Bennett Unveils Sweeping Election Platform Targeting Haredi Education, Prices and Security

Yair Lapid? No, Naftali Bennett, chairman of the "Together" party, launched his new plan, "New Agreement," on Tuesday morning as a political framework ahead of elections. In a long speech, he promised major changes in education, the cost of living, security, organized crime, public diplomacy and the structure of government, though many of the pledges were presented only as broad vision, without full timelines or implementation details.

Bennett said his party had spent the past two years developing in-depth plans with professionals to address what he called the country’s deepest problems. His sharpest attack was aimed at the ultra-Orthodox public and its education system. He vowed to dismantle what he described as "the state within the Haredi state," warning that Israel is on a "slow-motion suicide" path because, in his words, "an independent and anti-Zionist Haredi state has been built under our noses, funded by the state." He said he intends to change the funding model for Haredi schools as part of a broader overhaul of education.

Bennett also criticized the general education system, saying the state spends about NIS 50,000 per child on average but does not get enough in return. Under his plan, he said, children would receive public education at private-school level. He promised to shut down the "Ministry of Education of 1948" and replace it with a new, updated education ministry.

On living costs, Bennett pledged a direct confrontation with major food companies and importers. "I say here to the Chinese owners of Tnuva, to Shufersal, to Unilever, to Diplomat and all the rest, on my first day in office, the party is over," he said. He also said organized crime would be treated as a national security threat, with the security cabinet convened alongside the IDF chief of staff, Shin Bet chief and law-enforcement officials, and pursued "in an Al Capone method" through finances, assets and power centers.

In security, Bennett promised to move from rounds of fighting to decisive victory, recruit 20,000 additional soldiers and maintain zero tolerance for threats. "Not a drone. Not a rocket. And certainly not force buildup," he said. He also pledged to end Israel’s diplomatic isolation, create a new national public-diplomacy system, counter influence networks linked to Qatar, Iran and anti-Israel actors abroad, close seven government ministries, strengthen local authorities and run government with "high-tech standards" of metrics, personal accountability and public transparency.