Israel Elections: Can Bennett Go from Kingmaker To
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Selected articles concerning Israel, published weekly by Suburban Orthodox Toras Chaim’s (Baltimore) Israel Action Committee Edited by Jerry Appelbaum ( [email protected] ) | Founding editor: Sheldon J. Berman Z”L Issue 8 80 Volume 2 1 , Number 1 1 Parshas HaChodesh Vayakhel - Pekudei Shabbos Mevarchim March 13 , 20 2 1 Israel Elections: Can Bennett go from kingmaker to prime minister? By Gil Hoffman jpost.com March 4, 2021 Two weeks before the election, Naftali Bennett thinks says he can join a Netanyahu - led government only because that not only can he coronate the next prime minister, he has no intention of doing so? but that it could very well be him. “I decided to be the responsible adult,” he says. “I Yamina leader Naftali Bennett has had his ups and know that if I would say “anyone but Bibi,” I’d go up five downs in politics. mandates in the polls. But we need to form a government, There were elections that went well, like his first in and we need this leverage to achieve our three goals.” 2013, when he led his party to 12 seats. And there were Bennet t makes it clear that he is looking well past also elections like in April 2019, when his party did not March 23. He is already running in the contests that will be cross the electoral threshold. held afterward to receive the mandate to form a This tim e around, Bennett appears more confident government, when that “leverage” could pay off and less stressed than ever. handsomely. Perhaps it is because polls have indicated that he will When asked where he will be on March 24, h e says he be the kingmaker for the March 23 election, who can will be taking his four children to the beach. He says he choose to coronate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made that promise to his son David, who is in third grade. or one of his rivals. Just like the elections when Yisrael Beytenu leader It could be because he has become experienced Avigdor Liberman was kingmaker and fled to Eastern enough to understand that if one election does not go well, Europe without a cellphone , Bennett intends to play hard there will be another one just around the corner. to get. Or maybe it is because he knows something we don’t The question is how long he can play that game. know about how he intends to capture the premiershi p Sources close to him revealed that he intends to play it for and replace Netanyahu himself. months. Netanyahu could receive the first mandate from In an interview with The Jerusalem Post at his Yamina President Reuven Rivlin to build a coalition, and Party’s campaign office near his home in Ra’anana, opp osition leader Yair Lapid could receive the second, or Bennett speaks as though he holds the key to an as yet vice versa, and both of them could fail. unsolved mystery that will be revealed in the weeks and Just like before the current government was formed, months ahead. there would then be time for a third candidate to obtain “I HAVE a road map to set egos aside and form a the support of 61 MKs, and that is where Bennett co uld be right - wing government,” he says, before making reference aiming when he speaks about needing only two to four to the formula considered the world’s most guarded secret. more seats beyond the 11 - 13 Yamina currently receives in “Like Coca - Cola, I can’t tell you what my secret sauce is.” the polls. The 130 - year - old Coca - Col a Company has said from “I need 15 seats, which would be the critical mass the start that its formula will never be revealed. The needed to be able to form a government,” Bennett says. company boasts that only two employees are privy to the Winning two or three m ore mandates would put him complete formula at any given time, and they are not in front of New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar in the pecking permitted to travel together. When one dies, the other order. It could also guarantee his party would win more must choose a successor within the company and impart seats than the Joint List, which is not expected to join any the secret to that person. coalition, and put more mandates in play to get to 61. But just like with Coke, clues have been revealed that B ennett does not shy away from criticism of his rivals could at least partially reveal the mystery. for the hearts of the voters and that of Rivlin, who may “There are three things mainstream Israelis want,” end up deciding who will be the next prime minister. Bennett says. “They want competent ri ght - wing leadership; “New Hope will certainly be a partner,” he says. “But to depart from Netanyahu respectfully; and to avoid a fifth the problem with them is that they hav e too many recycled election. Only Yamina can deliver all three, because it is politicians from other parties. That is not what we need not boycotting parties or joining the pro - Netanyahu or today. We need doers – not politicians who swore anti - Netanyahu blocs.” allegiance to Bibi, then defected and now say he’s terrible.” That statement about his priorities, w hich Bennett has Bennett says Sa’ar disappointed him by talking about been saying in every interview, is peculiar, because why new and clean p olitics, while running an anonymous smear would he not join the anti - Netanyahu bloc, if he shares its campaign against him, using articles published online by goal of removing him from office? Is he admitting that he Foc us o n Israel March 13, 2021 Page 2 Outbrain that were deemed illegal by the Central Elections s ucceed. God forbid [that] a minister [should] succeed. Committee. Many Israelis paid a huge price for the Netanyahu “I am used to that from Netanyahu,” he says. “I governments’ failed leadership. Some 3,000 people died thought Sa’ar would be different. When he was caught because of it, over a million Israelis are unemployed, and doing this, he said he wanted a ceasefire, which is funny plenty have long - term trauma and fear . Israel didn’t deal coming from someone running a one - way smear the worst with COVID, but we are far from the best. The campaign. Time will tell if he stops.” Start - Up Nation didn’t have to be mediocre.” Asked why he i s so quick to dismiss joining a Bennett warns against Netanyahu’s plan of relying on government led by Lapid, who has not attacked him vaccinations, because a third of the population cannot be recently, Bennett says Lapid’s recent silence does not erase vaccinated, and a varia nt can come any day and the entire views Bennett deems too left - wing and anti - religious. national strategy would collapse. “He was always against the communities in Judea and “I submitted a zero - corona approach,” he says. “We Samaria and wrote that the government’s money can be could implement it quickly, but it requires competence this found between Yitzhar and Itamar,” Bennett says. “His government lacks. We provide concrete plans that no one approach is the opposite of mine on Judea and Samaria does. A hi - tech nati on deserves a hi - tech government.” and Yiddishkeit. My vision is of a Jewish country with Bennett says serving as defense minister gave him a Jewish values and integrity for the Land of Isr ael. I different vantage point for dealing with both the wouldn’t want someone with clear left - wing views running coronavirus and threats to security. He hints that he is not Israel.” afraid to use force to prevent Iran from obtaining a But Bennett saves his fiercest criticism for the theory nucle ar capability. being advanced in Haaretz and other media outlets that his “The past decade has been very problematic for the secret goal is to join not only Netanyahu’s government but military buildup on our borders,” he says. “Hezbollah grew also his Likud Party as the prime minister’s heir apparent. to having hundreds of thousands of missiles, Hamas has a “That is utter nonsense,” he says. “Yamina is the new mini - empire, and Iran is growing stronger. generation of the national camp. We are what the Likud “It is most important to stop t he nuclearization of should have been. Compare the competence of Ayelet Iran. Menachem Begin did it in 1981 in Iraq, Olmert did it Shaked to Miri Regev. It’s a whole different ball game.” in 2007 in Syria. We need a multidimensional effort of Bennett can speak for hours about Netanyahu’s military, diplomacy and cyber. This will be a top priority as failures in fighting the coronavirus. He even wrote a book prime minister.” about what should have been done. Bennett is careful not to criticize the Bi den “We have a crisis of incompetence that we have never administration, though he worked closely as defense seen in Israel’s history,” he says. “There is no wor d for minister with his Trump administration counterpart, Mark incompetence in Hebrew. This crisis provides an Esper. opportunity for huge change. People have been getting “We have to build an independent capability to stop third - world services for 53% taxes. If that continues, Iran, while working very closely with America,” he says. people won’t stay here. That change is what I intend to do “My background of many year s in business in the United as prime minister.” States will allow a great relationship with America, which Bennett wants to model Israel after Singapore, which needs to be bipartisan.