Naftali Bennett - Who Are You?

Naftali Bennett - Who Are You? Today we’re doing a special convention tied to the news. Politics in Israel is moving fast. It’s not necessarily about the Coronavirus, but it’s important in our geopolitics. As of today, Israel may be on the cusp of forming a new coalition government, composed of 7 parties from across the ideological spectrum - from Naftali Bennett’s Yamina Party and the New Hope party on the Right, through Yair Lapid’s party in the center, to the Labor and Meretz parties on the Left. And then there is the Arab Muslim party, Ra’am. Think about that - an Arab party is indispensable to a new Israeli government coming to power. So much for Israel being an “apartheid state”. And so much for the notion that politics in Israel has become so polarized that there’s not a strong political center. Then again, in the days ahead, this coalition may fall apart because it is dependent on a razor thin majority. It’s still too early to count out Prime Minister Netanyahu. But if it comes together, the man who would serve as prime minister for the next two years is Naftali Bennett. There are a lot of questions swirling around right now about who he is, as he’s relatively new to the international scene. Well, I sat down with Minister Bennett a few years ago when he was Minister of Economy, but it is surprisingly relevant today. The conversation gives us a window into Naftali’s worldview on a range of issues that are still front and center today. It was recorded while he was serving alongside Yair Lapid, in a Netanyahu-led government, at the 92nd Street Y before a live audience. In our conversation, Naftali and I hit a number of topics: - his service in one of the army’s most elite commando units - Sayaret Maktal - the same unit that both BiBi and Yoni Netanyahu served in. - His experience running his high tech start-up in New York City when he was called up to fight in the 2006 Lebanon War. - His views on the the Haredi - ultra-orthodox - community in Israel and how to integrate many of them into the modern economy, and the army. - His observations on the role of Jewish-Arab relations inside Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian track, including timely insights about Gaza and Hamas. - And finally, his governing partnership with Yair Lapid, which began almost a decade ago, despite very different worldviews. They referred to each other as “achim” — brothers.