Naftali Bennett could be Israel’s next prime minister
Pro-settler Yamina leader Naftali Bennett could soon become Israel’s first religious prime minister.
Leader of the Israeli right-wing Yamina party Naftali Bennett addresses supporters at his party's campaign headquarters, after the end of voting in the fourth national election in two years, Tel Aviv, Israel, March 24, 2021. - Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images
May 7, 2021
Imagine Ross Perot, who ran as an independent in the 1992 US presidential elections and pulled in fewer than 19% of the vote, winning Electoral College support and moving into the White House instead of the winner, Bill Clinton, or Republican challenger George Bush. That is precisely how things stand in Israel, with one significant difference: Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party garnered 6% of the vote in the March 2021 elections, not 19%, but his prospects of becoming Israel’s next prime minister are looking pretty good.