Naftali Bennett’s new political party will focus on strengthening Israeli security and integrating the ultra-Orthodox into the military and workforce, according to paperwork filed by the former prime minister and made public by the Israeli Corporations Authority on Tuesday.
The party, registered under the temporary name “Bennett 2026,” aims to “restore security to Israel, and restore the people’s trust in Israel’s ability to defend its borders and the interior of the country while implementing an active security concept,” the registration application stated.
It also seeks “to lead Israel in the spirit of the founders of the state and the builders of the country in a way that will ensure its unity, continuity and prosperity as a model Jewish and democratic state” and “to advance it as a strong, sovereign state, and grow in all areas of life, while integrating all its citizens in carrying the security, civil and economic burden.”
Among those listed as the party’s founders are Bennett; his wife, Gilat; former Communications Ministry director general Liran Avissar Ben-Horin; former Strauss CEO Gadi Lesin; and Bruria Naim Erman, founder of the PR firm Community Relations.
The founding members also include Giora Levi, Bennett’s commander during his time in the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit; Ofer Ogash, who ran for Knesset as part of Bennett’s previous party; and former Target Market CEO Nir Novak.
The Times of Israel’s sister site, Zman Yisrael, has previously reported that Novak is working as Bennett’s chief of staff.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his wife Gilat at the Israel Prize ceremony in Jerusalem, on Israel’s Independence Day, on May 5, 2022. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
Bennett’s longtime political partner Ayelet Shaked, who is widely expected to join the new party, is not listed.
Bennett, who led the now-defunct right-wing Yamina party, has been out of office since the 2022 collapse of his diverse coalition government, which in 2021 ousted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the premiership after 12 consecutive years during which Israel underwent unprecedented political turmoil, including four national elections in three years.
Speculation about Bennett’s return to politics has been circulating for some time, with Channel 12 reporting in September 2024 that the national-religious politician had started making preparations for the formation of a new party.
While Bennett’s announcement of the establishment of his new party last month was welcomed by the opposition, a source familiar with Bennett’s thinking cautioned that the step was only the first in the process of returning to politics and was not an official declaration of his political comeback.
Comparing the move to an American politician establishing an exploratory committee ahead of a possible campaign, the source said that Bennett currently does not have anyone on the payroll, no infrastructure in place and no slate of candidates, and is in no rush to declare a Knesset run anytime soon.
Polling has shown Bennett pulling ahead of Netanyahu should he choose to run, with one Panels poll from mid-April finding that a hypothetical Bennett party would garner 29 seats compared to only 19 for Netanyahu’s Likud.
Yamina chair Naftali Bennett (C) and party members seen with supporters at a party event in Petah Tikva after election day, March 23, 2021. (Avi Dishi/Flash90)
The 53-year old Bennett, who was hospitalized for several days last month and underwent cardiac catheterization, has been highly critical of Netanyahu, including over his failure to conscript significant numbers of Haredim during the course of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
In a speech in Ness Ziona on Monday, he declared that most of the leaders of the coalition’s constituent parties are either draft dodgers or failed to serve in any meaningful way.
“So there is a nation with a majority that serves being led by a leadership that pushes evasion, and that must change, and the people want the big change,” he said.
Only two of the six coalition party leaders, Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, had what Bennett described as “meaningful” army service under their belts.
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