Religious and secular, right and left, diaspora and Israeli, veteran citizens and new immigrants: too many parts of the Jewish world now speak past one another instead of listening to one another. The result is not merely political noise. It is a weakening of the national solidarity that made Zionism possible in the first place.
The trauma of the October 7 massacre exposed that weakness with terrible clarity. But this crisis did not begin on October 7, 2023, and it will not end there. The attack was the most painful proof of a deeper reality: when a democracy becomes consumed by internal warfare, its institutions lose focus, its public loses trust, and its enemies gain confidence.
That is what happened in the years leading up to the massacre. Israeli politics became increasingly dominated by legal battles, coalition survival, and ideological confrontation, even as Hamas expanded its capabilities in Gaza and Iran deepened its regional strategy through proxies surrounding Israel. The result was not only a security failure. It was also a failure of governance.
This is why the public debate in Israel is no longer only about personalities. It is about governing philosophy. Benjamin Netanyahu’s era brought important achievements. Those accomplishments matter.
But so do the limits of a system that, over time, became too dependent on one man’s political survival. The same era also produced corrosive polarization, weakened institutional trust, and left many Israelis feeling that the state was managing crises rather than preparing for the future.
Naftali Bennett as Israel's future prime minister
In a February 2026 Channel 12 survey, 36% of respondents said Naftali Bennett was better suited to be prime minister, while Netanyahu trailed behind. In another Channel 12 poll, 52% rated Bennett as the most “unifying” figure among leading contenders for the premiership. That shift matters because Israel now needs something more than charisma or tactical brilliance.
It needs renewal. The most persuasive case for a new leadership model is not ideological extremism in either direction. It is a pragmatic middle-right: strong on security, serious about institutions, economically reformist, socially inclusive, and capable of communicating effectively not only with Israel’s domestic camps but also with allies abroad. That is the model increasingly associated with Naftali Bennett’s return to public life.
At a February 2026 event in Tel Aviv, Bennett pledged a “decent, competent, transparent” government focused on security, lowering the cost of living, ministerial accountability, and immediate implementation rather than more committees and delay.
Why is this middle-right approach so important?
Nationally, because Israel cannot afford a government that speaks only to one camp. A durable governing majority in Israel must be able to communicate with religious Zionists, secular centrists, reservists, young families crushed by rising prices, and immigrant communities who want to feel fully seen in the Zionist story.
A politics that is too far to the right may rally a base but alienate the very citizens needed for national cohesion. A politics that is too far left may speak the language of reconciliation while underestimating the reality of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Israel needs a leadership culture that can hold two truths at once: security threats are real, and internal unity is indispensable.
Internationally, the same logic applies. Israel’s alliance with the United States must not become dependent on one party, one president, or one ideological trend. President Donald Trump is currently in the White House, but no serious Israeli strategy can assume that any one American administration or political mood will last forever.
Israel needs leadership capable of speaking credibly to Republicans and Democrats, evangelical Christians, Black and Brown communities, liberal Jews, security hawks, and democratic institutionalists. A mature alliance with America must be bipartisan, strategic, and resilient.
That is also why inclusion inside Israel is not a side issue. It is part of statecraft. As a Black Ethiopian Jew, Israeli, and American, I know how powerfully Israel’s diversity can answer the slanders directed against it.
Ethiopian Jews are not an afterthought to Jewish history. We are part of one of its oldest chapters. Ethiopian Israelis have served with distinction in the IDF and in public life, yet our community still faces economic barriers and the painful reality that relatives remain separated in Ethiopia. Bringing every Jewish community fully into the life of the state is not charity. It is Zionism in action.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks frequently reminded audiences that internal hatred destroyed the Second Temple. The sages attributed that catastrophe to sinat chinam – baseless hatred among Jews. When Jews fight one another more than they confront their enemies, the nation becomes vulnerable.
The practical implications of this leadership model are straightforward: restore confidence in Israel’s security institutions through serious investigation and reform; lower the cost of living through competition and deregulation; invest in technology and infrastructure; support reservists and the working public; expand inclusive national cohesion; and rebuild diplomacy on professionalism and moral credibility.
Bennett’s recent public agenda has centered exactly on those themes: security, cost of living, accountability, and a government that works. Israel does not need endless political war. It does not need another chapter in the struggle to preserve one-man rule. It needs leadership that can unify without erasing differences, defend the country without weakening its democracy, and speak to the world without forgetting who the Jewish people actually are.
The next phase of Zionism will not be secured by weapons alone. It will be secured by good leadership.
The writer is an international educator, community activist, and diplomacy expert. He has served in New York City as an investigation officer for the Supreme and Family Courts and the Israel Police and represented the Israeli Knesset in international public affairs. He holds a doctorate in International Educational Leadership from Yeshiva University, New York.