A HISTORY OF RACIST RHETORIC
If Bibi Was the Frying Pan, Is Bennett the Fire? What To Expect from
Israel's New PM
"It's not like [Israel is] replacing Netanyahu with a person who believes in
equality for all, who believes in freedom for all, who believes in human
rights for all. They're replacing Netanyahu with an ultra-nationalist who is
going to put forward his ultra-nationalist agenda." - Diana Buttu, former
PLO spokesperson
by Jessica Buxbaum
June 18th, 2021
Mint Press News
By Jessica Buxbaum
JERUSALEM - After more than a decade, four elections, three corruption
charges, and a tumultuous parliamentary vote, someone other than Benjamin
Netanyahu was sworn in as Israel's prime minister this week.
Naftali Bennett, the far-right nationalist who has replaced Netanyahu, heads
the most politically diverse coalition in the nation's history, but his
politics are far from progressive.
Who is Naftali Bennett?
Unlike his predecessors, Bennett is more of a novice than a veteran
politician. While he has served in several ministerial roles, his government
experience is relatively brief.
Bennett began his political career as Netanyahu's chief of staff in 2005,
when the latter served as opposition leader. Prior to his first role in
government, he served in the Israeli army as a commando unit officer during
Israel's 1996 offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and was indirectly
involved in the Kfar Qana Massacre, in which Israeli artillery fire killed
102 Lebanese civilians at a United Nations facility.
The 49-year-old Bennett was born in Haifa to parents who immigrated to
Israel from San Francisco in 1967. Donning a kippah (a cap often worn by
Jewish men during rituals), Bennett is Israel's first religiously observant
prime minister.
While not a settler himself, Bennet is seen as an icon of Israel's settler
right. He was appointed director general of the Yesha Council, the political
body representing Israeli settlers, in 2009. The following year, he founded
the My Israel Movement along with fellow Israeli politician Ayelet Shaked.
The Zionist group works to eradicate what it identifies as "anti-Israel
activity" online, specifically in relation to the Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions movement.
Bennett became chairman of the religious and right-wing Jewish Home Party in
2012, but left in 2018 to create the New Right Party, which is currently the
sole member of his far-right electoral alliance, Yamina (or "to the right"
in Hebrew). He was often perceived as standing on the sidelines of politics
- an outsider desperately wanting in. Except for his time as education
minister, almost every stint as an Israeli minister was short-lived. His
contribution to politics has been less action-oriented and more centered on
his inflammatory statements.
A history of racist rhetoric
Bennett is notorious for the myriad of controversial remarks he's made over
the years:
During a parliamentary debate on releasing Palestinian prisoners, Bennett
bragged about "killing Arabs." "If we capture terrorists, we need to just
kill them," Bennett said in 2013. "I've already killed a lot of Arabs in my
life, and there is no problem with that."
In 2018, he advocated for a shoot-to-kill policy for Palestinians crossing
the Gaza border. When questioned about whether children would be part of
this policy, he said, "They are not children - they are terrorists. We are
fooling ourselves. I see the photos."
During a televised debate in 2010, Bennett said to Palestinian lawmaker
Ahmad Tibi, "When you were still climbing trees, we had a Jewish state
here."
In an interview with The New Yorker in 2013, Bennett reiterated his strong
opposition to a Palestinian state. "I will do everything in my power,
forever, to fight against a Palestinian state being founded in the Land of
Israel," Bennett said.
Bennett has long advocated for full annexation of Israeli-controlled Area C
of the Occupied West Bank, which comprises 60% of the West Bank. He said, in
2013:
The most important thing in the Land of Israel is to build, build, build
[settlements]. It's important that there will be an Israeli presence
everywhere. Our principal problem is still Israel's leaders' unwillingness
to say in a simple manner that the Land of Israel belongs to the People of
Israel. "
In 2014, Bennett referred to Israeli annexation of the West Bank, telling
reporters Israel "will be gradually attempting to apply Israeli law on
Israeli controlled areas of Judea and Samaria [the occupied West Bank]."
And more recently, in February of this year, he said in an interview, "As
long as I have any power and control, I won't hand over one centimeter of
the Land of Israel. Period."
Benjamin Netanyahu,Naftali Bennett
Netanyahu, right, and Bennett pose for a photos with children in the Arab
town of Tamra, Sept. 1, 2016. Sebastian Scheiner | AP
While Diana Buttu, a Palestinian analyst and former spokesperson for the
Palestine Liberation Organization, is happy Netanyahu is out of office, she
doesn't see the new leader as the right kind of change. "It's not like
[Israel is] replacing Netanyahu with a person who believes in equality for
all, who believes in freedom for all, who believes in human rights for all,"
Buttu said. "They're replacing Netanyahu with an ultra-nationalist who is
going to put forward his ultra-nationalist agenda."
Bennett's possible policies
Bennett's lack of a governing record makes it difficult to predict what kind
of leader he'll be and what kind of policies he may enact.
Paul Scham, executive director of the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel
Studies at the University of Maryland, surmises the new prime minister will
tackle mundane but necessary agenda items like passing a budget and solving
Israel's infrastructure crisis.
"He recognizes that this isn't a time for a bold action on the ideological
front," Scham told MintPress News.
Two hours after Bennett was sworn in as prime minister, President Joe Biden
phoned the new leader to congratulate him. By contrast, Biden waited a month
after his own swearing-in ceremony to call Netanyahu. Scham suggested such
actions hint Bennett may prioritize relations with the United States and
remain diplomatic in an effort to undo his predecessor's damage.
"Since Bibi seemed to have this adverse relationship with [former President
Barack] Obama and was very pro-Republican, Bennett will take care not to
push the buttons, like denying that a Palestinian state will ever come into
existence," Scham said. On several occasions, Netanyahu has rejected the
formation of a Palestinian state under his leadership.
Naftali Bennett protest
Israelis hold signs during a protest against Benneft's allaince with Arab
politicians in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 30, 2021. Sebastian Scheiner| AP
On the other hand, Buttu believes Bennett will want to bolster his
right-wing credentials in the face of criticism for joining forces with
Palestinian and leftist parties. Israel's new government was formed through
a coalition of several conflicting political parties, including Muslim party
United Arab List, the far-left Meretz Party, centrist Yesh Atid Party, the
Labor Party and Bennett's Yamina.
Earlier this month, hundreds of right-wing activists demonstrated in front
of Shaked's and other fellow Yamina members' homes against the far-right
coalition teaming up with left-wing parties.
"He's been saying in statements 'Now is the time for a national unity
government," Buttu said. "But then to his crowd, he's saying, 'Don't worry,
this is a right-wing government.'"
New leader, same agenda
While other Israeli politicians often tone down their rhetoric to fit a
global standard, Bennett thrives on unquestionably racist language.
"If anything, Bennett is just that much worse because his ideology is an
ideology of extreme racism," Buttu said. "Whereas when it comes to
Netanyahu, he's learned how to polish up that same ideology."
Despite a new government coming to power, the politics of
settler-colonialism remain the same. In that regard, peace and any chance
for Palestinian liberation feel out of reach.
"People are happy Netanyahu is out, and my worry is that because Netanyahu
is out and because [Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Yair] Lapid is backing
Bennett, there's going to be a red carpet rolled out for a person who is
openly racist," Buttu said, cautioning that placing Bennett on a pedestal
will make the mistake of validating the politician's perspectives.
"Legitimating him inside Israel once again means it's okay to have a prime
minister who is so openly ultra-nationalist and who believes in land theft."
And with this extremist ideology heading the Israeli government, the recent
wave of settler terrorism may become even more emboldened.