{"id":10503,"date":"2026-08-13T18:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fokusisrael.ch\/nicht-kategorisiert\/can-naftali-bennett-defeat-prime-minister-netanyahu-for-the-second-time\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T18:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:07:35","slug":"can-naftali-bennett-defeat-prime-minister-netanyahu-for-the-second-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fokusisrael.ch\/en\/news-en\/can-naftali-bennett-defeat-prime-minister-netanyahu-for-the-second-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Naftali Bennett defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu for the second time?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the run-up to the Israeli parliamentary elections on October 27, FokusIsrael.ch is profiling the Jewish state\u2019s most prominent political leaders. This week: Naftali Bennett of the \u201cBeyachad\u201d alliance, who previously ousted current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power in 2021. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

From Jan Kapusnak<\/p>\n\n

Naftali Bennett can claim something none of Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s other current rivals can: He has already ousted him from power once. In 2021, Bennett turned his Yamina party\u2019s mere seven Knesset seats into the office of prime minister when he formed an extraordinary eight-party coalition that spanned from the nationalist right to the Zionist left. The alliance also included Ra\u2019am, making it the first time in Israel\u2019s history that an Arab party became a formal coalition partner. The \u201cGovernment of Change\u201d ended Netanyahu\u2019s twelve-year reign but collapsed within a year, paving the way for his return in 2022. <\/p>\n\n

Five years later, Bennett is once again attempting to unseat Netanyahu. His new \u201cBennett 2026\u201d party has joined forces with Yair Lapid\u2019s \u201cYesh Atid\u201d to run in the election as \u201cBeyachad\u201d (\u201cTogether\u201d) in the election, with Bennett leading the alliance. Once proud to describe himself as further to the right than Netanyahu, Bennett now presents himself as \u201ca man of the right, a man of the State of Israel, a liberal,\u201d an experienced former prime minister, and a competent alternative to a government he accuses of having failed its country both before and after October 7. Bennett mocked Netanyahu\u2019s attempts to evade responsibility for the massacre, calling him \u201cthe Israeli Forrest Gump\u201d\u2014a weak, pathetic, helpless \u201cnebbich\u201d (fool) who is swept up in events by chance. <\/p>\n\n

From Startup Entrepreneur to Politician<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Bennett was born in Haifa in 1972 to American-Jewish parents who had immigrated from San Francisco. His family became increasingly religious during his childhood, and Bennett identifies as a Modern Orthodox Jew. He served as an officer in the elite units Sayeret Matkal and Maglan and led several operations in southern Lebanon. Bennett was also successful outside the military. In 1999, he co-founded the online security company Cyota, which was sold to RSA Security in 2005 for $145 million. <\/p>\n\n

Bennett brought a startup mentality to politics: set a goal, build a team, and then deliver. His admirers see him as competent and energetic, while his critics accuse him of overconfidence and a tendency to treat political conflicts as management problems. Bennett\u2019s path into politics led through Netanyahu. From 2006 to 2008, Bennett served as Netanyahu\u2019s chief of staff while Netanyahu led the opposition. His departure\u2014attributed by Israeli media to tensions with Netanyahu\u2019s wife, Sara\u2014marked the beginning of a relationship with Netanyahu characterized by strained cooperation and bitter rivalry. <\/p>\n\n

Elected to the Knesset as a Religious Zionist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Bennett subsequently headed the Yesha Council, the most important organization of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. In 2012, he took control of the \u201cJewish Home\u201d party and leveraged his religious identity, military record, and high-tech achievements to broaden the appeal of the religious-Zionist party beyond its traditional base. In the 2013 election, \u201cJewish Home\u201d won twelve seats and brought Bennett into the Knesset for the first time. <\/p>\n\n

During the 2013 coalition negotiations, Bennett\u2019s most important ally was Yair Lapid. Although they led ideologically different parties, the two agreed that neither would join Netanyahu\u2019s government without the other. Their combined 31 seats ultimately forced Netanyahu to include both men and leave the ultra-Orthodox parties in the opposition. The tactical partnership between Bennett and Lapid\u2014dubbed the \u201cBrothers\u2019 Alliance\u201d\u2014heralded their later, more significant collaboration in 2021, when Bennett became prime minister and Lapid became deputy prime minister, as well as the formation of their current joint list for the October 27 elections. <\/p>\n\n

Ministers in various Netanyahu administrations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Between 2013 and 2020, Bennett held several ministerial posts in Netanyahu\u2019s governments. At the Ministry of Economy, he championed free markets, deregulation, and Israel\u2019s high-tech sector. He also pursued modest reforms as Minister of Religious Affairs, without challenging Orthodox control over religious life. From 2015 to 2019, he oversaw education and diaspora affairs, expanded advanced mathematics programs, strengthened Jewish and Zionist content in schools, and managed relations with Jewish communities abroad. <\/p>\n\n

During his tenure as defense minister from 2019 to 2020, Bennett called for increased pressure on Hamas and Iran. This reflected the \u201cOctopus Doctrine,\u201d which he had advocated since at least 2018. According to this doctrine, Israel should not only attack Iran\u2019s regional proxies, such as Hezbollah, but also the mullah regime in Tehran itself. <\/p>\n\n

In reality, however, nothing fundamentally changed during Bennett\u2019s brief tenure regarding Israel\u2019s policy of deterring and containing Hamas while maintaining control over Gaza\u2014a strategy whose underlying assumptions collapsed catastrophically on October 7.<\/p>\n\n

In Favor of a Market Economy\u2014Against a Palestinian State<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

The “Jewish Home” party, led by Bennett, combined religious Zionism and social conservatism with a free-market economy and an active security policy. Bennett rejected Palestinian statehood, arguing that a sovereign state in the geographical heart of Israel would pose an intolerable security risk. His alternative was to annex Area C of Judea and Samaria, where the settlements are located, while granting the Palestinians limited self-rule in Areas A and B. <\/p>\n\n

Bennett was also a fierce critic of judicial activism and accused the Supreme Court and military legal advisors of unnecessarily restricting the IDF. In 2018, he claimed that Israeli soldiers feared the Attorney General\u2014the army\u2019s highest legal authority\u2014more than they feared Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The then-IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, who, like Bennett, is now among Netanyahu\u2019s challengers, rejected this claim and said that military legal advisors had never prevented him from carrying out a necessary operation. <\/p>\n\n

After four elections in two years, during which Israel plunged into an unprecedented political crisis, Bennett and Yair Lapid formed an exceptionally diverse coalition in June 2021, thereby ending Netanyahu\u2019s twelve-year rule. They brought together eight parties, ranging from Bennett\u2019s nationalist \u201cYamina\u201d party to the left-leaning Meretz, and included the Arab party \u201cRa\u2019am.\u201d Although \u201cYamina\u201d held only seven seats in the Knesset, Bennett became prime minister, with Lapid serving as deputy prime minister and set to replace him halfway through the term. <\/p>\n\n

From Right-Wing Dogmatist to Pragmatist as Minister-President<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

The prime minister\u2019s term in office marked Bennett\u2019s transformation from an uncompromising religious Zionist to a more pragmatic national leader. This was most evident in his partnership with \u201cRa\u2019am,\u201d an Islamist and socially conservative Arab party that had been founded just a few weeks after the 2021 Gaza conflict and the severe Jewish-Arab violence in Israel. Bennett apologized for having previously accused \u201cRa\u2019am\u201d leader Mansour Abbas of supporting terrorism and promised to \u201cturn the page\u201d on Jewish-Arab relations. He remained on the right on security issues, but he crossed his former political boundaries. <\/p>\n\n

Netanyahu therefore labeled Bennett a fraud who led a left-wing government that relied on \u201csupporters of terrorism.\u201d Netanyahu\u2019s supporters even denounced Bennett as a traitor. Bennett and his allies faced demonstrations and personal threats, prompting the Shin Bet, Israel\u2019s domestic intelligence agency, to warn that the growing incitement could lead to political violence. The fact was that Bennett had broken his campaign promise not to join a government that would make Lapid prime minister or rely on Ra\u2019am. <\/p>\n\n

Under mounting pressure from the opposition, there were defections and uprisings within Bennett\u2019s party. As a result, the coalition ultimately lost its one-seat majority in the 120-member Knesset, paralyzing the government. In June 2022, the Knesset dissolved itself, Bennett left politics, and the subsequent election brought Netanyahu back to power. <\/p>\n\n

Return to Politics After the Massacre of October 7<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

The massacre on October 7 marked Bennett\u2019s return to public life. Although he held no official office, he reported for duty at a reserve headquarters, visited devastated communities, and became a prominent international advocate for Israel. His fluent English and combative interviews went some way toward filling the vacuum in the government\u2019s public diplomacy. However, he also criticized the conduct of the war in Gaza and advocated encirclement, security zones, and repeated raids during the immediate occupation of densely populated areas. <\/p>\n\n

Bennett also accepted some responsibility for the disaster on October 7. \u201cOf course, I, too, bear responsibility,\u201d he said, noting that he had served as prime minister for twelve months and had left measures unfinished that could have changed the situation. In principle, however, he believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu bears the primary political responsibility for October 7, because it was mostly he who governed Israel over the preceding fourteen years. <\/p>\n\n

Abolition of the \u201cultra-Orthodox state within a state\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

In April 2025, Bennett founded a new political party, Bennett 2026, and a year later joined Lapid\u2019s Yesh Atid to form the \u201cBeyachad\u201d (Together) alliance, which he leads as the prime ministerial candidate. The party\u2019s name reflects the ongoing Americanization of Israeli politics, which is increasingly focused on individual leaders. In his campaign, Bennett promises an \u201cIsraeli Renaissance\u201d to heal the country, rebuild its institutions, and replace Netanyahu\u2019s politics of personal interests and perpetual crisis with responsible governance. <\/p>\n\n

His platform calls for an independent government commission of inquiry, universal military or civilian service, a lower cost of living, consensual judicial reform, and one million new immigrants within a decade. He wants to dismantle the \u201cultra-Orthodox state within a state\u201d in order to create \u201ca Jewish, democratic, prosperous, and strong state.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

No More Alliance with Arab Parties<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Now that \u201cRa\u2019am\u201d was brought into the government in 2021, \u201cBeyachad\u201d is ruling out a government that includes Arab parties\u2014a pledge that could reassure right-wing voters but makes it harder to secure a majority. This is especially true given that Bennett faces competition from the up-and-coming \u201cYashar\u201d party led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, which is attracting centrist and security-minded voters. The latest poll by the TV station \u201cChannel 12,\u201d published on August 10, predicts that \u201cBeyachad\u201d will win only 15 seats in the October 27 election, while \u201cYashar\u201d will secure 24 seats. <\/p>\n\n

But Israeli elections are decided by coalition-building, and Bennett has already shown that even a small but decisive party can determine who becomes prime minister. His greatest weakness and his strongest argument are therefore one and the same: his 2021 government. He must convince Israelis that what Netanyahu calls his betrayal is proof that he can govern a divided country. <\/p>\n\n

Previously Published Portraits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Benjamin Netanyahu: From Puppet Master to Puppet\u2014But Not Defeated Yet – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Bezalel Smotrich: From Fringe Activist to Influential Coalition Politician – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Itamar Ben-Gvir: From Terror Supporter to Kingmaker – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Deri, Goldknopf, Gafni: Ultra-Orthodox Minority Leaders with Disproportionate Influence – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Gadi Eisenkot: The Former General Who Wants to Defeat Netanyahu – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Jan Kapusnak is a political analyst and author. He lives in Tel Aviv. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the run-up to the Israeli parliamentary elections on October 27, FokusIsrael.ch is profiling the Jewish state\u2019s most prominent political leaders. This week: Naftali Bennett of the \u201cBeyachad\u201d alliance, who previously ousted current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power in 2021. From Jan Kapusnak Naftali Bennett can claim something none of Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s other current […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10504,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_socialbar":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[823],"tags":[50,364,5487,5486,5099,5139,1799,5004,1969,52,8,5149,3963,1625,4878,5500,1307,4936,744,5490,1992,3969,5501,5489,5499,5251,5488],"class_list":["post-10503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-7-oktober","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-bennett-2026","tag-beyachat","tag-coalition-politics","tag-gadi-eisenkot","tag-gaza-war","tag-general-elections","tag-haredim","tag-idf","tag-israel","tag-israeli-elections","tag-israeli-politics","tag-jan-kapusnak","tag-judea-and-samaria","tag-judicial-reform","tag-knesset","tag-knesset-elections","tag-likud","tag-mansour-abbas","tag-military-service","tag-naftali-bennett","tag-prime-minister","tag-raam","tag-religious-zionism","tag-yashar","tag-yesh-atid"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t