In case anyone missed the speech by HaBayit HaYehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett at the Local Government Conference on Feb. 14, he posted a video of it on his Facebook page along with a full transcript. The speech, delivered the day after the police recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for graft in Cases 1000 and 2000, included criticism of Netanyahu’s ethics and behavior.

This was much more than an act of defiance by Bennett. It also went beyond an attempt to garner media attention, and by extension that of the public, as the most “bold and ethical” Cabinet member, while the other ministers gave Netanyahu their backing without reservations. It was, first and foremost, a cold and calculated opening salvo in the war over who will succeed Netanyahu as leader of the Israeli right.

Speaking after Netanyahu, Bennett expressed his admiration for the prime minister and made a point of showing empathy for him. He complimented Netanyahu for his sense of responsibility and dedication in his management of the state and its security. Bennett added that he had no doubt that the prime minister would never do anything to harm the country’s safety and security. He told the audience how he had joined with Netanyahu after the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when Netanyahu was still chairman of the opposition, “in order to help the nationalist camp return to the country’s leadership.” That was why he left the high-tech world, Bennett explained.

After so many compliments, however, the speech took a turn, with Bennett taking small but painful little jabs at Netanyahu. He said, for example, “The prime minister isn’t expected to be perfect or to live an ascetic life, but he should be someone who causes people to say, ‘That’s the way to act.’” The speech grew increasingly critical of Netanyahu by the minute. At its climax, Bennett declared, “Receiving gifts so extensively for so long does not meet the expectations of the citizenry of the State of Israel.” He concluded by extending his support for the very police whom Netanyahu attacks so avidly, expressing the hope that Netanyahu is cleared and announcing that he would remain in the coalition until the attorney general makes his final decision on whether to indict.