A Few Minutes with Naftali Bennett

S ome political analysts believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s days in office are numbered and some polls show that the right-wing camp has already chosen his successor — Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home party. For his part Bennett who serves as minister of education in Netanyahu’s cabinet is downplaying the succession talk and insists the current government and Netanyahu have a lot of life left to them.

Mr. Bennett many chareidi voters remember well that you were a member of the previous Netanyahu coalition that included Yair Lapid. Some chareidim accused you of selling them out. Today you are enjoying a renaissance with the chareidi public and its leadership. Can we trust that this new partnership will not fall apart?

The previous government you referred to was established because it was politically expedient. Netanyahu did not want my party so I only joined forces with Lapid so that we would not be left out of the coalition. That partnership did not prove itself viable and the coalition was bursting with internal contradictions including issues of state and religion as well as diplomatic and political matters. Our current government is far more homogeneous. There are differences of opinion but they are contained on the inside. The government is a right-wing Jewish government. Everyone is on the same page on that. It’s the healthiest government composition for the State of Israel and that is why I don’t want a situation where we go back to a Lapid government.

You contend we have a stable government but we are embroiled in a series of ongoing scandals surrounding the prime minister. Can this government survive under such pressures?