\’Only a Strong Jewish Home Can Prevent Expulsions\’, Bennett says

 

"If we are in a [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu government with [Labor-Hatnua leaders] Buji [Yitzhak Herzog – ed.] and Tzipi [Livni], that would be the worst outcome possible," Bennett stated, echoing fears that Netanyahu could end up deciding on a unity government and neglecting the Religious Zionist sector.

 

The Jewish Home Chairman noted that, during the 2013 elections, Netanyahu painted the then-fledgling party as "extremists." While Netanyahu has since changed his tune, Bennett implied that Likud is not as right-wing as it appears to be. 

 

"Enough!" he said. "We have to be bigger and stronger, so that the day after elections there won\’t be a second Bar Ilan speech and land swaps." 

 

Bennett went on to say that he is a strong believer in Religious Zionism and the Religious Zionist public, and that he believes that some commentators predicting a left-wing government have severely underestimated support for the Right. 

 

It is up to the Religious Zionists to determine the government, he added, because it is precisely for ideological reasons that they would give up voting for their party in favor of Likud, in order not to lose the chance of establishing a right-wing government.

 

"This is due to our naiveté," he noted. "Every Jewish Home voter would support Netanyahu, as long as he [Netanyahu – ed.] would make sure not to unite with Tzipi and Buji."

 

"The last time, minutes after the election, he approached Tzipi and left us out and we had to force our way in," he lamented. 

 

"Religious Zionists, we should all mobilize with all our might," he continued. "We could have a large amount of seats which could make a revolution in Israel, in the judicial system." He warned not to have Netanyahu "push us off the map." 

 

Bennett noted that he has focused over the last two weeks on encouraging voters from the Center-Right to choose Jewish Home.

 

"We won\’t divide the Land of Israel in order to lower the price of cheese," he quipped.

 

"I raised the minimum wage, I concerned myself with the rights of contractors and house cleaners and security staff, helped unemployment benefits contractor employees for cleanliness and security and put the unemployed to work without giving up on right-wing principles," Bennett added. "Anyone who therefore goes to [Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon] is mistaken."  

 

Bennett then turned to the unprecedented show of support for the right wing in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

 

"I saw strong turnout from the public," he reflected. "We, 100,000 people, sang \’Jerusalem of Gold\’ together." 

 

"Really, we are all brothers – and I call upon the Prime Minister: Stop this attack on the Religious Zionist public. Let\’s not fight [. . .] stop the confusion. We are all giving our national power to the Netanyahu – we\’ll come as one bloc and one heart." 

 

Bennett was asked, in this context, whether Netanyahu could be approached to form the government, even if he gains fewer seats than Labor-Hatnua. He was convinced that Netanyahu stands a chance. 

 

"Rivlin himself said that the only thing he looks at is the likelihood of forming a coalition," he noted, adding that he had approached Netanyahu about a technical bloc of 35-37 seats combined. "The law itself does not speak on party size. This is a mega media spin to remove an opinionated party [. . .] [but] there is no one else to fight for Jewish identity." 

 

"They are trampling us," he added. "We started a huge, beautiful, historical movement, where Religious Zionism arose as Sleeping Beauty, as described by late [MK] Uri Orbach."

 

"Let\’s not take a step back," he said. "Just vote Jewish Home and allow us to be dominant again."

 

He urged the public to remember that Likud was very large when it decided on the 2005 Disengagement of thousands of Jews from Gush Katif, making way for the current situation with Gaza – and that, if the Religious Zionist parties had been larger, it never would have happened. 

 

He also refused to accept the notion that Likud\’s ideologies have changed and shifted rightward. He noted that, even now, such personalities as MKs Yariv Levin and Tzipi Hotovely are seen as "rebels" for opposing land withdrawals. 

 

Sadly, he says, "the public has a short memory" about Netanyahu\’s role in land swaps and peace talks, including extending peace deals to Palestinian arch terrorist Yasser Arafat which included the Arabization of Hevron. 

 

"I want Netanyahu to be prime minister, but we must have a Jewish Home to prevent the terrible expulsions of the future," he urged. "Do you really want Tzipi Livni as Justice Minister instead of Ayelet Shaked?"