Naftali Bennett
IN THE end, Naftali Bennett’s rise was not quite as dramatic as some had predicted. The 40-yearold right-winger was overshadowed by another political novice, centrist Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, whose success has changed the political landscape. However, Bennett has succeeded in tripling the representation of the formerly moribund Jewish Home (Habayit Yehudi) party and in doing so has given Israel’s hardliners a fresh image and fresh hope.
The child of American immigrants, Bennett grew up in Haifa and after serving in the elite Sayeret Matkal army unit, he co-founded Cyota, an anti-fraud software company that was sold for around £100 million in 2005.
Soon afterwards, Bennett became actively involved in politics, initially alongside Benjamin Netanyahu in the Likud party, serving as his chief of staff. But last year he joined Jewish Home, and stood for its leadership, winning 67 per cent of the vote.
His politics may not be radically different from other right wing fringe parties but his style certainly is. The Telegraph has described him as “Israel’s new rock star politician” whereas the Independent has dubbed him “a Zionist pin-up”. Bennett’s success has been based on personal charisma — he wears jeans and his speeches are laced with Hebrew slang — and his willingness and ability to embrace the social media.
Bennett’s image appeals to young voters and his methods are innovative. However, his message is an uncompromising one. He told an election meeting that the current calm in the West Bank would be undermined by the establishment of a Palestinian state. He said: “We can ruin all this by establishing another Muslim state in our midst as we did in Gaza and get another 100 years of misery.”
His plan involves annexing one sector of the West Bank, returning Gaza to Egyptian sovereignty and allowing the Palestinians limited autonomy of what remains.
While Bennett, who lives in the prosperous town of Ra’anana, embraces modernity and is eager, according to the New Yorker’s David Remnick “to advertise his cosmopolitan bona fides”, many of his party’s members are from the unreconstructed right. Left wing commentator Haim Baram described his leadership of Jewish Home as “like Enoch Powell heading a party with all the other candidates from the National Front.” What is certain is that if Bennett does assume a prominent position in this or any future Israeli government, the peace process will be going nowhere. As Remnick writes: “He has an unswerving conviction that Palestinians might as well relinquish their hopes for a sovereign state.” He adds that Bennett believes that the Green Line designating the pre-1967 borders of the country “has no meaning”.
Bennett’s politics put him well to the right of Netanyahu, who is himself regarded with suspicion in the US administration. But domestically, Bennett has made a breakthrough into the mainstream, partly through his persuasive rhetoric but also as a result of the fear provoked by air raid sirens being sounded in major cities, including Tel Aviv, in the recent Gaza campaign.
His challenge now that he has enjoyed a relatively successful campaign is to make those gains count. The Jerusalem Post thinks this task could be a tricky one.
His problems will start, says the paper, when his party, “now a patchwork of rigorously religious, loosely observant and fully secular people, has to actually do things together”.
IT IS definitely a unique start to the week on Monday morning, as I open the front door to the office and am drenched by a foot of water — our water tank has overflowed. Once we drain the room and set up dehumidifiers and drying equipment it is work as usual (minus the exceptionally loud noise from the power heaters).
The week kicks off with a Technion UK team meeting with my colleagues Suzanne and Juliet, in which we plan our 2013 fundraising campaign and the next monthly e-newsletter, which will include an article about an intriguing new study from Technion scientists suggesting that some heart-attack patients with sleep apnea may benefit from sleep-disordered breathing.
That afternoon, I hold a conference call with the Technion to discuss a generous bequest recently left to Technion UK and how the funds can be best used. Tuesday begins with a long rehearsal of the Technion UK 2013 roadshow — “Shaping the Future” — a fascinating and interactive presentation that provides an insight into the groundbreaking research and developments taking place in Israel. I often travel around presenting the roadshow and enjoy telling people about the Technion’s incredible work.
Wednesday is spent taking calls regarding SciTech, a prestigious three-week international science and technology summer camp held at the Technion. We have just released the 2013 dates, so parents of UK teenagers are enquiring. Then it is our weekly meeting with Technion UK chairman Daniel Peltz, where we update him on current activity, specifically my recent trip to Israel.
I arrive at the office on Thursday to find an enormous pile of post on my desk. I spend the morning reading and distributing handwritten thank-you letters from Technion students to UK families who provide them with financial assistance by supporting the scholarship programme. The afternoon is a discussion with the vice-president for academic affairs at the Technion regarding the next exchange programme. Up to eight students from the Technion will study at UK universities and vice versa. Participating institutions currently include Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and Bristol.
Friday includes a visit to our vice-president Sir Michael Heller to congratulate him on his recent knighthood. We discuss the Ron Arad lecture and dinner we held in November and how inspiring it was to hear from the guest speaker, Technion’s Nobel Laureate Professor Dan Shechtman. The snow prompts a ring-round to several Technion UK supporters. I am pleased that so many have seen the professor’s recent Observer article. They can’t believe they met the man in the newspaper — but they did. Tony Bernstein is executive director of Technion UK