I support Naftali Bennett!
By JEREMY SALTAN
02/21/2013 21:39
The writer is a Bayit Yehudi Central Committee member.
Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett makes post-election speech at Kfar Maccabia, January 22, 2013. Photo: TOVAH LAZAROFF
On January 22, 345,985 people voted for the Bayit Yehudi party led by Naftali
Bennett, leading to an impressive 12-seat showing. It was the continuation of
the revolution that started when 53,875 people signed up last summer to become
members of Bayit Yehudi.
Some 1,080 of those people were chosen as
Central Committee members when the party elected its Knesset list in
November.
I have heard a lot of criticism from our voters toward Bennett
and the coalition negotiating team.
There are many people who don’t
understand why we didn’t take the Likud “deal” and are worried that we might end
up in the opposition. I’d like to assure our voters that Bayit Yehudi wants to
be in the coalition, and we are working toward that goal.
So far, we have
been offered portfolios with no related substance. A portfolio isn’t worth much
if you don’t know its budget or the government guideline policies on the related
issues. Livni chose to sign a deal, and in her joint press conference with
Netanyahu we heard nothing of the budget or the government guideline policy of
the ministries she accepted.
Bennett held a televised event Wednesday
night asking Netanyahu to treat us as real partners. Our platform is not a
secret, and the issues matter more to us than the portfolios.
Wednesday
afternoon, the Bayit Yehudi Central Committee voted on a number of internal
issues. The votes became a sort of confidence vote. I wrote a letter to my
fellow committee members asking them to allow our chairman to lead, reminding
them that a large part of leadership is trust, and we should trust our leader.
Despite a small minority that responded negatively to my letter, Bennett
received the trust of the Central Committee by a large margin.
I now ask
that the voters of Bayit Yehudi grant Naftali Bennett and his team the same
trust that they received from our Central Committee. I believe with all of my
heart that he will lead us to the coalition, most importantly on the right
terms. Let’s not get caught up in the spin.
I trust Naftali. How about
you?
The writer is a Bayit Yehudi Central Committee member. He served as
English- speaking campaign manager for Bayit Yehudi in the recent elections.