Where is Lapid? Bennett: "We keep saying that we need to work together"
It seems that the chairman of Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, has been absent recently from the Behad party campaign. The movement's chairman, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in an interview with 103FM radio, denies this categorically: "We are plowing the country, separately and together. We held two conferences in the last few days, and we continue to reach everywhere."
The chairman of Behad and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in an interview today (Tuesday) for Gideon and Amichai Attali's program on 103FM, denies categorically that the absence from the election campaign of the movement's number 2, Yair Lapid, is a deliberate concealment:
"He was an excellent Foreign Minister, and can be an excellent Foreign Minister. He initiated the Negev Summit, and brought foreign ministers from everywhere. People need to know that we have an excellent alternative, and we know exactly what needs to be done."
After being asked if he regrets the political union with Yesh Atid, Bennett replied: "Absolutely not. We keep saying that we need to work together, and we are doing it with a personal example and true leadership," he claimed firmly. "I am a political right-winger, and Lapid is a centrist. I oppose a Palestinian state, and he does not believe there will be a Palestinian state in the coming years. What does it matter? We think that we need to lower the prices of yellow cheese and apartments in Israel."
In his view, Lapid and he were members of the two best governments that Israel has had in the last two decades. "One was the government of change in 2013, and the best government was the government of change under my leadership in 2021. We are looking to replace the government, and that is what we are going to do." He believes that the reason Behad has strengthened in the polls is "the approach that we need to win and not deal with the quarrels of the day after. We are bringing the most performance-oriented team there is, people who were CEOs and ministers with work plans and are talking to the Israeli public." And he emphasized: "The important thing is to say what we will do, and not deal with dividing the bear's skin before we have hunted it."
On Smotrich's campaign
After watching a video from the election campaign of the Religious Zionism party, Bennett chose to respond to his former colleague, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, that "this is serious nonsense":
"You had four years to draft, and you didn't draft anyone. His whole plan is to draft more reservists instead of drafting Haredim for regular service. When you draft one Haredi for regular service - you release 12 reservists."
If so, the Behad chairman was asked why he, when he was Prime Minister, did not act to draft Haredim? "We didn't yet understand that we need to increase the IDF, this was before October 7," admitted Bennett. "Since then there is an acute need for 20,000 soldiers. In those four years that Smotrich was in power, they didn't try to draft, they only transferred billions to those who don't draft." Finally, the former Prime Minister summarized his words in the interview and explained that "we understood that the gradual line over the years that advocated dialogue - will not lead anywhere. My line today is: not a Zionist - not on my account."
