Bennett: I've shifted liberal on religion and state issues

Former prime minister and Yachad party chairman Naftali Bennett appeared Thursday on the Radio 103fm program hosted by Roni Bar On and Maya Ziv Wolf, and spoke about the election campaign ahead of voting day, the shifts in his positions, and his plans for the day after if he is elected prime minister.

At the opening of the interview, Bar On referred to Yachad's unusual door-to-door campaign, describing it as "a brave campaign by a commando fighter knocking on enemy strongholds". Bennett explained his intensive daily routine: "This is maybe the most innovative and creative campaign I've seen in my life, but it's not easy. Yesterday, for example, I started at five-thirty in Petach Tikva with walking tours of 7 to 12 kilometers on the street, then podcasts, lectures to industrialists, an AI conference and a party conference in Kfar Saba". According to him, "My internal feeling is that these days are the most fateful days in the history of the state, and therefore I'm not keeping accounts and I'll do everything so that our bloc wins".

"My path to victory: go to Likud strongholds from morning to night"

Asked by the hosts about the stagnation in the polls and the sense that the Likud bloc is stuck in a tie, Bennett laid out his strategy: "I'll sketch out the path to victory for you. First of all, just go to Likud strongholds from morning to night and meet Likudniks. The second thing is young people, we've made a revolution, until a few months ago Ben Gvir was the king and today I've overtaken him, I explain to them what this nonsense is versus the real things. The third thing is TikTok, Instagram and podcasts, and the last thing is not to deal with Bibi, but to present clear plans on what we'll do".

Bennett was also asked about the difference between the old Naftali Bennett and the one of 2026: "On some things my positions haven't changed and on some they've changed dramatically. On security issues I'm full right-wing, against a Palestinian state and in favor of offensive security operations. On religion and state I've changed very much toward a much more liberal direction, I'm in favor of full rights for the LGBT community, and that public transport will operate according to the decision of each city".

"0% chance to fix Israel with Netanyahu"

In response to the question of whether he would commit not to sit under Benjamin Netanyahu, Bennett was unequivocal: "Netanyahu must go home and he will not be part of the government. The story is not personal and I don't hate him, but there is 0% chance to fix Israel with him, because he bears direct responsibility for the massacre and shirks it. He initiated the suitcases and cash from Qatar, the conception of Hamas as an asset, and the collapse before Sinwar".

Bennett added and compared his past policy to that of Netanyahu: "My policy was the opposite by 180 degrees. He contained rockets and incendiary balloons, and I determined in the first week that I would not contain a single balloon or kite, we attacked in response and it stopped completely".

To Maya Ziv Wolf's question about lessons from the past in choosing people, Bennett admitted: "I didn't err a little, I erred a lot. I learned the lesson and assembled the most professional and serious list, a team of CEOs in color-blindness and gender, including Keren Turner, Merav Cohen and Merav Ben Ari. I have no bad word about Lieberman, Gadi and Yair, but I'm more experienced as prime minister, education minister, economy minister and cabinet member".

"Dismantle the anti-Zionist chareidi state through money"

Regarding the day after and the urgent actions of the next government, Bennett said: "I think the polls are wrong, we'll bring a Zionist majority, appoint a Knesset speaker and establish a state commission of inquiry. The central thing that will define the state's existence is to dismantle the anti-Zionist chareidi state that has arisen within us. I love our chareidi brothers, the problem is that they don't serve in the army and that chareidi children are educated in schools that don't teach English and mathematics but hate Israel".

Bennett emphasized that the move will be done through economics: "We won't do it through arrests, but through the 50 money pipes that maintain this chareidi state and flow budgets to it. We've mapped all 50 regulations, and I have the team to do it and it will succeed".