Bennett, Naftali,
1972-, Israeli politician and prime minister (2021-), b. Haifa. The son of
American immigrant parents, Naftali served in the Israeli army (1990-96) and
then graduated with a law degree from the Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem. In
1999, he moved to New York City, where he formed a cyber security firm with
branches in the U.S. and Israel; he sold the firm in 2005, and then founded
a second technology company, Soluto (2009-13). In 2011, he was elected to
the Knesset. He was appointed Minister of Economy, Religious Services, and
of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs in 2013, leaving those posts to become
Minister of Education in 2015. In 2018, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Bennett’s
bid to become Minister of Defense, and dismissed him from his government in
June 2019. Bennett briefly lost his seat in the Knesset, but returned
representing the new United Right party in 2020. He formed a new coalition
with seven other parties from across the political spectrum to defeat
Netanyahu in June 2021, by a single vote, becoming Israel’s first new
prime minister in 12 years. While he is described as an ultra-nationalist,
strongly opposing a Palestinian state and advocating for further Jewish
settlements, it is unclear what policy direction his new coalition will
take.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Israeli History: Biographies
