""Nonsense" • A flattering poll? Naftali Bennett is not considering returning to political life

September 4, 2022   

Will he return to politics? Those around Naftali Bennett deny the report presented on Channel 12, according to which he is considering returning to the political system already in the current elections following a survey presented to him, predicting a safe passage of the threshold. According to a report by Anna Barsky in Maariv, Bennett stated that one survey was indeed sent to him that was not his initiative, but that he is not considering returning to political life. The Zionist Spirit Party, headed by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, called the possibility of Bennett's return "nonsense" - and made it clear that the party continues to move forward. This week, Shaked and Yoaz Hendel plan to launch two programs: one on the issue of governance and the other on the issue of housing. Zionist Spirit continues to work on designing the list against the backdrop of continued contacts between Shaked's emissaries and Yossi Rodney's people from the Jewish Home. Both lists emphasize that they are not impressed by the surveys, which indicate that both could burn votes and remain out of the Knesset. Barsky notes in Maariv that it seems that Rodney is less convinced that they can get Shaked to give up the spots on the list that belong to her partners Hendel and Zvi Hauser, in order to give them to religious-national representatives, thus leading to a joint run, which may help them pass the threshold. The Jewish Home claims that they have begun to examine the possibilities of other political alliances. The program "Ulpan Shishi" on Channel 12 reported that the survey presented to Bennett determined that if he runs, the party would become "the tip of the scales" and would take votes mainly from Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz - but also from the segment of undecideds, the vast majority of whom are religious-national.