Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett on Sunday recanted his previous statements to the effect that he would prefer to be in prison rather than carry out military orders to evacuate settlements…
“Every fighter in the IDF that is given an order that is not clearly illegal, that was approved by the Israeli government, be it God forbid, the evacuation of an Arab village or Jewish community — has to carry that order out, and this includes Naftali Bennett as well,” he said. "I did not have the right to say what I did, and I have changed my outlook. I am a major in the reserves and the harmful impact my words had on all the youth that see me as a role model upsets me. I came to the conclusion that I don''t have the right to voice my personal opinion in light of the repercussions," he said.
Nevertheless, addressing the matter of a Palestinian state, Bennett expressed clear unadulterated opposition.
"If we do what we did in the Gaza Strip, where we handed over 100% of the land to the Palestinians and a few days later rockets starting flying out of there, and haven''t stopped to this day, then it will happen again. I think we should never allow a Palestinian state to be formed inside Israel."
I am mixed up. Which way is Bennett going? Middle, right, center, nationalist, religious, yuppie?
Why did he need, once again, to go back on a comment he made a week ago in Nissim Mishal''s Channel 2 show, saying he would ask to be exempted from orders to remove settlers from their homes were he in such a position, and flirted with the possibility of order refusal.
"It is an integral part of being a soldier to refuse orders on matters of conscience," Bennett had said then.
Then I read this
Sources close to Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett told Arutz Sheva that he was misquoted Sunday by IDF Radio. The radio station''s website quoted him as saying that “any IDF soldier who is given orders that are not clearly illegal and were handed down by the government… must follow those orders, and that includes Naftali Bennett.” Sources near Bennett said that the quote in IDF Radio, which included a reference to the possible eviction of Jewish communities, was false. Speaking at a political event in Herzliya Sunday, Bennett explained that some orders are obviously illegal and every soldier must decide if he will carry them out. He added that he explained his views on the matter when he was asked how he would handle such orders in the Channel 2 television interview ten days ago.
First of all, can anyone explain to me why Bennett needed to bring the subject up? Even if asked, why he couldn''t say simply ''I clarified my remarks and my intention already, more than once, and there is no need to go over the same ground''?
Second, does Bennett really know how to handle the media as a politician?
Third, since this evening he’ll be appearing in a special profile with Yaakov Eilon on…Channel Two, could it be that he was obligated, if not forced, to do the Mishal Cham program?
Truth to tell, I wouldn''t be surprised if the Bayit Yehudi begins to lose votes now, similar to what happened to the Likud/Yisrael Beiteinu.
At the very least they should know that the more they have to ''explain'' what their candidates meant to say, the more people there will be who, like me, will be mixed up.
^