Binyamin Rose rates the early days of Israel's new prime minister
Naftali Bennett’s improbable surge to the prime minister’s seat proved he had the political wiles to outfox Binyamin Netanyahu, but when it comes to governing and showing leadership, Bibi is a tough act to follow.
Bennett has formulated some subtle policy shifts to differentiate himself from his predecessor. He has hardened Israel’s deterrence against Hamas by ordering IDF retaliation against incendiary balloons, instead of waiting for rockets to fall before fighting back. Bennett also won wall-to-wall praise for diplomatic finesse in the compromise that spared Evyatar — a fledgling settlement in the Shomron — from destruction while the government verifies whether it was built on Jewish or Arab-owned land.
However, the new government has lapsed into default mode in dealing with Israel’s latest COVID-19 outbreak. A knee-jerk government decision to restore the nationwide indoor mask mandate, just two weeks after rescinding it, contradicts Bennett’s proposal of a year ago to confine restrictions to “red” cities and towns. As a cabinet minister, Bennett exuded supreme confidence that he had ready answers to Israel’s problems. Now that he’s prime minister, words are not enough. He will be judged by his actions and results.
Bennett’s strategy, backed by his cohort, Yair Lapid, is to keep the various party leaders occupied and happy with their cabinet posts and allow them free rein to pursue their political agendas. That way, they won’t threaten to bolt the coalition over the ideological battles that have already arisen between right- and left-wing factions.
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