Who is Neftali Bennett? The millionaire who is likely to replace Israel's PM Netanyahu

On May 30, multi-millionaire Neftali Bennett moved another step closer to replace Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and marking an end to the long-running leadership of the veteran premier in the country. Bennett is a former tech entrepreneur who entered politics with his hardline right-wing and religious-nationalist rhetoric, as per the Times of Israel report. Throughout the country, the 49-year-old has made pitches to hard-right voters and is the leader of Yamina party. Bennett’s party has also called for Israel to annex the parts of the occupied regions of the West Bank. 

Even though he shares his ideology with Netanyahu, the two have reportedly become increasingly opponents. In the aftermath of the 11-day offensive between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, Bennett ultimately agreed to join centrist Yair Lapid in a coalition to oust Netanyahu who has been in power for at least 12 consecutive years along with a three-year term prior to that. Lapid has agreed to let Bennett serve as the next Prime Minister of Israel while sharing power. In a speech on Sunday, the 49-year-old also claimed that the leftist parties would support him to lead the government in a coalition.

Who is Neftali Bennett?

Bennett, the son of US-born parents, Jimm and Myrna Bennett. Also a former special forces commando, the 49-year-old lives with his wife Galit and four children in the central city of Raanana. He entered the political scene in Israel after selling his tech start-up reportedly for $145 million in 2005. In 2006, he was also the chief of staff to Netanyahu who was, at the time in opposition. 

However, Bennett left Netanyahu’s office in 2010 and became the head of the Yesha Council, which lobbies for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. In the following years, he took the charge of the far-right Jewish Home party which was tackling annihilation. Reportedly, Bennett then increased the Jewish Home party’s parliamentary presence by four times and became known for making several controversial remarks on Palestinians. As per reports, in 2013, he said Palestinian “terrorists should be killed, not released.”

Apart from acquiring a defence portfolio, Bennett has also served as Netanyahu’s economy minister as well as education minister. In 2018, he also rebranded the Jewish Home as Yamina and was even a part of Netanyahu’s coalition in that same year. However, that coalition government had collapsed. In May 2020, Bennett was not asked to join the Netanyahu-led unity government in Israel that marked their contempt despite the shared ideology. Throughout 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Bennett’s right-wing rhetoric damped with an increased focus on the health crisis. 

IMAGE: AP