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Far-right politician would be Israel’s next PM in proposed deal
Mon 31 May 2021
The far-right Israeli politician Naftali Bennett will be the country’s next prime minister under a proposed power-sharing deal intended to oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the opposition has confirmed.
Yair Lapid said in a speech on Monday that his efforts to forge a coalition of ideologically opposed parties could lead to a new government within days, and with it, Netanyahu’s removal from office after 12 years in power.
“We can end this next week,” Lapid said. “In a week the state of Israel can be in a new era with a different prime minister.”
In his speech and for the first time, Lapid referred to Bennett, a far-right religious nationalist and strong advocate for the settler movement in the Palestinian territories, as the “intended prime minister”.
Israel opposition parties agree to form new unity government
11 minutes ago
Israeli opposition parties have reached an agreement to form a new government that would end Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as prime minister.
Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, announced an eight-faction unity coalition had been formed.
Under a rotation arrangement, the head of the right-wing Yamina party, Naftali Bennett, would serve as prime minister first before handing over to Mr Lapid.
There still needs to be a parliamentary vote before the government is sworn in.
In a statement, Mr Lapid said he had informed President Reuven Rivlin of the agreement, adding: "I pledge that this government will work in the service of all Israeli citizens, those who voted for it and those who did not.
Israel's Netanyahu poised to lose power to new government
20 minutes ago
Israel's parliament has begun debating the formation of a new government that would end 12 years of rule by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The prospective government - an unprecedented coalition of parties - has a razor-thin majority of one seat.
If it is approved in a vote on Sunday, it would bring to an end years of political paralysis in which three elections resulted in stalemate.
Right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett is poised to become PM.
In a power-sharing deal, Mr Bennett, who heads the Yamina party, will hold office until September 2023, when he will hand over to Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid, for a further two years.
The Israeli parliament on Sunday voted to form a new coalition government.
The vote formally ends Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year rule.
Naftali Bennett assumed the role of prime minister while Netanyahu became the opposition leader.
The Israeli parliament on Sunday voted to form a new coalition government, unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led the country for the last 12 years.
Naftali Bennett, a longtime Netanyahu ally turned adversary, assumed the role of prime minister and was sworn in Sunday, according to a report from the Associated Press. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will continue as leader of the Likud party and is now the opposition leader.
(Axios) Background: While still in school in 1999, Bennett and three friends decided to launch a startup — without having a plan beyond wanting to capitalize on the internet gold rush. The company would become Cyota, which began as a provider of payment solutions to banks but would later pivot to cybersecurity and anti-fraud solutions for financial institutions.
Bennett moved from Israel to New York to run the company, "and failed utterly for around three years" until Cytota switched products, he recently told the "Bootstrapped" podcast.
Cyota would go on to raise over $30 million (back when that was a decent amount of money for a tech startup), with Bennett briefly replaced as CEO before returning. In late 2005, the company was acquired by RSA Security for $145 million.
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Bennett later would be brought in briefly to lead Soluto, as what one Israeli tech source calls the "experienced, mature CEO." That company would later sell to private equity.
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The bottom line: Bennett should be a boon for Israel's tech startup scene, which saw VC-backed investment hit a seven-year high last year. He might also become a template for VC-backed founders in other countries who are seeking election to the highest of offices.
New Israeli Government, Same Israeli Apartheid
by Ariel Gold
June 14, 2021
(Common Dreams) After 12 years, Israel finally inaugurated a new prime minister. While being hailed by many as the opportunity for a fresh start, Naftali Bennett is at best a continuation of Netanyahu's policies and at worst an ideologue whose positions are to the right of Netanyahu's.
In 2013, as Middle East peace talks were set to resume after a five-year freeze, Bennett reportedly proclaimed to Israeli National Security Adviser Ya'akov Amidror, "I've killed lots of Arabs in my life—and there's no problem with that."
In 2014, Bennett, who had previously been the director of the Yesha Settlements Council, contradicted Netanyahu by asserting that all Jewish Israelis living in the West Bank, even those living in outposts that violate Israeli law, should remain under Israeli sovereignty, and called for more settlement construction. "This is the time to act," he said. "We must continue building in all corners of the Land of Israel, with determination and without being confused. We are building and we will not stop."
In 2016, as Israel's Minister of Education, Bennett called on Israeli Jews to "give our lives" to annex the West Bank. While this might seem relatively innocuous, it was not. Bennett's remarks invoked Kahanism, a Jewish supremacist ideology, based on the views of Rabbi Meir Kahane, that calls for violence and terrorism to be used to secure Israel as an ethno-nationalist state. In 1994, Israeli settler and Kahane follower Baruch Goldstein massacred Palestinians in the West Bank Ibrahimi mosque. In 1988, the Kach party was banned from running for the Israeli Knesset. In 2004, the US State Department labeled Kach a terrorist organization.
Sunday, June 13, 2021, right before he was inaugurated to replace Netanyahu as the prime minister of Israel, Bennett doubled down on his anti-Palestinian views proclaiming that his government would "strengthen settlements across the whole of the Land of Israel."
(Vox) Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, having held the job continuously since 2009. Now, finally, the reign of “King Bibi” — a moniker earned by his lengthy stay in office and authoritarian inclinations — has come to an end.
…Over the past 12 years, Netanyahu has dominated Israeli politics. He’s not only successfully implemented a series of right-wing policies, such as entrenching Israel’s presence in the West Bank, but also consolidated a dangerous amount of power in his own hands. He is currently on trial for corruption charges stemming from, among other things, his attempt to buy off media outlets.
…Bennett will serve as prime minister first, for two years, with Lapid taking over from him after that. It’s a power split that partly reflects the internal divisions inside the coalition, which depends on votes from eight different parties on the right, center, and left. One of the eight is Ra’am, an Islamist party and the first Arab party ever to join an Israeli governing coalition.
Calling this arrangement unstable is an understatement.
Thousands of right-wing nationalists marched through parts of Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday, with some chanting racist slogans, as Israel was said to have warned Hamas, via Egyptian mediators, of a tough and immediate response to any rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Police estimated turnout in Jerusalem at 5,000 participants and some 2,000 officers were deployed across the city for the event.
Footage posted to social media showed the right-wing marchers chanting “Death to Arabs” as well as “Shuafat is on fire,” referring to the East Jerusalem neighborhood, and “Jerusalem is ours.”
While voicing support for the decision to approve the march, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid immediately denounced the chants of “Death to Arabs.”
“The fact that there are extremist elements for whom the flag of Israel represents hate and racism is revolting and unforgivable,” Lapid tweeted. “It is incomprehensible that people can hold the Israeli flag in one hand and shout ‘Death to Arabs’ at the same time. This isn’t Judaism or Israeliness, and it is definitely not what our flag symbolizes. These people are a disgrace to the nation of Israel.”
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked Hamas armed compounds in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in response to the launching of incendiary ballons from the territory that caused fires in fields in southern Israel.
In a statement, the military said that it was "ready for all scenarios, including renewed fighting in the face of continued terrorist acts emanating from Gaza".
The attacks, following an Israeli nationalist march in East Jerusalem that angered Palestinians, were the first launched by Israel and Gaza militants since an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire ended 11 days of cross-border fighting last month.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future