Former prime minister Naftali Bennett said his new alliance with opposition leader Yair Lapid will hold beyond the upcoming elections and will enable the opposition to form a long-lasting government to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unveiling in a Wednesday interview with The Jerusalem Post his “Israeli Renaissance” plan to bring one million new olim to Israel over the next decade.
Bennett spoke to the Post after the recent announcement that his and Lapid’s parties, Yesh Atid and Bennett 2026, will merge into a single list named Together, which would be led by Bennett. The move to run together could reshape the direction of the elections, which are scheduled for no later than October.
“Lapid accepts my leadership, I will serve as prime minister, as a man of the Right, a man of the Land of Israel, a liberal. I will lead this government, and behind me there will be people from the Center and from the Right,” Bennett explained.
The alliance is said to aim to unite the opposition bloc and boost its chances of unseating Netanyahu. It still remains unclear how the opposition bloc will secure a majority without the Arab parties, with whom they have pledged not to form a government.
Bennett reveals he has been developing a plan to bring one million olim to Israel
He said that the plan would be to invite any Zionist party that accepts their basic guidelines. Bennett added that by doing so, he believed it would be possible to form a government with a large majority of 85 Knesset members, or 80 members.
“And that will usher in a golden age, the golden age of the Israeli renaissance.”
In an interview with the Post, Bennett revealed that he has been developing a plan to bring one million olim (new immigrants) to Israel over the next decade.
He said that the plan would bring olim with a focus on those from the United States, Britain, and Australia. I believe there is an opportunity, I call it “The Israeli Renaissance.”
“We are about to open a new chapter for Israel, leaving behind the incompetence of government ministers, the corruption, and the infighting,” Bennett said.
“A regional renaissance with moderate Arab states, a renaissance in the Jewish world by strengthening our ties with the Jewish people, and a renaissance in Israel’s global standing.
Bennett said that Israel’s international standing is currently “a catastrophe, especially in the United States.”
He said that in the US, “Not only is the Democratic public hostile to Israel, but now significant parts of the Republican public are as well.”
“I will take personal leadership on strengthening Israel’s global standing. In short, you will see a country racing forward at a pace of reform and repair never seen before in Israel’s history.”
Bennett says he believes the alliance between him and Lapid would last in the long term
When asked about Lapid’s agreement with Bennet’s plans for the country, he said that the two were “completely” on the same page.
Bennett told the Post that he firmly believed the alliance between him and Lapid would last in the long term, and that even after the elections, the party would not break apart. The full agreement between the two has not been published yet.
Bennett had formed a coalition with Lapid in the past. Bennett became prime minister in June 2021, entering a rotation government with Lapid after four elections were held between 2019 and 2021.
Their government was dissolved one year after its formation, and Lapid took over as prime minister until Netanyahu returned to power in the 2022 election.
In this new agreement between the two, there would be no rotation, and Bennett would hold the prime minister position for the entire term.
When asked what would prevent the government he led from breaking apart after this round of elections, Bennett said he was creating a governing alternative that would hold, though he did not elaborate on the details.
Bennett then explained that his past government “was one of the best in recent generations in terms of efficiency, performance, and results. We accomplished in one year what other governments did not accomplish in four.”
“But after about thirteen months, the coalition that supported the government did not hold,” he acknowledged.
“This time, I am creating a governing alternative, an alternative ruling party to the coalition of Netanyahu, Deri, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, and Goldknopf,” he explained.
He said that Israel has been “pained by crime that has doubled” compared to the time when he was prime minister.
Bennett explained that the reason for the spike in crime was that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, “is a clown.”
“That is what we are coming to fix,” he added.
The first to be added to Bennett’s current list were former government director-generals Keren Terner and Liran Avisar Ben Horin.
Bennett said he was forming his party so that it would be “built on professionals.”
“I say here tongue in cheek that Israel’s citizens will have to get used to a new reality where government ministers understand their fields,” he added.
Bennett said that he had been working over the past year and a half to create his plans to accelerate the State of Israel in all areas.
The focus would be on improving the economy, AI, education, and transportation.
Bennett said that his immediate plan would be that on the very first day in office, he would establish a state commission of inquiry into government failures during the October 7 Hamas attack.
He also said he would immediately limit the term of a prime minister to eight years and close seven unnecessary government ministries.
“ That is on day one,” he said.
Regarding what he called “flagship plans,” which were more long-term, he said that the first would be integrating the ultra-Orthodox into employment and into military or national service.
The second flagship plan would be to form an excellent education system for all Israeli children.
“Today, there is a serious decline in the education system; there is a shortage of teachers and good principals, and we will carry out a major reform in this area.”
The third area would address the country’s crime rates.
“There is a surge in murders in the State of Israel. The Negev has been completely abandoned and has effectively been taken over in parts, and there has been a sharp increase in murder cases.”
“I will take personal responsibility for this as prime minister, as I did last time. Last time I reduced the number of murders in Israel by 30% within one year.”
“This time, I am coming with an even broader plan, and I will dismantle the three major organized crime groups in Israel and restore security to the streets. “
Another flagship area focuses on improving transportation and traffic congestion.
Bennett said that transportation in the country was currently “a real catastrophe. Like a third-world country in this regard.”
Speaking of his belief in the alliance between him and Lapid, he said that it should bring hope to the people of Israel right now because “they are thirsty for connections. “
“They are thirsty for cooperation even between people whose views are not identical,” he explained.
“In the last ten months, I looked at the Zionist-liberal opposition camp and saw the internal divisions, and I made a leadership decision to unite. Because if we are conflicted among ourselves, we will lose.
He referred to Abraham Lincoln, quoting one of his speeches in which the former US president said that, “A house divided cannot stand.”
“If we are united within ourselves, people will rally behind me as a man of the right, a liberal man, and we will win a great victory and be able to save Israel from chaos,” Bennett said.
Source:
www.jpost.com
