Naftali Bennett, (former) Prime Minister

Today we sit down with one of the most interesting figures in Israeli public life, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who served as Israel’s 13th Prime Minister (2021-22), and previously, in a Netanyahu-led government as Defense Minister (2019-20), and earlier on as Economy Minister.

When he himself was prime minister, Naftali Bennett's government was comprised of 8 political parties from across the ideological spectrum - from his own Yamina Party and the New Hope party on the Right, through Yair Lapid’s party in the center, to the Labor and Meretz parties on the Left. And then – for the first time in an Israeli Government – there was the Arab Muslim party, Ra’am. In his business career, Prime Minister Bennett was a successful start-up entrepreneur. And he served in Israel’s elite Sayaret Mechtel special forces.

In this long-form interview, we try to better understand Naftali Bennett's worldview on a range of issues in Israel’s post-10/07 reality – its strategic situation as it faces multiple war fronts or possible war fronts, and we wanted to better understand his vision for addressing the growing internal Israeli tensions – within the Israeli public..