Breaking: BENJAMIN NETANYAHU...
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Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
Who is Naftali Bennet, Israel’s next prime minister if Benjamin Netanyahu is ousted?
Jotam Confino and Deirdre Shesgreen
USA TODAY
Until recently, Naftali Bennett, the hard-charging, high-tech millionaire on the cusp of becoming Israel's prime minister, was perhaps best known for his inflammatory statements and extreme positions on the Palestinian conflict.
He has vowed to do "everything" in his power to block Palestinian statehood, he supports annexing 60% of the West Bank, and he once espoused a "shoot to kill" policy on the Gaza border.
Now, Bennett is preparing to succeed his one-time mentor Benjamin Netanyahu – if Israel's parliament, the Knesset, votes to confirm the new coalition government he brokered with centrist Yair Lapid. Under their agreement, Bennett will serve as prime minister for the next two years and then Lapid will take the position for the following two.
Bennett's seemingly meteoric rise, from the leader of a small religious faction in the Knesset to Israel's most powerful office, has some casting him as a savvy negotiator and others as a traitor and "wicked liar."
One thing most agree on: "His room to maneuver is going to be pretty narrow," says Michael Koplow, policy director for the Israel Policy Forum, which advocates for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Bennett and Lapid have agreed not to pursue contentious policies that could split their fragile, multiparty alliance. They said they plan to focus mostly on domestic priorities.
Bennett was born in the Israeli city of Haifa to American parents who immigrated to Israel from California.
Like Netanyahu, Bennett lived and studied in the United States in his youth, perfecting his English skills and his understanding of Israel’s closest ally. When it came time to enlist in the military, Bennett joined the same elite unit that Netanyahu had been in years before him – the prestigious Sayeret Matkal unit.
Bennett moved to New York with his wife in the early 2000s and eventually made a fortune selling his software firm to a U.S.-based company, RSA security, for $145 million.
After their adventure in the U.S., Bennett and his wife Gilat moved back to Israel, where he launched his political career in 2006, serving as chief of staff for Netanyahu, who was then leader of the opposition.
"He’s very much in the Netanyahu mold," said Osamah Khalil, a historian of U.S. foreign relations and the modern Middle East at Syracuse University.
Bennett left that position right before Netanyahu was re-elected as prime minister in 2009, becoming the director-general for the Yesha Council – an umbrella organization of all the Jewish settlements in the West Bank – in 2010. Like his previous job for Netanyahu, the role as a settler leader was also short-lived, ending after two years.
In the 2013 general election, Bennett led his newfound right-wing party, HaBayit HaYehudi, or “Jewish Home,” to the Knesset, with 12 seats. It was during those years he became a close ally of Netanyahu and a rival at the same time.
From 2013 to 2019, Bennett served in all Netanyahu-led governments, as minister of economy, religion, diaspora affairs, education and finally defense, which had been a long time ambition of his.
His military background, in which he fought against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1996, made him a defense hawk. That is why his first order of business as newly appointed defense minister in 2019 was to greenlight the assassination of a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, in response to rocket firing over Israeli cities.
The assassination led a new round of fighting between PIJ and Israel, with more than 450 rockets fired from Gaza, and numerous Israeli military strikes on PIJ positions in Gaza. 34 people were killed in Gaza, most of them militants, according to the Israeli army.
Bennett has often advocated for targeted killings of Hamas leaders as well as his “lawn mower” doctrine, which essentially means destroying the organization by hunting down every Hamas commander in Gaza.
Brought up religious by American Jewish parents, combined with his nationalistic ideology, made Bennett a believer in “Greater Israel” – the idea that Israel has the right to settle in all territory between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea, which includes the West Bank. He staunchly opposes any Palestinian state, and refers to the Bible when making his case for the Jews’ right to settle in the West Bank.
During his term as minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora affairs in 2013, he said the contentious issue of sovereignty over Jerusalem would be solved by “gradually increasing the exercise of law in all of Jerusalem.”
Bennett, who now leads the right-wing Yamina party, is currently under heavy fire from Netanyahu’s Likud party, as well as the ultra-Orthodox parties, which are labeling him a “wicked liar” who should remove his kippah – a clear sign that they don’t see him as proper Jewish because of his alliance with secular left-wing parties.
Netanyahu’s allies continuously point out that Bennett broke his election promise by forming a government with left-wing parties – something he swore on national TV he would never do.
In fact Bennett signed a document on live TV, stating he would never sit with opposition leader Lapid, with whom he is about to share the prime ministership. Bennett also railed at Netanyahu when he negotiated with the United Arab List to stay in power, saying the party leader Mansour Ababs is a “supporter of terrorism.”
After signing an agreement with Abbas to form a new government, Bennett apologized for his remarks, calling him a “brave leader.”
If his new government is sworn in on Sunday, as expected, Bennett will become the second youngest prime minister in Israel’s history with his 49 years of age, only surpassed by Netanyahu, who was 46-years-old when he was elected prime minister first in 1996.
Jotam Confino and Deirdre Shesgreen
USA TODAY
Until recently, Naftali Bennett, the hard-charging, high-tech millionaire on the cusp of becoming Israel's prime minister, was perhaps best known for his inflammatory statements and extreme positions on the Palestinian conflict.
He has vowed to do "everything" in his power to block Palestinian statehood, he supports annexing 60% of the West Bank, and he once espoused a "shoot to kill" policy on the Gaza border.
Now, Bennett is preparing to succeed his one-time mentor Benjamin Netanyahu – if Israel's parliament, the Knesset, votes to confirm the new coalition government he brokered with centrist Yair Lapid. Under their agreement, Bennett will serve as prime minister for the next two years and then Lapid will take the position for the following two.
Bennett's seemingly meteoric rise, from the leader of a small religious faction in the Knesset to Israel's most powerful office, has some casting him as a savvy negotiator and others as a traitor and "wicked liar."
One thing most agree on: "His room to maneuver is going to be pretty narrow," says Michael Koplow, policy director for the Israel Policy Forum, which advocates for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Bennett and Lapid have agreed not to pursue contentious policies that could split their fragile, multiparty alliance. They said they plan to focus mostly on domestic priorities.
Bennett was born in the Israeli city of Haifa to American parents who immigrated to Israel from California.
Like Netanyahu, Bennett lived and studied in the United States in his youth, perfecting his English skills and his understanding of Israel’s closest ally. When it came time to enlist in the military, Bennett joined the same elite unit that Netanyahu had been in years before him – the prestigious Sayeret Matkal unit.
Bennett moved to New York with his wife in the early 2000s and eventually made a fortune selling his software firm to a U.S.-based company, RSA security, for $145 million.
After their adventure in the U.S., Bennett and his wife Gilat moved back to Israel, where he launched his political career in 2006, serving as chief of staff for Netanyahu, who was then leader of the opposition.
"He’s very much in the Netanyahu mold," said Osamah Khalil, a historian of U.S. foreign relations and the modern Middle East at Syracuse University.
Bennett left that position right before Netanyahu was re-elected as prime minister in 2009, becoming the director-general for the Yesha Council – an umbrella organization of all the Jewish settlements in the West Bank – in 2010. Like his previous job for Netanyahu, the role as a settler leader was also short-lived, ending after two years.
In the 2013 general election, Bennett led his newfound right-wing party, HaBayit HaYehudi, or “Jewish Home,” to the Knesset, with 12 seats. It was during those years he became a close ally of Netanyahu and a rival at the same time.
From 2013 to 2019, Bennett served in all Netanyahu-led governments, as minister of economy, religion, diaspora affairs, education and finally defense, which had been a long time ambition of his.
His military background, in which he fought against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1996, made him a defense hawk. That is why his first order of business as newly appointed defense minister in 2019 was to greenlight the assassination of a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, in response to rocket firing over Israeli cities.
The assassination led a new round of fighting between PIJ and Israel, with more than 450 rockets fired from Gaza, and numerous Israeli military strikes on PIJ positions in Gaza. 34 people were killed in Gaza, most of them militants, according to the Israeli army.
Bennett has often advocated for targeted killings of Hamas leaders as well as his “lawn mower” doctrine, which essentially means destroying the organization by hunting down every Hamas commander in Gaza.
Brought up religious by American Jewish parents, combined with his nationalistic ideology, made Bennett a believer in “Greater Israel” – the idea that Israel has the right to settle in all territory between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea, which includes the West Bank. He staunchly opposes any Palestinian state, and refers to the Bible when making his case for the Jews’ right to settle in the West Bank.
During his term as minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora affairs in 2013, he said the contentious issue of sovereignty over Jerusalem would be solved by “gradually increasing the exercise of law in all of Jerusalem.”
Bennett, who now leads the right-wing Yamina party, is currently under heavy fire from Netanyahu’s Likud party, as well as the ultra-Orthodox parties, which are labeling him a “wicked liar” who should remove his kippah – a clear sign that they don’t see him as proper Jewish because of his alliance with secular left-wing parties.
Netanyahu’s allies continuously point out that Bennett broke his election promise by forming a government with left-wing parties – something he swore on national TV he would never do.
In fact Bennett signed a document on live TV, stating he would never sit with opposition leader Lapid, with whom he is about to share the prime ministership. Bennett also railed at Netanyahu when he negotiated with the United Arab List to stay in power, saying the party leader Mansour Ababs is a “supporter of terrorism.”
After signing an agreement with Abbas to form a new government, Bennett apologized for his remarks, calling him a “brave leader.”
If his new government is sworn in on Sunday, as expected, Bennett will become the second youngest prime minister in Israel’s history with his 49 years of age, only surpassed by Netanyahu, who was 46-years-old when he was elected prime minister first in 1996.
Ssabasajja
Elder Lister
Just another Zionist blockhead.
Nattydread
Elder Lister
It's called wagging the dog and it has worked for him countless times in the past. I hope they finally prosecute him for corruption.
shocks
Elder Lister
wapalestina are yet to catch a break
It's Me Scumbag
Elder Lister
The new pm will only crank up the gears given his extremist views on Palestine.
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Kamau wa Kíríro
Elder Lister
Hopefully, with centrist Yair Lapid's as a coalition partner to counteract Bennett's morbid extremism, Israel will not have jumped from the frying pan into the fire...
Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
TRUMP'S UN ENVOY: WE HAVE NOT HEARD THE LAST FROM NETANYAHU
Though no longer premier, Netanyahu hosts Nikki Haley at official residence
Former US envoy to the United Nations posts photo of herself with opposition leader, calling him ‘prime minister,’ also meets Foreign Minister Lapid
By TOI STAFFToday, 10:12 am
Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu leads a meeting of the opposition parties in the Knesset on June 14, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu hosted former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Christians United for Israel founder John Hagee on Monday at the official Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, despite no longer being prime minister.
A legal adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office has already recommended that the state stop covering Netanyahu and his family’s utility costs at the residence. Netanyahu was replaced Sunday as prime minister by Naftali Bennett.
Haley, who was appointed envoy to the UN by former US president Donald Trump, later tweeted a photo from the meeting inside the residence, and referred to Netanyahu as “prime minister.”
“Time with Prime Minister @netanyahu is always invaluable. His contributions to Israeli security and prosperity are historic. We have not heard the last from him,” wrote Haley, who is often mentioned as a possible 2024 Republican presidential contender.
Earlier in the day Haley and Hagee, who are both visiting from the US, met with newly installed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Lapid thanked the visitors for their “unwavering support for the State of Israel.”
“The relationship between our countries is based on a deep bond and vital shared interests,” he tweeted.
During a handover ceremony earlier at the Foreign Ministry when he took up his new post, Lapid vowed to continue engagement with Israel’s evangelical supporters, while doubling down on efforts to reach out to Diaspora Jewry. The strategy veers away from that taken by Netanyahu and his ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, who suggested investing greater efforts in the former group.
Lapid has also pledged to improve relations with US Democrats, which underwent blips during the Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu will not leave the official residence on Jerusalem’s Balfour Street for several more weeks at least, Channel 12 reported Monday.
In any event, Bennett’s family plans to remain in their private home in the central city of Ra’anana for the time being. He is not planning on fully relocating to the official residence due to his children’s schooling arrangements.
On Saturday, the day before the new government was confirmed by the Knesset, Hebrew media reported that Shlomit Barnea-Pargo, a legal adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office, had recommended that the state stop paying the utility bills as long as the Netanyahus remain at the residence.
The legal opinion by Barnea-Pargo — which requires the approval of the Justice Ministry to be binding — suggested that, effective Sunday, the government stop funding the residence expenses and all chefs and cleaners be immediately fired. The state should also end its funding of cleaning and utilities for the Netanyahus’ private Caesarea residence, which it also currently covers, she wrote.
During his 12 consecutive years in office, Netanyahu lived in the official Jerusalem residence during the week with his wife and two children, while spending weekends in the family’s Caesarea home.
Bennett plans for his family to stay in their hometown of Ra’anana during the week while he uses the official residence for meetings, and on weekends they may join him in Jerusalem, according to Channel 12.
Bennett has four children — aged 16, 14, 12 and 9 — who all study in different schools near their home in Ra’anana. His wife, Gilat Bennett, also works in the city.
Though no longer premier, Netanyahu hosts Nikki Haley at official residence
Former US envoy to the United Nations posts photo of herself with opposition leader, calling him ‘prime minister,’ also meets Foreign Minister Lapid
By TOI STAFFToday, 10:12 am
Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu leads a meeting of the opposition parties in the Knesset on June 14, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu hosted former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Christians United for Israel founder John Hagee on Monday at the official Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, despite no longer being prime minister.
A legal adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office has already recommended that the state stop covering Netanyahu and his family’s utility costs at the residence. Netanyahu was replaced Sunday as prime minister by Naftali Bennett.
Haley, who was appointed envoy to the UN by former US president Donald Trump, later tweeted a photo from the meeting inside the residence, and referred to Netanyahu as “prime minister.”
“Time with Prime Minister @netanyahu is always invaluable. His contributions to Israeli security and prosperity are historic. We have not heard the last from him,” wrote Haley, who is often mentioned as a possible 2024 Republican presidential contender.
Earlier in the day Haley and Hagee, who are both visiting from the US, met with newly installed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Lapid thanked the visitors for their “unwavering support for the State of Israel.”
“The relationship between our countries is based on a deep bond and vital shared interests,” he tweeted.
During a handover ceremony earlier at the Foreign Ministry when he took up his new post, Lapid vowed to continue engagement with Israel’s evangelical supporters, while doubling down on efforts to reach out to Diaspora Jewry. The strategy veers away from that taken by Netanyahu and his ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, who suggested investing greater efforts in the former group.
Lapid has also pledged to improve relations with US Democrats, which underwent blips during the Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu will not leave the official residence on Jerusalem’s Balfour Street for several more weeks at least, Channel 12 reported Monday.
In any event, Bennett’s family plans to remain in their private home in the central city of Ra’anana for the time being. He is not planning on fully relocating to the official residence due to his children’s schooling arrangements.
On Saturday, the day before the new government was confirmed by the Knesset, Hebrew media reported that Shlomit Barnea-Pargo, a legal adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office, had recommended that the state stop paying the utility bills as long as the Netanyahus remain at the residence.
The legal opinion by Barnea-Pargo — which requires the approval of the Justice Ministry to be binding — suggested that, effective Sunday, the government stop funding the residence expenses and all chefs and cleaners be immediately fired. The state should also end its funding of cleaning and utilities for the Netanyahus’ private Caesarea residence, which it also currently covers, she wrote.
During his 12 consecutive years in office, Netanyahu lived in the official Jerusalem residence during the week with his wife and two children, while spending weekends in the family’s Caesarea home.
Bennett plans for his family to stay in their hometown of Ra’anana during the week while he uses the official residence for meetings, and on weekends they may join him in Jerusalem, according to Channel 12.
Bennett has four children — aged 16, 14, 12 and 9 — who all study in different schools near their home in Ra’anana. His wife, Gilat Bennett, also works in the city.