Former Netanyahu aides join Bennett’s new political push

Liran Avishar Ben Hurin and Keren Turner, both once senior officials in Netanyahu governments, are now entering politics on Naftali Bennett’s list, after careers that also took them into private equity and venture capital. Avishar Ben Hurin previously served as chief of staff to the prime minister and later as director general of the Communications Ministry. Turner was director general of the Transport Ministry and the Treasury, and in recent years was a partner at Vintage Investment Partners, which manages about $4 billion, and an executive at Keystone.

The two met supporters of Bennett’s “Beyachad” party in Shoham before he went on stage, pitching themselves as seasoned operators who know how to turn plans into action. Avishar Ben Hurin said Bennett’s move was meant to signal that “the state needs repair, and it needs people who know how to work,” while Turner argued that the current government sidelines women and lacks “a professional voice of women with our record.” Both say their jump into politics is about serving the public, not preserving a political base.

Turner said she left a lucrative, comfortable private-sector role because public service remained her real passion. She recalled Netanyahu describing the Treasury budget division as the “Sayeret Matkal of the public sector,” which drew her into government service, and said she later saw how “too many years in power” can lead ministers to “trample and diminish” professional work. Avishar Ben Hurin, who worked closely with Netanyahu in the Prime Minister’s Office, said that experience later turned into deep disappointment, calling him a leader who helped drive Israeli society toward a “third Temple destruction” level of division.

Their backgrounds differ, Turner grew up in a moshav in central Israel, while Avishar Ben Hurin comes from Migdal HaEmek, but both frame their politics around unity, national service, and reforming the ultra-Orthodox sector. Avishar Ben Hurin says the state must reward those who serve and overhaul education so ultra-Orthodox children study core subjects, civics, and democracy. Turner says she knows how public money is routed through ministries and believes those mechanisms will be changed. Despite weak polling for Bennett’s party and rising speculation around Gideon Sa’ar and Gadi Eisenkot, both insist they are fully committed. Bennett told the crowd, “We will fix it,” while Avishar Ben Hurin said, “The only option is to win.”