Bennett Says Together Party Filed 17 Bills on Day One

Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Together party, said on Friday, November 13, that his party filed 17 bills on its first day in the Knesset. The bills are headed by a measure to redirect state budgets from draft evaders to those who serve.

"The repair has already begun. We're not waiting for anyone," Bennett wrote in a Facebook post. "For too long Israel has not been managed, the systems have been neglected, and Israeli citizens who work hard and pay taxes are not getting the service they deserve. So we stormed into the Knesset and got to work."

The post was Bennett's first comment after a week in which he had kept silent on efforts to form a government. In it, he addressed the activity of the bloc seeking to replace the outgoing government since the Knesset was sworn in.

"We came prepared with the most experienced team of doers in the Knesset, with detailed work plans and bills ready to be implemented," Bennett wrote. "On our very first day in the Knesset we submitted 17 bills, all at the heart of the work plans we presented to you, led by the 'Servers' Law,' which moves budgets from draft evaders to those who serve. This will be the most important social revolution in the history of the state."

He said the party had also submitted a bill to establish a state commission of inquiry into the massacre, a reference to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Other bills he listed include a "Metropolitan Law" that would transfer transportation powers to local authorities, improve public transport and reduce traffic jams. He also cited the "Sagi Laws," named after the late Maj. Sagi Golan, which aim to advance equality for the LGBTQ community.

He added that the package includes "a whole series of repair laws" in education, rehabilitation of communities along the northern confrontation line and the Gaza border area, assistance for Holocaust survivors and soldiers suffering from combat trauma, and support for "our brothers in the Druze community."

Bennett interrupts Netanyahu's speech (Photo: Knesset Channel)

He also said that on Monday, Liran Avisar Ben-Horin would take over as chair of the Knesset Finance Committee. He described her as the person who "built with me over the past two years the plan to fix Israel."

He added, "Within a short time you will see significant changes for the benefit of the entire people of Israel. And we've only just begun. There will be a highway of action and repair here like this country has never seen. I love our people with all my heart, and I commit to working for everyone, including those who did not vote for us. Shabbat shalom, my brothers and sisters. With God's help, things will soon be good here."