Former Prime Minister and chairman of Together, Naftali Bennett, shared a comprehensive plan detailing the steps he’d take as prime minister to “build Israel from scratch” in a press conference on Tuesday.
Bennett described his plan, named the ‘New Covenant,’ as “a foundational plan to repair the state,” and said he would “fix every major area of life in Israel.”
“The agreement between the state and its citizens has been broken. The last government destroyed many state institutions, and they can no longer simply be repaired - they need to be dismantled and rebuilt,” Bennett said.
According to Bennett, Israel’s next government should be “a founding government, a [David] Ben-Gurion-style government,” and said that he has spent the past two years working with professionals in various aspects to build plans addressing the core problems facing the country.
“The instruction I gave them was: How would you build an excellent state from scratch?” he said.
Bennett's plan includes higher educational standards, crackdown on 'ultra-Orthodox state'
Regarding education, Bennett called for a “public education at the level of a private school.
“Today, the state spends an average of about NIS 50,000 per child,” he stated. “That is the cost of a private school, without the quality of a private school.”
The education reform would completely dismantle and rebuild the Education Ministry, focusing on “shutting down unnecessary mechanisms, and direct the money to children, classrooms, and teachers.”
Bennett referred to the state’s current relationship with the haredi community as “a slow-motion suicide.”
“We will dismantle the ultra-Orthodox state within a state and build one Jewish, democratic, prosperous, and strong state.” he said.
Bennett noted that the haredi community teaches anti-Zionist ideology, and said the New Covenant would “turn off the funding tap for education that harms the state and provide an excellent alternative.”
Bennett vows to build new security cabinet, break up 'food cartels'
“We will launch an all-out war against food cartels,” Bennett declared, referring primarily to the Chinese company Bright Food, which owns Tnuva and, according to Bennett, instructed its Israeli management to “raise prices, squeeze as much as possible until the public cries out, and then keep squeezing.
“Foreign interests have penetrated the food market, and they are succeeding because there is no competition. We will break them up and lower prices,” he said.
Bennett stated that politicians have lacked the courage to confront monopolies in Israel, but he would work to reform Israel’s economy as soon as he is in power.
“I say from here to the Chinese owners of Tnuva, to Shufersal, Unilever, Diplomat, and everyone else: On my first day in office, the party is over.”
Bennett stated that as leader, he’d work with the IDF, Shin Bet, and all law enforcement branches to build a new security cabinet, using the “Al Capone method” - which refers to taking down major criminals by pursuing them through smaller offences, such as tax evasion, rather than violent, harder-to-prove crimes - to fight organized crime.
“Protection rackets, shootings in the streets, and the takeover of entire areas are terrorism and a threat to national security, and I will officially declare them a national security threat, not merely a criminal one,” he said.
“We started this during the government I led, with great success, and we will soon continue the work and do it faster and more forcefully.”
Plans to 'restore security', devolve authority to local governments
Bennett stated he would recruit 20,000 additional soldiers to the IDF that are “so desperately needed in order to win,” and called to adopt a policy of zero tolerance regarding Israel’s enemies.
“We will restore security and move from rounds of escalation to decisive victory. Not a drone. Not a rocket. And certainly not force build-up.”
Bennett also said he would work to end Israel’s diplomatic isolation, working with regional allies to “shape the destiny” of the Middle East.
“In the realm of public perception, we will get rid of the TikTok ministers who are causing us damage and establish a national public diplomacy body. Just as we have the excellence of Unit 8200, there will be an 8300 that can compete with Qatar, Iran, and Israel’s enemies around the world.”
Finally, Bennett slammed the current government’s lack of accountability, saying he would manage the country the way he managed companies.
“Citizens will receive excellent service because we will run the government according to high-tech standards, with measurable KPIs, personal accountability, and transparency,” he said.
The plan would include closing seven government ministries, devolving authority to local governments, and making political appointments based on professional merit, not personal favors.
“Ministers will be accountable to you and work for you, not for party primaries.”