How Trump's strong support for Israel harms pro-settler party
The settler-friendly US administration is stealing away the agenda of the Israeli national-religious party and depriving it of an important enemy.
The Aug. 2 tweet by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, chair of HaBayit HaYehudi, was aimed at the soft underbelly of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. "Enough with the excuses and these stories that we're only talking about children. It's not true. Most of those sending these kites and burning balloons (from Gaza into Israel) are adult terrorists," Bennett lashed out. This personal attack was generated by Liberman's comments earlier that day saying, "Hamas is sending children to launch arson balloons from homes."
This is not the first time in recent weeks that Bennett has clashed with Liberman, accusing him of a lax policy on Gaza. Last month, according to leaks from meetings of the defense Cabinet, Bennett clashed with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on the same issue and asked him why the army doesn't just shoot the Palestinians dispatching arson kites and incendiary balloons. Liberman struck back, defending the country's top soldier and then telling the Ynet news site, "A politician who seeks to gain at the expense of the IDF chief is the most disgusting thing." Liberman understood that Bennett's swipe at Eizenkot was in fact directed at himself and had to do with power plays within the right-wing camp. Liberman engaged in the highly publicized mudslinging against Bennett with his eyes wide open.
Bennett's recurring attacks against his nemesis, the defense minister, however, are not having the desired effect — at least not according to polls indicating that HaBayit HaYehudi continues to tread in place under his leadership. On a good day, polls give it seven to 10 Knesset seats and usually about eight, the same number it received in the 2015 elections. For someone who sees himself (potentially) as the leader of the political right and a putative prime minister, such figures do not bode well. Even in polls that examine Bennett's suitability as prime minister, the results are bad. They usually give him single-digit support, placing him low on the list of possible candidates and way below Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
So what went wrong for Bennett, the shining star of the right who burst onto the public stage in the 2013 elections and took 12 Knesset seats, turning a party on its last legs into a hot political brand?
