Naftali Bennett

Ofri Meoded Danon and his mother celebrate his bar mitzvah at the egalitarian plaza of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel in May 2023. (Courtesy of Meoded Danon)

Inside Story

Red tape keeps non-Orthodox worshipers a stone’s throw from the Western Wall

5 years after stone collapse at holy site, authorities have yet to reopen access to Wall at egalitarian section; religious activists argue delay is deliberate

June 23, 2023, 9:56 am

Red tape keeps non-Orthodox worshipers a stone’s throw from the Western Wall

5 years after stone collapse at holy site, authorities have yet to reopen access to Wall at egalitarian section; religious activists argue delay is deliberate

By Canaan Lidor

Then-alternate prime minister Naftali Bennett at a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on September 18, 2022. (Olivier Fitousi/Flash90)

May 24, 2023, 5:53 pm

Bennett wins defamation suit against rabbi who claimed he wasn’t Jewish

Rabbi Ronen Shaulov apologizes for false claims about ex-PM and his parents; court to decide at future date on damages, which Bennett has said he’ll donate

By ToI Staff

File: Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (left), the incoming interim prime minister, and outgoing premier Naftali Bennett (right) sit in the Knesset during voting to dissolve parliament for new elections, on June 30, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

May 21, 2023, 9:18 am

PM residence expenses for Bennett, Lapid significantly lower than for Netanyahu

Data shows less than $270,000 spent on residences of both Bennett and Lapid in 2022, compared to $685,000 spent by Netanyahu family on homes in Jerusalem, Caesarea in 2019

By ToI Staff

Livnat Green gives an interview to Channel 13 news on November 5, 2020. (Screenshot: Twitter; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

May 10, 2023, 11:40 am

Jewish woman shot dead at West Bank crossing was taken in by Bennett when homeless

Livnat Green, who committed apparent ‘suicide by cop,’ had a troubled life, moving between welfare institutions and suffering from PTSD after her military service

By ToI Staff

President Isaac Herzog (left) meets with UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on December 5, 2022. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

May 9, 2023, 2:57 pm

How Israel came to the UAE’s aid after the 2022 Houthi missile strikes

Book on Abraham Accords reveals extent of Jerusalem’s security assistance to Abu Dhabi, unlike what Emiratis felt was lackluster support from the US

By Jacob Magid

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, May 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

May 4, 2023, 2:45 pm

Plurality of Israelis say Bennett, Lapid did better job on Gaza than Netanyahu – poll

42% of respondents say previous government handled conflict with Palestinian enclave better than current coalition, including a fifth of Likud voters; 43% back a military operation

By ToI Staff

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tours Lod, April 17, 2023. (Flash90)

May 3, 2023, 12:13 pm

Coalition tensions rise as Otzma Yehudit boycotts Knesset over ‘feeble’ Gaza response

Fissures show in Netanyahu’s hardline government, as it faces mounting internal pressure over domestic policies and deepening conflict with Palestinians

By ToI Staff

An Israeli soldier places flags on graves of fallen soldiers at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, April 23, 2023, ahead of Memorial Day. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

April 24, 2023, 12:37 pm

Israel readies to usher in Memorial Day ceremonies, under shadow of overhaul rifts

Disruption feared at events for 24,213 fallen troops and 4,255 terror victims, as some ministers cancel; bereaved relatives to stay away; Bennett: ‘Focus only on families’ pain’

By Michael Bachner

Naftali Bennett, second from the left, meets with Jewish Democrats at the Capitol, April 19, 2023. (Twitter via JTA. )

April 20, 2023, 4:15 pm

Former PM Bennett gives off comeback vibes during visit to DC

On diplomacy blitz in US, ex-premier defends Israel’s stability amid judicial overhaul crisis, but also offers hints he wants a hand in the country’s future

By Ron Kampeas

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett (R) briefs reporters at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy alongside TWI scholar David Makovsky on April 18, 2023. (Screen capture/Zoom)

April 19, 2023, 1:53 am

Ex-PM Bennett says Israel needs a centrist government for next 10-20 years

Former premier says moderate leadership vital to ensure internal stability, claims Netanyahu’s polarizing coalition will dissuade voters from supporting hardline parties

By Jacob Magid

Yuli Yavin, 18, protests against the high school civics textbook 'Being an Israeli Citizen' in Tel Aviv, March 2023. (Twitter video screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

April 12, 2023, 10:16 pm

High school student highlights right-wing think tank’s influence on civics curricula

Yuli Yavin says 2016 edition of ‘Being a Citizen in Israel,’ with significant input from Kohelet Forum, includes talking points used by supporters of coalition’s overhaul plans

By Michael Horovitz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Chigi Palace government offices in Rome, Friday, March 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

March 10, 2023, 9:32 pm

Top official blames weakness of Biden, Bennett-Lapid government for Saudi-Iran deal

Official falsely asserts talks began under previous coalition when US was working to re-enter nuclear deal; however, negotiations started when Netanyahu was PM; Lapid derides claim

By Lazar Berman and Jacob Magid

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks at a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem on June 20, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/ FLASH90)

March 10, 2023, 4:42 pm

Bennett: Saudi-Iran deal a failure of Israeli efforts to build anti-Tehran coalition

Opposition puts blame on Netanyahu, saying he neglected Iran with focus on judicial overhaul; Likud MK also calls for internal talks ‘to reunite against the existential threat’

By ToI Staff and AFP

View of the Prime Minister's Office in the government quarter in Jerusalem, on March 6, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

March 8, 2023, 8:35 am

Netanyahu said to remove Prime Minister’s Office veteran because she served Bennett

Linor Ofir, bureau administrator at the PMO, previously worked for a decade under Netanyahu in trusted position, but then stayed on at the office when he was ousted in 2021

By ToI Staff

President Isaac Herzog presents Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu with the mandate to form the next government, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on November 13, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

March 7, 2023, 1:53 pm

Herzog says leaked judicial compromise plan isn’t final; MKs on both sides slam it

After Hebrew media publishes elements of proposal, president’s office says it’s only one of many, and he hasn’t endorsed it; Bennett praises it, while left and right lawmakers fume

By Ash Obel