Polls indicate that a party headed by former prime minister Naftali Bennett would change Israel’s parliamentary landscape and that he is considered more suitable as a prime minister than the incumbent.
Bennett, whose first position in politics was as Netanyahu’s chief of staff (2006-2008), subsequently ran successfully in elections, headed several ministries, and was briefly prime minister of the short-lived “government of change” (2021-2022).
Bennett’s record includes successful exists in hi-tech. Like Netanyahu, he served in a commando unit and he too, is fluent in English. Unlike Netanyahu, he is not on trial for corruption, drama does not surround his family, and world leaders do not comment on his problematic relationship with truth. So far, so good.
We could ignore Bennett’s questionable judgment in bringing Idit Silman and Amichai Chikli into politics. Anonymous until he included them in his Knesset list, they brought down his government, joined the Likud party, and become cabinet ministers (responsible respectively for environment and Diaspora affairs).
Let us assume that he learned his lesson and that in future he will not choose partners who seem to have been selected by a computer program.
I have one major question for Bennett. Does he have a realistic solution to the dilemma that Israel has been facing for 57 years – three-quarters of its existence? In other words, does he have a viable plan for the future of the territories that Israel has controlled since the 1967 Six Day War?
The many descriptions of this land, “held,” “liberated,” “occupied,” “West Bank,” “Judea and Samaria” reflect our multi-layered attitude toward them: historical, political, religious, legal, and more. This points to the situation’s complexity.
Clearly, there are no magic solutions. But one can expect a realistic outlook from whomever presumes to lead the country.
Bennett's views towards Palestinians
IT APPEARS that Bennett, while religiously observant and an avowed right-winger, does not believe that the biblical Book of Joshua is a practical guide on how to run a country in the 21st century. Unlike some in Israel’s current ruling coalition, the Messiah and redemption are not part of his political terminology.
He appears to understand that within the international community, it is impossible for each player to act on private beliefs and that therefore there must be agreed-upon rules. And he certainly realizes that the Palestinian question cannot be ignored.
In his 2012 Israeli Stability Initiative – I have found no update thereof – Bennett proposes annexing Area C, which contains most of the Israeli settlements in the territories.
Palestinians living there would be offered Israeli citizenship in order to avoid accusations of apartheid. To his credit, Bennett understands the severe implications of branding Israel thus.
Alas, this comprehension does not extend to Areas A and B, for which he proposes autonomy under an Israeli security umbrella.
This implies that millions of local Arabs without civil rights would be at the mercy of the rulers, even as he encourages Israel to expand civilian settlements (in international law, they are different from a security presence) in a manner designed to prevent the possibility of separation.
In other words, Israel would control the territories, the locals would accept the situation, and the international community would agree. This scenario appears unlikely, and it is pointless to react to this assessment along the lines of: “But look at what Russia is doing in the Ukraine!” A small dependent country, like Israel, cannot impose its will on the world and cannot survive without it. Moreover, Russia and its leaders are under sanctions.
Elections are scheduled for 2026; early elections do not appear on the horizon, and politics in Israel are volatile. Currently, Bennett – eloquent, dynamic, successful – is marked as a likely successor to our longest-serving prime minister.
That is why the following question is directed at him – but all those on the Right who would like to lead Israel are invited to answer: “Do you have a plan regarding the territories that would be acceptable to anyone but Israel’s Right and its sprinkling of supporters around the world? If not, how do you plan to handle the boycotts and isolation we would face?”
The writer was Israel’s first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the Israeli embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel’s National Defense College.