Israeli Education Minister and Leader of Jewish Home - Naftali Bennett
The Interview
BBC
4.3 • 537 Ratings
🗓️ 26 November 2018
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Israel’s seemingly indestructible Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dodged another political bullet. After the recent flare up of violence in Gaza, his defence minister quit and another key cabinet hawk- Naftali Bennett, said he would go too if he wasn’t given the defence portfolio. The prime minister called his bluff, and Mr Bennett, who speaks to HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur has decided to stay put after all. What’s behind the chaos in Israeli politics? Are the right wing factions putting their own interests before those of the nation?
Image: Naftali Bennett (Credit: Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service. This is Hard Talk with me, Stephen Sacker. |
| 0:07.0 | Thanks for downloading this edition of the program. I do hope you enjoy it. Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World |
| 0:14.1 | Service with me, Stephen Saker. Israeli politics is almost always fractious, but the last few days have taken the |
| 0:20.4 | plotting and manoeuving to another level. |
| 0:23.5 | The spark was a major flare-up of violence in and around Gaza. |
| 0:28.3 | An Israeli Special Forces raid was followed by a sustained volley of militant rockets fired into Israel, |
| 0:34.9 | with Israeli bombers then responding from the air. |
| 0:38.2 | The violence ended in an uneasy ceasefire, a ceasefire which the hawkish defense minister |
| 0:44.5 | opposed and prompted his resignation. |
| 0:48.1 | Another key Israeli cabinet hawk said he would go too if Prime Minister Netanyahu didn't |
| 0:53.4 | give him the defense job. The PM called |
| 0:56.5 | Naftali Bennett's bluff. Rather than prompt a government collapse, the education minister then backed |
| 1:03.6 | down. So what on earth is causing this political chaos in Israel? Why is there so much mutual |
| 1:09.6 | mistrust and loathing on Israel's right wing? Well, |
| 1:14.2 | the man at the center of recent storms, Naftali Bennett, joins me now from Jerusalem. Welcome to |
| 1:20.9 | Hard Talk. Great to be here, Stephen. It's been quite a week. How would you characterize your |
| 1:27.1 | relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu today? |
| 1:31.2 | Well, we're political adversaries, but I'm part of his government, and I support Prime Minister Netanyahu as the Prime Minister of Israel. |
| 1:38.9 | So, you know, it's not unlike the UK where things are also quite tumultuous. We're going to continue |
| 1:46.3 | in order to strengthen Israel's security. Well, let's unpick this notion that you're sitting there |
| 1:52.5 | in a cabinet led by a guy who you now describe as an adversary. Avigdor Lieberman, who was |
| 1:58.8 | defense minister until very recently, he described Mr. Netanyahu's |
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