| Revision as of 00:04, 23 February 2014 view sourceSepsis II (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,988 edits Undid revision 596700390 by Yambaram (talk)reporting a politician making extreme, evil, statements is not undue← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:19, 23 February 2014 view source Shalom11111 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,992 edits adding info. you can't just tell a part of the story. it's called pov-pushingNext edit → | ||
| Line 70: | Line 70: | ||
| Bennett's suggests that Israel must learn to live with the Palestinian problem without a "surgical action" of separation to two states: "I have a friend who's got ] in his rear end, and he's been told that it can be removed surgically but it would leave him disabled... So he decided to live with it. There are situations where insisting on perfection can lead to more trouble than it's worth." Bennett's "Shrapnel in the butt" thus quickly became widely known as representing his view of the Palestinian problem.<ref><http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/naftali-bennett-blunt-speech.html></ref><ref><http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/bennett-s-shrapnel-comment-may-have-been-blunt-but-his-message-was-clear-no-two-state-solution.premium-1.531203></ref><ref><http://www.timesofisrael.com/what-occupation-asks-bennett-rejecting-two-state-solution/></ref><ref>, Jerusalem Post, June 21, 2013.</ref> | Bennett's suggests that Israel must learn to live with the Palestinian problem without a "surgical action" of separation to two states: "I have a friend who's got ] in his rear end, and he's been told that it can be removed surgically but it would leave him disabled... So he decided to live with it. There are situations where insisting on perfection can lead to more trouble than it's worth." Bennett's "Shrapnel in the butt" thus quickly became widely known as representing his view of the Palestinian problem.<ref><http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/naftali-bennett-blunt-speech.html></ref><ref><http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/bennett-s-shrapnel-comment-may-have-been-blunt-but-his-message-was-clear-no-two-state-solution.premium-1.531203></ref><ref><http://www.timesofisrael.com/what-occupation-asks-bennett-rejecting-two-state-solution/></ref><ref>, Jerusalem Post, June 21, 2013.</ref> | ||
| In response to ] in 2013, Bennett said Palestinian "terrorists" should be shot and is quoted to have said “I already killed lots of Arabs in my life, and there is absolutely no problem with that.”<ref name=Booth>{{cite web|last=Booth|first=William|title=Israel says Palestinian ‘incitement’ could undermine peace talks|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-says-palestinian-incitement-could-undermine-peace-talks/2014/01/06/f8964eae-76f9-11e3-a647-a19deaf575b3_story.html|publisher=The Washington Post|accessdate=9 January 2014|date=6|month=January|year=2014}}</ref> However, Bennett was widely condemned for these words, and ] ] said bennett's remark was just a joke.<ref>{{cite news|title=Israel's Everyday Racism — and How American Jews Turn a Blind Eye to It Read more: http://forward.com/articles/182171/israels-everyday-racism-and-how-american-jews-tu/#ixzz2u6DbprW5|url=http://forward.com/articles/182171/israels-everyday-racism-and-how-american-jews-tu/|accessdate=23 February 2014|newspaper=]|date=August 12, 2013}}</ref> | |||
| === Economy and society === | === Economy and society === | ||
Revision as of 00:19, 23 February 2014
Not to be confused with Natalie Bennett.
| Naftali Bennett | |
|---|---|
| נפתלי בנט | |
| File:Naftali-Bennett.jpg | |
| 24th Minister of the Economy of Israel | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 18 March 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Benjamin Netanyahu |
| Preceded by | Shalom Simhon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1972-03-25) 25 March 1972 (age 52) Haifa, Israel |
| Nationality | Israeli Jew |
| Political party | The Jewish Home |
| Other political affiliations | My Israel |
| Spouse |
Gilat Bennett (m. 1999) |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence(s) | Ra'anana, Israel |
| Alma mater | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Occupation | Politician, businessman |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Israel |
| Branch/service |  Israel Defense Forces |
| Years of service | 1990–1996 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Sayeret Matkal, Maglan |
| Battles/wars | South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000), Second Intifada, 2006 Lebanon War |
Template:Infobox member of the Knesset
Naftali Bennett (Template:Lang-he-n, born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician. He is the Minister of the Economy, and the leader of the right-wing political party The Jewish Home, as well as the extra-parliamentary movement My Israel.
After serving in the Sayeret Matkal and Maglan special forces units, Bennett became a software entrepreneur. In 1999, he co-founded and co-owned the encryption and network security software company Cyota, selling the company in 2005 for $145 million. He has also served as CEO of Soluto, a cloud computing service, sold in 2013 for a reported $100–130 million. He entered politics in 2006, serving as Chief of Staff for Benjamin Netanyahu until 2008. In 2011, together with Ayelet Shaked, he co-founded the My Israel extra-parliamentary movement. In 2012, he won the leadership election for The Jewish Home, the successor to the National Religious Party. The Jewish Home received 12 seats out of 120 in the 2013 Knesset elections.
Biography
Naftali Bennett was born in Haifa, Israel on 25 March 1972. He is the youngest of three sons born to American Jewish immigrants Jim and Myrna Bennett, who had made aliyah from San Francisco in 1967, one month after the Six-Day War. His father's Jewish roots come from Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. His maternal grandparents moved to San Francisco from Poland 20 years before the outbreak of World War II and made aliyah as seniors and settled on Vitkin Street in Haifa. Some of his mother's other family members who remained in Poland died in the Holocaust. Both parents of Naftali Bennett are Modern Orthodox Jews. After moving to Israel they volunteered for a few months at kibbutz Dafna, where they studied Hebrew. They then settled in the Ahuza neighborhood of Haifa, and became affluent. Jim Bennett was a successful real estate broker turned real estate entrepreneur. His mother Myrna was the deputy director general of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel's northern program. One of Naftali Bennett's two brothers Asher is a businessman who is now based in England. His second brother Daniel became an accountant, working for Zim Integrated Shipping Services.
Naftali Bennett attended Yavne Yeshiva High School in Haifa and became a youth leader (Madrich) with religious Zionist youth organization Bnei Akiva. During his national service in the Israel Defense Forces, he served in the Sayeret Matkal and Maglan units as a company commander and continues to serve in the reserves today, holding the rank of Major. Bennett served in Lebanon, in the Israeli security zone during the 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict. He took part in many operations, including Operation Grapes of Wrath. After his IDF service, Bennett went on to receive a law degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During the 2006 Lebanon War, he was called up as a reservist and participated in a search and destroy mission behind enemy lines, operating against Hezbollah rocket launchers.
Bennett moved to Upper East Side of Manhattan to build a career as a software entrepreneur. In 1999, he co-founded Cyota – an anti-fraud software company and served as its CEO. The company was sold in 2005 to RSA Security for $145 million, making Bennett a multi-millionaire in the process. Despite being sold, a stipulation of the deal allowed the Israeli arm of Cyota to remain intact. As a result, 400 Israelis are employed at the company’s Israeli offices in Beersheba and Herzliya. Bennett has also served as the CEO of Soluto, a technology company providing cloud-based service that enables remote support for personal computers and mobile devices in 2009, at a time when he and partner Lior Golan were engaged in raising funds for a myriad of Israeli technology startup companies. Soluto had hitherto raised $20 million from investors, including venture capital funds Giza Venture Capital, Proxima Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Index Ventures, Michael Arrington's CrunchFund, Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors and Initial Capital. The venture capital funds with which they were negotiating at the time knew and respected Bennett and wanted him to be part of the management of the company. A windfall sale of Soluto for a reported $100–130 million to an American company Asurion, was finalized in October 2013.
Since moving on from software entrepreneurship, Bennett returned to Israel and since then moved on towards a career in politics. His wife, Gilat, was originally secular, but now observes the Sabbath and keeps a kosher home. She is a professional pastry chef. The couple have four children, and live in Ra'anana. Like his brothers, Bennett is an Orthodox Jew.
Political career
After he took part in the 2006 Lebanon War, Bennett joined the Leader of the Opposition Benjamin Netanyahu and served as his Chief of Staff from 2006 to 2008. Among attending to other issues, he led a team which developed Netanyahu's educational reform plan. He also ran Netanyahu's primary campaign to lead the Likud party in August 2007. On 31 January 2010, Bennett was appointed as the director-general of the Yesha Council and led the struggle against the settlement freeze in 2010. He served in this position until January 2012.
In April 2011, together with Ayelet Shaked, he co-founded My Israel which claims to have 94,000 Israeli members. In April 2012 he founded a movement named "Yisraelim"—i.e., Israelis. The movement's main goals include increasing Zionism among centre-right supporters; increasing dialogue between the religious and nonreligious communities, and finally – promoting "The Israel Stability Initiative." Subsequently, Bennett resigned from the Likud and joined The Jewish Home, while announcing his candidacy for the party leadership. At the internal elections, on 6 November 2012, he won 67% of the votes, and was elected as head of The Jewish Home. In the 2013 legislative elections Bennett led the party to an achievement of 12 seats in the 19th Knesset.
Following his election to the Knesset, Bennett had to renounce his U.S. citizenship, which he had acquired through his parents. As a result of the elections, Bennett is now Minister of the Economy, Minister of Religious Services, Minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, and a Member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. As a senior Cabinet Member, he plays a major role in financial, political and security affairs.
Political positions
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
On February 2012, Bennett published a plan for managing the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, called "The Israel Stability Initiative." The plan is based in part on parts of earlier initiatives: "Peace on Earth" by Adi Mintz and the "Elon Peace Plan" by Binyamin Elon, and relies on the statements of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud party ministers that spoke in favor of unilateral annexation of the West Bank. Bennett opposes the creation of a Palestinian state: "I will do everything in my power to make sure they never get a state."
He suggests a tripartition of the Palestinian territories. Thus, Israel should unilaterally annex Area C, authority over the Gaza Strip should be transferred to Egypt, while Area A and Area B would remain with the Palestinian National Authority, but under the security umbrella of the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet to "ensure quiet, suppress Palestinian terrorism and prevent Hamas from taking over the territory." Area C constitutes 62% of the area and approximately 365,000 people live in Israeli settlements. The Palestinians that live in this area would be offered Israeli citizenship or a permanent residency status (between 48,000, according to Bennett, or as many as 150,000, according to other surveys). Finally, Israel would invest in creating roads so Palestinians can travel between Areas A and B without checkpoints, and invest in infrastructure and joint industrial zones, because "Peace grows from below—through people, and people in daily life." Bennett also resists immigration of Palestinian refugees now living outside of the West Bank, or the connection between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 2011, Bennett noted that there were about 50 factories in the West Bank industrial region where Israelis and Palestinians work together, and cited this as one workable approach to finding peace between the two sides.
Bennett's suggests that Israel must learn to live with the Palestinian problem without a "surgical action" of separation to two states: "I have a friend who's got shrapnel in his rear end, and he's been told that it can be removed surgically but it would leave him disabled... So he decided to live with it. There are situations where insisting on perfection can lead to more trouble than it's worth." Bennett's "Shrapnel in the butt" thus quickly became widely known as representing his view of the Palestinian problem.
In response to Israel's release of Palestinian terrorists in 2013, Bennett said Palestinian "terrorists" should be shot and is quoted to have said “I already killed lots of Arabs in my life, and there is absolutely no problem with that.” However, Bennett was widely condemned for these words, and Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau said bennett's remark was just a joke.
Economy and society
Bennett believes in a free economy and that private businesses are the engine for economic growth. He is in favor of social support of vulnerable populations such as the elderly and disabled. Bennett says Israel needs to break the monopoly of the tycoons, the big unions and the Ministry of Defense, that are, in his opinion, strangling the economy of Israel. In addition, he believes that the key to reducing disparities is equality of opportunity and investment in education in the periphery, to give tools to populations of weaker economic backgrounds. By doing so, Bennett believes weaker populations in Israel will be given the opportunity to succeed professionally and financially. He supports the provision of land to veterans in the periphery, in the Negev and Galilee, to promote a national solution to the problem of "affordable housing" and a more equitable distribution of the population in Israel. He has also pledged to remove heavy bureaucratic challenges to small and medium-sized Israeli businesses. Bennett is opposed to the implementation of same-sex marriage in Israel. He has in the past refused to meet with gay Orthodox groups, saying "there are more important issues."
As Economy Minister, Bennett has overseen a new strategy by Israel to increase trade with emerging markets around the world and reduce trade with Europe, so as to diversify it's foreign trade and wean Israel off dependence with trade with Europe. One of the reasons for this shift is to reduce the effect of possible future European boycotts and sanctions against Israel. According to the Financial Times, Bennett is the primary architect of this economic pivot. As part of this process, Bennett opened negotiations with Russia and China on free trade agreements, and oversaw continuing negotiations with India for a free trade agreement. He personally led economic delegations to China and India. While attending the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 2013 in Bali, Indonesia, Bennett held talks with delegations from some unspecified countries over the possibility of future free trade agreements. He also closed Israeli trade missions in Finland and Sweden and opened new ones in China, India, and Brazil.
Bennett has led a push to integrate Haredi men and Israeli-Arab women, most of whom are unemployed, into the workforce. According to Bennett, their integration into the workforce will greatly bolster economic growth. Under his "voucher plan," the Ministry of the Economy issues vouchers for hundreds of vocational schools that will allow Haredi men to avoid mandatory military service, or at least temporarily, in exchange for enrolling in a vocational school to learn a job. Bennett has also greatly bolstered aid and government programs for Arab women to encourage more of them to enter the workforce, with the goal of doubling their employment rate from 25 to 50 percent in five years.
See also
- List of Israeli politicians
- List of members of the nineteenth Knesset
- Thirty-third government of Israel
Notes
- Ruth Pollard (10 January 2013). "Far right spells danger for Netanyahu". The Age. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- Brent E. Sasley (18 January 2013). "A Centrist Government in Israel?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- Nick Meo (19 January 2013). "Israel's new political star Naftali Bennett's Jewish Home party determined to stop Palestinian state". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- "21 Knesset seats still up for grabs". Ynet. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- Bennett repeats success with new $100 million exit By David ShamahOctober 30, 2013, Times of Israel
- Israel’s election: A newly hatched hawk flies high
- Final election count: Right bloc ... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics
- ^ Revital Hovel (18 January 2013). "Deconstructing Naftali Bennett: Growing up to be a leader". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ "Naftali Bennett". The Jewish Home. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- http://www.nrg.co.il/online/54/ART2/411/899.html
- Thoroughly modern minister Naftali Bennett looks east for Israel's future
- ^ David Remnick: Naftali Bennett and Israel’s Rightward Shift : The New Yorker
- RSA Security to Acquire Cyota; Creates Leading Provider of Layered Authentication Solutions, RSA Security Inc. Press Release
- "Naftali Bennett could earn $600,000 from Soluto exit". Globes. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- Inbal Orpaz and Orr Hirschauge (30 October 2013). "Minister Naftali Bennett to pocket millions from sale of Israeli company". Haaretz. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
{{cite web}}: horizontal tab character in|author=at position 12 (help) - David Shamah (30 October 2013). "Bennett repeats success with new $100 million exit". Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ Naftali Bennett interview: 'There won't be a Palestinian state within Israel' | World news | guardian.co.uk
- Allison Kaplan Sommer (8 January 2013). "Naftali Bennett's American parents are kvelling with pride". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- The new great white hope of the religious right? | The Times of Israel
- Opinion: Israeli Election - by Gwynne Dyer
- ^ Bennett, Naftali. "The Israel Stability Initiative" (PDF). One State Solution Israel. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ Naftali Bennett's stability initiative - Doing what's good for Israel. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- Six new MKs must renounce foreign citizenship | JPost | Israel News
- "Naftali Bennett". Knesset. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
- David Remnick (21 January 2013), The settlers move to annex the West Bank—and Israeli politics. The New Yorker
- Chaim Levinson (17 January 2013), Bennett's West Bank plan ignores existence of about 100,000 Palestinians Haaretz
- Do West Bank Realities Defy Perceptions?, by Gary Rosenblatt, Jewish Week, Tuesday, January 25, 2011.
- <http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/naftali-bennett-blunt-speech.html>
- <http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/bennett-s-shrapnel-comment-may-have-been-blunt-but-his-message-was-clear-no-two-state-solution.premium-1.531203>
- <http://www.timesofisrael.com/what-occupation-asks-bennett-rejecting-two-state-solution/>
- Bennett urges 'coexistence' with Palestinians, Lapid calls for 'honest divorce', Jerusalem Post, June 21, 2013.
- Booth, William (6). "Israel says Palestinian 'incitement' could undermine peace talks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - "Israel's Everyday Racism — and How American Jews Turn a Blind Eye to It Read more: http://forward.com/articles/182171/israels-everyday-racism-and-how-american-jews-tu/#ixzz2u6DbprW5". The Jewish Daily Forward. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
{{cite news}}: External link in|title= - ""לשחרר המשק מהחנק של הוועדים, הטייקונים, משרד הביטחון ומינהל מקרקעי ישראל" - בחירות בישראל - דה מרקר TheMarker". Themarker.com. 12 February 1997. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- http://www.israelim.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%93%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8.pdf
- Matti Friedman: The new (secular) face of religious Zionism, Times of Israel, December 26, 2012
- "על תכניתה הכלכלית של שלי יחימוביץ, על שכל ישר, ומה בעצם צריך לעשות | הבית היהודי בראשות נפתלי בנט". Baityehudi.org.il. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- OECD: Red tape hinders Israeli businesses
- Habayit Hayehudi leader: Israel cannot recognize same-sex marriage
- Israel: trading partners
- Israel wants to include talent sharing in FTA with India
- Bennett: Ultra-Orthodox scholars can boost Israeli high-tech
- Putting All Israelis to Work
References
- "Biography of Minister Naftali Bennett" (PDF). Israel Ministry of Economy. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- Vick, Karl (18 January 2013). "An Hour with Naftali Bennett: Is the Right-Wing Newcomer the New Face of Israel?". Time. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- Leibovitz, Liel (14 January 2013). "Zionism's New Boss". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- Remnick, David (21 January 2013). "The Party Faithful". The New Yorker. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
External links
- Naftali Bennett on The Jewish Home website
- Naftali Bennett on the Knesset website
- Naftali Bennett on Facebook
- Naftali Bennett at Crunchbase
- Template:Dmoz
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byDaniel Hershkowitz | Leader of The Jewish Home 2012 – present |
Incumbent |
| Current government of Israel | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu | |
| Ministers |
|
| Ministers without Portfolio | |
| Current members of the Knesset | |
|---|---|
| Likud | |
| Yesh Atid | |
| Shas | |
| National Unity | |
| NRP-RZ | |
| United Torah Judaism | |
| Yisrael Beiteinu | |
| Otzma Yehudit | |
| United Arab List | |
| Hadash–Ta'al | |
| Labor | |
| National Right | |
| Noam | |
| Independent | |
| Economy ministers of Israel | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
| Religious services ministers of Israel | ||
|---|---|---|
| | |
- 1972 births
- Living people
- American computer businesspeople
- American Orthodox Jews
- American people of Dutch-Jewish descent
- American people of German-Jewish descent
- American people of Israeli descent
- American people of Polish-Jewish descent
- American technology chief executives
- American technology company founders
- American Zionists
- Businesspeople in software
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
- Israeli chief executives
- Israeli Jews
- Israeli Orthodox Jews
- Israeli party leaders
- Israeli people of American descent
- Israeli people of Dutch descent
- Israeli people of German descent
- Israeli people of Polish descent
- Israeli soldiers
- Jewish military personnel
- Jewish politicians
- Members of the Knesset
- People from Haifa
- People from Ra'anana
- People who lost United States citizenship
- The Jewish Home politicians