build a coalition with the support of 61 MKs.

A source close to Lapid said that even if details remain unresolved, Lapid would still tell Rivlin he had formed a government and allow the remaining issues to be dealt with before the new government gets approved in the Knesset.

Lapid had wanted to inform Levin that he had formed a government during Wednesday's Knesset session, in order to make sure the Knesset speaker would schedule a vote of confidence in the new government and the swearing in of the new ministers by next week. 

But final deals were not reached in time. It is expected that once Levin receives word from Lapid that a government is ready, he will insist on waiting as long as permitted by law in order to maximize pressure on Yamina MKs, which could end up being 12 days.

Marathon talks among representatives of the eight parties set to join the coalition at the Kfar Hamaccabiah Hotel finalized coalition agreements with every party overnight Tuesday night, concluding with a deal with Blue and White. A Blue and White spokeswoman said they agreed upon a number of central policy areas to advance and strengthen democracy and Israeli society at large.

Bennett getting ready to replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister

Yamina leader, Naftali Bennett revealed for the first time on Wednesday that he was prepared to form a national unity government, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to build a coalition by the 4^th May 2021 deadline. 

Bennett said a right-wing government was still his preference, but if it was not possible, he would make every effort to build a unity government that conforms to his values. He said he would first do everything possible to enable Netanyahu to build a coalition, whose failure to be built until now - he said - was the fault of Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich.

Responding for the first time to Netanyahu's call for direct elections for prime minister, Bennett called the idea "throwing billions in the trash" and accused Netanyahu of "holding Israel hostage" and being ready to take Israel to a sixth and seventh election. Without the support of Yamina, there is no majority for the direct elections bill. 

"Israel needs a functioning, stable government immediately," he said. "The people of Israel are sick of fighting and want a government that works for them."

Netanyahu responded by accusing Bennett of "doing everything possible to prevent the formation of a right-wing government and instead completing a deal on a government with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, with the support of the Joint List, despite having only seven seats. 

"This spits in the face of democracy," said Netanyahu, who accused Bennett of being "ready to assassinate the Right."

Netanyahu said a Bennett-led government would not be able to resist international pressure on Iran and other key issues.

Responding to questions about whether he would head the opposition if he fails to form a government, Netanyahu said "I am not resigning" and "We are doing all we can so we won't be in the opposition."

Netanyahu said clearly for the first time that he is not considering trying to succeed Reuven Rivlin as president. 

"I am not interested in being president and never was," he said. 

Mocking Netanyahu for talking about breaking promises and deceiving the public, Lapid wrote on Twitter "there is no limit to swindling." Lapid said no one believes Netanyahu's empty promises anymore and that the solution is a unity government. 

Channel 13 reported on Wednesday night that one of the major fights preventing a deal between Lapid and Bennett is that Bennett wants  New Hope head Gideon Sa'ar to be defense minister and Lapid wants someone less right-wing. 

In an effort to advance his direct election for prime minister idea, Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday with the heads of Ra'am (United Arab List), Labor, Meretz and Blue and White. All except the Ra'am head Mansour Abbas, who is undecided, told Netanyahu they opposed the idea. 

Another idea raised in Netanyahu's circles, that Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin serve as prime minister for a year, was dismissed on Wednesday by Netanyahu and by top officials in Likud.

Former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat promised on Wednesday that he will be the successor of Netanyahu.

Speaking at a conference of the Association of Municipal Corporations Conference at the Herod's Hotel in Eilat, Barkat called on Bennett and Sa'ar to join a Netanyahu-led government. But he also spoke about the future of his Likud party if Netanyahu does not form a government by the 4^th May deadline.

"If the prime minister decides to resign [from the chairmanship of Likud], I will of course enter the race for prime minister and I will win," Barkat said.

Is Israel heading towards fifth election?

In Israeli politics, there is no formal draft for future stars, but there are definitely parties that look ahead rather than at the present. That has never been truer than with Tuesday election. Strategists in parties across the political spectrum admit behind the scenes that with all due respect to the current race, they are actually focusing on yet another election.

Initial exit polls on Tuesday night indicated that Netanyahu’s bloc had won 61 seats together with Naftali Bennett’s Yamina Party, and thus would be able to form a government, but the final results could end up being different.

It does not matter if the fifth election will take place in October 2021 or in 2025. What does matter to the parties is that the three-decade political career of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will eventually end and that will change everything.

They start with Bennett. While it initially looked like he would remain independent in the race, he instead chose to be careful not to leave the Right, even though it could have helped him win more seats in this election. 

Sources close to Bennett said he had in mind building himself up for the next election in the post-Netanyahu era. For that, he could not be the one who prevents the formation of a right-wing government.

The Center-Left similarly looked to the future. Rather than wasting a potentially stronger candidate in a potentially unwinnable fight against Netanyahu, leading figures in the camp said the time had come to run Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and finish him off with a loss.

Labor leader Merav Michaeli has spoken openly about using this election to build her up and rebuild Labor, in order to be ready for the next one.

The best example was the ultimate potential game-changer for this election, Gadi Eizenkot. He saw what Netanyahu did to his fellow former IDF chief of staff, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, and preferred to sit this race out and wait for post-Netanyahu era.

The Likud’s future leadership candidates, like Nir Barkat for instance, have also purposely been keeping a low profile.

Watching New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar collapse from 21 seats when the campaign began to five or six after challenging Netanyahu’s political powerhouse in this election, proved parties taking this election not too seriously were better off.