{"id":301497,"date":"2026-02-20T18:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T18:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/301497\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T18:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T18:45:07","slug":"israeli-elections-can-naftali-bennett-topple-benjamin-netanyahu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/301497\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli elections: Can Naftali Bennett topple Benjamin Netanyahu?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After two years away from political life, former prime minister Naftali Bennett<\/a> has emerged as a leading candidate in the upcoming elections, presenting a strategy for Israel he says he carefully built during his time away.<\/p>\n

Speaking to over 1,000 English-speakers and olim (immigrants) in Tel Aviv last week, Bennett outlined his plan to improve the country, saying he would implement it immediately if reelected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not promising anyone the moon. What I am promising is a decent, competent, transparent, and just good government for the State of Israel that works for you,\u201d he told the audience.<\/p>\n

His party, Bennett 2026, positioned on the Right of the political spectrum, has been trailing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s Likud in recent polls<\/a> ahead of elections set to take place no later than the end of October.<\/p>\n

The heart of Bennett\u2019s proposal for repairing the country is to conduct a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, improve education, reduce the cost of living<\/a>, and prioritize security above all else.<\/p>\n

\"BENNETTBENNETT IS seen during a march in support of the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF, from the entrance of Jerusalem to the Knesset, last month. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n

Bennett claimed to have spent time with over 100 experts across numerous fields to develop his plan while he was away from politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat that means is on the first day of our new government, I\u2019m not going to waste precious time on preparing plans or setting up committees. We\u2019re going to hit the ground running,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe built a plan to fix Israel\u2019s biggest problems<\/a> in all areas,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to share with you what we\u2019re actually going to do and then how we win,\u201d he told the crowd.<\/p>\n

The content of Bennett’s Olim event<\/p>\n

Kicking off the event held entirely in English, Bennett remarked that as the child of parents who made aliyah from the US, he doesn\u2019t take Israel for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you not only for coming to the event but for making aliyah to Israel, and I guarantee you, it\u2019s the single best decision you\u2019ve made in your life,\u201d he told the crowd of English-speakers hailing from around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I could spend the evening talking about the current government\u2019s failures. There are a lot of them, but everyone\u2019s doing that. So, I choose to focus this evening on my vision for Israel, my plan for Israel, and how we\u2019re going to fix Israel together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething we all feel, especially Americans who make aliyah or folks from abroad \u2013 we feel that the government\u2019s not working. Public service doesn\u2019t work well. Incompetent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my government, ministers are going to be accountable. Every minister will receive transparent, measurable goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to put through a temporary executive order to go back and reexamine every political appointee of the past few years and replace anyone who doesn\u2019t meet the professional standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett said that on his first day in office, his government would decide to establish a state commission of inquiry to probe government failings that took place during the October 7 Hamas attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to let anyone cover up October 7,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The political echelon has repeatedly blocked a state inquiry into the events surrounding the attacks, despite polls showing huge public support for this type of investigation. Netanyahu is the only one among the major officials who has not resigned following the October 7 massacre.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter such a colossal, systemic failure, the nation of Israel deserves real answers,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n

Another aspect Bennett said he would address as prime minister would be canceling the law that the current government is advancing that claims to draft haredim (ultra-Orthodox) to the IDF. Critics argue that the law is a political measure that will not enforce conscription.<\/p>\n

Bennett spoke about the importance of haredim serving in the IDF, as the military warns it is suffering from a lack of manpower.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this government, right now, there are 100,000 young haredim, perfectly healthy, that could be trained…. And right now, they\u2019re passing a law precisely so we don\u2019t bring them in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Torah states, time and again, that when there\u2019s a war, everyone goes to fight. All our heroes were fighters. Joshua was a fighter. Abraham was a big fighter and a businessman. Gideon was a fighter. King David was a huge fighter. They all fought in the army.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett said he would also work to pass a law limiting the time a prime minister can be in power.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to tell you that power corrupts, and absolute power for long periods absolutely corrupts. The people of Israel are greater than any individual leader,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another core goal of Bennett\u2019s government would be to lower the cost of living.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Israel is one of the most expensive places on earth. And it doesn\u2019t have to be this way. This isn\u2019t some force majeure. It\u2019s not a force of nature. It\u2019s about mismanagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cEssentially, what we\u2019re going to do [is] break monopolies, break up cartels, open the market, open exports, imports, competition, competition. And the most immediate tool for doing this is also reducing regulations. Because regulations create bureaucracy. We need to cut those regulations with a chainsaw and lower prices for Israeli citizens and for businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett also promised that his government would work to repair Israel\u2019s international public standing.<\/p>\n

He reflected that when he was prime minister, he put together a hasbara (public diplomacy) unit to advocate for Israel. \u201cWe called it the hasbara section, and it worked well,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s past political experience<\/p>\n

Bennett praised the accomplishments of the previous government and the work he had done as prime minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my government, in one year, we did what most governments don\u2019t achieve in four,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe reduced crime. We reduced the number of Israelis murdered in Israel from criminal murders by 30% from year to year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe granted tax credits to working parents. We brought quiet to the South for the first time in 20 years because I had a policy of not one single rocket, and we hunted Hamas day in, day out. We lowered the prices in dozens of areas by opening competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we did all of this while taking the country from a huge deficit to a nice surplus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett became prime minister in June 2021, entering a rotation government with opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) after four elections were held between 2019 and 2021. His government was the first in Israel\u2019s history to include an Arab party, adding the Ra\u2019am Party to the coalition in a highly controversial move.<\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s decision to partner with Lapid also drew criticism among his own voters. His government was dissolved one year after its formation, and Lapid took over as prime minister until Netanyahu returned to power in the 2022 election.<\/p>\n

During Bennett\u2019s time as prime minister, the party he led was Yamina. After his fragile coalition\u2019s ultimate collapse, Bennett stayed on the sidelines and quietly left the political sphere.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, his Yamina Party ran under former justice minister Ayelet Shaked in the last elections but failed to pass the electoral threshold.<\/p>\n

Other parties Bennett led were Bayit Yehudi in 2013 and 2015 and New Right in 2019. Bennett had served in various portfolios under Netanyahu throughout the years in roles that included defense, education, and economy minister. Before entering politics, he had built a career working in the country\u2019s hi-tech sector as an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s return\u00a0and his new direction<\/p>\n

In a major move to return to political life ahead of the elections, Bennett officially registered his party, Bennett 2026, in April. It had been unclear what his vision was for the party and campaign at the time of the announcement.<\/p>\n

Since registering the party, Bennett has remained relatively distant from the press, avoiding interviews and instead speaking mainly at conferences and events.<\/p>\n

He has engaged in talks with party leaders within the opposition bloc. Bennett had been offered by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar!) to form a united list with Lapid in January.<\/p>\n

Yet, the burning question surrounding Bennett is whether he will be willing to form a government with Netanyahu after the elections. With opposition parties pledging that Israel\u2019s next government will be devoid of Netanyahu\u2019s presence, Bennett has not directly stated his stance on the matter. However, in a seeming first this week, he indicated what his position would be.<\/p>\n

He said on Tuesday that Israel needs \u201cnew leadership\u201d following the October attacks, suggesting that he would not be willing to form a government with Netanyahu after the elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will not allow failed leadership to continue. I intend to lead Israel into its next chapter, stronger,\u201d he told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter three decades since coming to power, and after the greatest disaster in Israel\u2019s history occurred on his watch, a leader must know when to step aside with dignity,\u201d he added, without mentioning Netanyahu by name.<\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s recent moves to strengthen his campaign team have also been viewed as an effort to apply pressure on rival candidate Netanyahu, political sources say.<\/p>\n

The former prime minister added two senior American political consultants and pollsters, Anthony Fabrizio and George Birnbaum, to his team at the start of February.<\/p>\n

Fabrizio currently serves as a central adviser and pollster to US President Donald Trump. He also served as Trump\u2019s pollster during both the 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns<\/p>\n

Birnbaum has taken part in every general election campaign in Israel since 1996, as well as in more than 20 national election campaigns around the world, Bennett\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

The move has been viewed as a way for Bennett to get closer to key figures and demonstrate that he can work with Trump. Fabrizio and Birnbaum both advised Netanyahu in the past.<\/p>\n

Birnbaum was also Bennett\u2019s strategist ahead of his 2021 election win. Bennett\u2019s political career had hit a low point in the 2019 elections, when his New Right Party failed to cross the electoral threshold.<\/p>\n

At the time, Bennett appeared defeated. Yet within two years, he succeeded in his goal of becoming prime minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always the one to say you have to stay independent and keep your options open,\u201d said Birnbaum in 2021 after Bennett\u2019s election win. \u201cI fought tooth and nail to make sure Naftali wouldn\u2019t commit to one camp or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him that you always have to run to win,\u201d Birnbaum had added. \u201cAnything can happen. The hand of God plays a role.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, it seemed that Bennett\u2019s political career was over, but two years later, he emerged as prime minister. Now, as Israel heads toward another election, Bennett is back in the race and aiming for what could be his biggest comeback yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After two years away from political life, former prime minister Naftali Bennett has emerged as a leading candidate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,20914,243,4410,85,46,21141,953,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-301497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-benjamin-netanyahu","9":"tag-cost-of-living-in-israel","10":"tag-education","11":"tag-elections","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-israel","14":"tag-likud","15":"tag-naftali-bennett","16":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}