Bennett Urged to Run on a Clean Conscience and Let Voters Read Between the Lines
The article argues that Naftali Bennett, head of the Yachad party, should go into the election with a simple message: he wants a government made up only of Zionist parties, and he will not explicitly rely on Arab parties. It says that, despite current polls, the anti-Netanyahu bloc may still be able to reach 61 seats under changing conditions.
The writer points to several possible shifts. More than 100,000 ultra-Orthodox voters over age 18 are expected to vote, which could lift the Haredi parties above current polling estimates. It also says Bezalel Smotrich is unlikely to run alone in the current format, and may join forces with Itamar Ben Gvir or with figures such as Alon Davidi and Ofer Winter, making surveys that show him below the electoral threshold less relevant. The gap between Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot is also said to be narrowing.
Another scenario that could help the anti-Netanyahu camp, the article says, is the creation of a new right-wing party not committed to either side. Former minister Gilad Erdan has recently said he is considering such a party, which could take 3 to 4 seats from Likud and weaken the coalition bloc. In that case, the article says, it is still unclear whether that party would automatically join a Bennett-led government.
If the anti-Netanyahu bloc still falls short of 61, the piece says Bennett and Eisenkot would again turn to the Arab parties, as in the change government. The goal, it says, is to oust Benjamin Netanyahu, and that objective outweighs everything else. The article reminds readers that before the 2021 election Bennett signed a live on-air pledge on Channel 20, now Channel 14, promising not to let Yair Lapid become prime minister and not to form a coalition with Ra'am. That reversal, it says, cost him heavily politically and personally. The author concludes that Bennett should state only two things, that he aims for a Zionist government and that he will prevent another election, leaving voters to understand the implication without naming Arab parties.
