Naftali Bennett Confronts Hecklers, Cites Iran Defense Needs for Past Broken Promise
Naftali Bennett defended his political record and faced heavy jeering at the Besheva conference. Bennett admitted to breaking past campaign promises, explaining that forming the 2021 coalition was vital to fund critical defense programs against Iran.
Former Israeli Prime Minister and leader of the Biyachad movement, Naftali Bennett, faced a highly charged and hostile audience on Sunday during an interview at the Besheva newspaper conference, moderated by journalist Yaron Avraham. The event quickly escalated into a shouting match, with members of the crowd heckling Bennett, booing, and accusing him of betraying his voters over past political decisions.
Confrontation Over Ideology and Jewish Terrorism
At the outset of the interview, Yaron Avraham pointed out that many conservative attendees who previously voted for Bennett no longer consider doing so. Bennett attempted to reassure the audience that his core ideological positions regarding the Land of Israel remain unchanged. He emphasized his ongoing support for settlements in Judea and Samaria, his opposition to a Palestinian state, and his refusal to cede "a single centimeter of land to the Arabs." However, his remarks were repeatedly interrupted by jeers from the crowd.
Bennett urged the audience to listen, declaring that the primary mission of the current generation is to prevent a civil war and save the "Third Temple" after the country stood on the brink of an abyss in 2023.
Tempers flared further when the discussion turned to Jewish extremist violence in Judea and Samaria. Bennett explicitly labeled nationalist violence by Israelis as terrorism, calling it un-Jewish, immoral, and one of the greatest threats to the future of the settlement movement. This statement sparked outrage in the hall, with audience members shouting that Jews should not be referred to as terrorists.
When a woman in the crowd yelled that the term "terror" cannot be applied to Jews, Bennett refused to back down:
"If someone goes out with the intention of burning down a house of innocent Arabs with its inhabitants inside, that is Jewish nationalistic terrorism. This is an obvious truth that everyone must condemn. Even the strongest supporters of the settlements in the United States are shocked by these actions, which only invite international pressure on Judea and Samaria."
He added that the state did not return from two thousand years of exile to establish armed militias, emphasizing that the IDF is the sole authority authorized to use force.
Comparing Records with Netanyahu
In response to the mounting boos, Bennett went on the offensive, comparing his achievements as prime minister to those of Benjamin Netanyahu. He reminded the audience that while Netanyahu tolerated incendiary balloons and rocket fire from Gaza, his own tenure saw complete quiet. Bennett highlighted that he stopped the suitcases of Qatari cash entering Gaza, authorized the Flag March despite Hamas threats, and did not surrender any territory.
Conversely, Bennett claimed that Netanyahu had previously ceded 13% of Judea and Samaria and promised former US President Joe Biden to establish a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem. "I am not deterred by boos," Bennett declared. "I stood up for Israeli interests a thousand times more than Netanyahu and his government."
To address the criticism directly, moderator Yaron Avraham invited one of Bennett's harshest critics from the audience, Ariel Ben David, onto the stage. Ben David compared Bennett's political maneuvers to a business "scam," asking how voters could ever trust someone who had deceived them before. He accused Bennett of erasing the votes of right-wing citizens by breaking his explicit promise not to form a government with Mansour Abbas and Yair Lapid.
The Defense Rationale Behind the 2021 Government
Bennett did not deny breaking his promise, openly admitting that he failed to keep his commitment. However, he challenged Ben David and the audience for not holding other politicians to the same standard, pointing to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who failed to deliver on promises to topple the government or block aid to Hamas.
When Ben David suggested that other politicians might have classified security reasons for their reversals, Bennett revealed the defense considerations that drove his decision to form the coalition in 2021.
According to Bennett, between 2018 and 2021, due to political instability and the lack of a state budget, Israel failed to purchase the munitions required for a potential strike on Iran, while Tehran was rapidly enriching uranium to 60%. Upon taking office as prime minister, Bennett allocated 4 billion shekels to establish production lines for these vital munitions.
Bennett explained that he faced a choice: drag the country into a fifth and sixth round of elections, leaving national security in complete chaos, or break his promise to establish a functioning government that could secure the nation and manage the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that he had offered Netanyahu all seven of his mandates, but Netanyahu was unable to secure a 61-seat majority.
Concluding the interview, Bennett addressed current political developments, confirming that talks with Chili Tropper to join Biyachad had failed because he could not offer him the number of reserved spots on the list that Gadi Eisenkot had provided.
He closed by addressing the hostile crowd, stating that he bears full responsibility for his past decisions and cannot change history. However, he urged the audience to recognize that love for the Land of Israel, the Jewish people, and the Torah is not the exclusive domain of any single political camp, noting that his own children are currently serving in the IDF.
