Naftali Bennett, who once served as Israel’s prime minister, lashed out at the current government in recordings released Sunday by Hebrew media. He charged that the cabinet is packed with “stupid” ministers and revealed his intention to merge opposition figures and parties into a “big party” aimed at defeating Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s coalition in the upcoming election.
At a conference held Thursday in Kfar Saba, Bennett criticized the government’s direction and laid out his vision for uniting the opposition. In the recordings, first reported by Walla, he also detailed his priorities on domestic and foreign policy if he were to regain leadership. “Today the government is made up of stupid ministers,” said Bennett, who is widely believed to be positioning himself for a run in the 2026 election.
“Simply stupid, I have no other word for it,” he continued. “When a minister says, ‘We should drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza.’ Great, you said it — now you’ve gathered 17 votes — from lunatics. Will we drop a bomb on Gaza? No, but we’re the ones paying the price.”
Bennett was referring to Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu’s controversial remark in November 2023 suggesting a nuclear strike on Gaza was “an option,” a comment Netanyahu himself dismissed as “detached from reality.” South Africa later used Eliyahu’s words in its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which Eliyahu boasted about, saying “even in The Hague they know my position.”
According to Bennett, he frequently faces questions in foreign media interviews about such remarks from Eliyahu and other right-wing ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. “So our soldiers are paying real prices by having their hands tied because of political stupidity done purely for political purposes,” he said.
“It’s a sin to just call it stupidity. It is worse. It’s evil, because they’re scraping together political votes here at the expense of our soldiers, some of whom won’t be able to travel abroad for the rest of their lives because of this madness,” Bennett added.
The recordings showed that Bennett was not only attacking the government but also sketching out his strategy for the next elections. “We need to form a national Zionist unity government based on the ‘alliance of service’: those who serve and who accept the government’s guiding principles,” he said.
“I have a role, and that is to unite the various centrist parties. We’ll talk to [Yisrael Beytenu party chairman Avigdor] Liberman, to [former Knesset member Gadi] Eisenkot, and get everyone into one big party,” Bennett explained. He told the conference their mission would be to “convince everyone to vote for this party and win a clear and decisive majority.”
If successful, Bennett said this bloc would work to “lay down a constitutional foundation” and “pass a constitution for Israel,” something he had previously dismissed as unnecessary. “I changed my position in light of recent years,” he noted, pointing to Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul. “We must establish how a law is enacted, how a law is repealed, who repeals a law, with what majority, how judges are appointed.”
Bennett added that he would also push to “pass a law within the constitutional process to limit the prime minister’s term to eight years.”
He pledged to initiate a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading up to the October 7 Hamas assault, declaring it a “moral sin” that such a probe has not yet been created. Netanyahu has refused to open any investigation until the war ends, arguing that the public would not trust the findings because of distrust in the judiciary that would appoint the panel.
Another priority Bennett addressed was the integration of the chareidi community into both the military and workforce. “We have no choice,” he said. While he did not outline specific steps for a conscription law, he acknowledged that October 7 reshaped his priorities. Before the war, he saw military service for the chareidim as less urgent than employment and education, but the shortage of combat troops, he said, has altered his view.
He went further, stating that chareidi schools outside the state system that refuse to teach core subjects should not be eligible for government funding.
Turning to diplomacy, Bennett emphasized that “no drastic steps will be taken” on Palestinian statehood under his leadership, though he insisted the issue is not “binary.” “My views are hawkish-liberal. I oppose a Palestinian state, I oppose giving up land. I support maximum security and minimum friction with the Palestinians,” he said.
“I support autonomy for the Palestinians, that they manage themselves — but they cannot receive sovereignty over the borders,” Bennett declared, signaling support for maintaining the Palestinian Authority despite calls from some in the coalition to weaken or dismantle it.
He also denounced violence by extremist settler youth who attack Palestinians in the West Bank, while adding, “crime exists in cities across Israel as well.”
Responding to the leak, Bennett reiterated that Israel “have a terrible leadership and we will replace it as soon as possible.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who was not referenced in the leaked excerpts, commented afterward that he “will talk to [Bennett] again.” Lapid added, “We need to do everything to bring down the government, to gather forces,” signaling openness to a future partnership.
{Matzav.com}
And u are the only smart one mr bennett the idiot who will align with anyone that will grant him power regardless of the consequences to the Jewish people
Since when is Bennet smart ? Can he name one smart move he took since he began his political career? Why does the press give him a platform ? Cause he is rich ?
The post calling the kettle black. LOL!
Oho, packed with “stupid” ministers, eh?
Talk about pot calling the kettle black.
Interesting that Bennett – an interim president with Lapid for 2 years – thinks of himself as smart when he is funded by the radical left, the dumbest people around.