Tag Archive for Naftali Bennett

| January 21, 2014
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Economic Minster Bennett: Independent Palestinian state likely to ‘wreck Israel’s economy’

Economy Bennett minister tells Habayit Hayehudi Knesset faction that Israel doesn’t need to fear boycotts, having survived them before.

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The creation of a Palestinian state would destroy the Israeli economy, causing infinitely more problems than an economic boycott would, said Economy Minster Naftali Bennett on Monday, responding to the threat of sanctions if Israel fails to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.

Naftali Bennett.

Naftali Bennett, head of Habayit Hayehudi, speaks in Ashdod, Israel, Dec. 26, 2012. – Photo: AP

Addressing his Habayit Hayehudi Knesset faction, Bennett called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stand up to pressure to reach an agreement that would lead to a Palestinian state. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| December 8, 2013
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Bennett Suggests Israel Annex Jewish Areas of Judea & Samaria

Economics Minister Bennett says making a deal with Abbas’ PA while Hamas controls Gaza is like ‘discussing the purchase of a car with only half its owners’.

By AFP and Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Economics Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday reiterated his proposal that Israel should annex parts of Judea and Samaria under its full military control of Jewish areas, according to AFP.

“I favor implementation of Israeli sovereignty over the zone where 400,000 Jews live and only 70,000 Arabs,” said the Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) head. Bennett was referring to the “Area C” regions of Judea and Samaria, which under the Oslo Accords are still under Israeli military and civilian control. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| November 15, 2013
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Minister Bennett: Israel prefers a diplomatic solution to nuclear Iran

 

 

In his speech in Washington, Economy Minister Bennett says he wishes Israel some day sign free trade deal with Iran, but expressed his opposition to the White House’s current outline of nuclear deal.

By Attila Somfalvi

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett delivered a speech on Thursday to the Brookings Institution in Washington, saying that Israel was in great support of a diplomatic solution to the issue of nuclear Iran, seeing as “if Iran achieves a nuclear weapon, we will be their first target.”

Senator McCain welcomes Bennett – Photo: Shmulik Almani

He nevertheless added that if the Islamic republic indeed managed to achieve nuclear weapon, Israel “will not be their last target,” as the Iranians are capable of reaching Rome, Madrid, London and New York. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| September 23, 2013
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Bennett to Christian Leaders: ‘Stop the lies, Jerusalem isn’t occupied’

 

Bayit Yehudi leader tells visiting legislators, “Whoever thinks our capital of 3,000 years is occupied doesn’t understand anything.”

By LAHAV HARKOV

 

 

“Succot is a very Israeli holiday. When we sit in temporary huts, we can appreciate the fact that we have a permanent country,” Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett told a group of Christian legislators on Sunday.

Naftali Bennett at a Bayit Yehudi faction meeting, February 18, 2013.

Naftali Bennett at a Bayit Yehudi faction meeting. – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post

The lawmakers, from the US, European Union, Canada, Brazil, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Macedonia, Poland, South Africa, Guatemala, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Uruguay, are attending the Israel Allies Foundation Jerusalem Chairman’s Conference.

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| August 31, 2013
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Western Wall opens temporary egalitarian section for the public

 

On its first day, the new section called “Ezrat Yisrael,” hosted 6 bar mitzvahs & weddings.

Bennett says he doesn’t want any controversy surrounding the temporary area, ahead of the Jewish High Holy Days.

By Yori Yalon & Israel Hayom Staff

 

On Thursday, Jerusalem’s new temporary egalitarian section at the Western Wall was opened to the public.

Women of the Wall praying at the Western Wall [Archive] – Photo: AP

The provisional space, temporary until the government builds a permanent structure designed for non-Orthodox Jewish streams at the Western Wall, is at the Robinson’s Arch area adjacent to the Western Wall Plaza.

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Category: Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| August 7, 2013
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Israeli scientists & ministers to PM: Don’t cut ties with EU

Academics & Ministers voice concern over Naftali Bennett’s suggestion of ending cooperation with the EU because of their new settlement guidelines.

‘Israel works in the global arena. The problems we are working on are relevant for the entire world. So is our industry, it’s int’l & it’s the engine of our economy.’

By , and

 

 

Israeli scientists warn that cutting ties with the European Union could cause irreparable harm to Israeli research. The researchers were reacting to Economy Ministry Naftali Bennett‘s call for the Israeli government to end all cooperation with the EU in response to new guidelines banning funding to Israeli entities with ties to West Bank settlements, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| July 28, 2013
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MK Bennett at Jerusalem protest: “Terrorists should be eliminated, not freed”

 

Family members of the Israelis murdered in terrorist attacks demonstrated before the cabinet votes on Netanyahu’s proposal to free 104 Palestinian prisoners as gesture to Abbas.

The crowd chanted, ‘Bibi is a coward’.

By Moran Azulay

 

The cabinet was expected to convene Sunday morning to vote on the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority ahead of the expected resumption of US-brokered peace talks.

Ahead of the vote, relatives of Israelis who were killed in terror attacks gathered outside the government complex in Jerusalem to protest against the release of prisoners.

The protesters chanted: “This is a day of mourning,” “You do not release murderers of children” and “Bibi is a coward.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| July 26, 2013
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Prime Minister to refer referendum bill for cabinet vote Sunday

Proposed bill would not require public approval for withdrawal from Judea and Samaria because Israeli law isn’t applicable there, but PM says he has way around that.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to bring in the referendum bill for a cabinet vote on Sunday, and then submit it to the Knesset for a preliminary vote on Wednesday before the parliament disbands for summer recess.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, July 22, 2013.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, July 22, 2013. – Photo: AFP

The bill stipulates that if an agreement that is reached with the Palestinians calls for Israeli withdrawal from erritory, the public would have to approve it in a referendum for it to take effect. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| July 12, 2013
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Economy Minister Bennett: The Chinese Don’t Care About the ‘Occupation’

Economy Minister Bennett says there are endless business opportunities in China and the Chinese aren’t interested in any political issues.

By Elad Benari

 

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi), who is on a visit to China to promote trade relations, had some tips for Israelis who wish to do business with the Chinese.

Economy Ministry Bennett in China – Screenshot

In a video message he recorded from Shanghai on Wednesday, Bennett not only said his visit has been very successful, but also noted that the Chinese are not interested in the Israeli-Arab conflict or other goings on in the Middle East. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| July 4, 2013
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American Jewish groups bash Bennett’s two-state statements

Israel’s minister Naftali Bennett’s 2-state statement may have unwittingly opened the door to 3 American Jewish organizations that support the peace initiative so enthusiastically carried out by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

By Ron Kampeas

 

WASHINGTON (JTA)— It’s almost boilerplate: The American Jewish community asks a foreign leader with whom it has cultivated a close relationship to kindly tell firebrands in the leader’s government to pipe down and fall in with an established policy that happens to be embraced by the U.S. government.

Greece? Romania? Hungary? Russia?

Try Israel.

In a rare rebuke of a sitting Israeli minister, three major centrist Jewish groups in recent weeks have criticized Naftali Bennett, the economics chief in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, for saying that the two-state solution is a “dead end.”

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| June 24, 2013
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More Israeli Arabs are Volunteering for National Service

Despite pressure from their more anti-Israel elders to shun the Jewish state, there’s a significant rise this year in the number of young Israeli Arabs volunteering for national service.

By Yossi Aloni

 

 

At a time when the Israeli government is struggling to get ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army, a record number of Israeli Arabs are volunteering for national service.

Despite calls from leaders in the Arab community to shun national service, 3,000 young Israeli Arabs answered the call this year, a 76 percent increase from the 1,700 who volunteered last year.

At a ceremony earlier this week in Haifa, the National Service Administration welcomed the 3,000th Arab volunteer this year, Suriah Suad, who will do her national service by volunteering in the maternity ward at Ziv Hospital in Safed. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| June 21, 2013
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Lapid calls for ‘honest divorce’ from Palestinians but Bennett urges ‘coexistence’

Economy and Trade Minister Bennett suggests gov’t give Area C Palestinians Israeli citizenship.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) came out in support of a two-state solution, while his coalition partner Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) rejected it completely and urged for “coexistence” between Israelis and Palestinians, in interviews they gave separately to the Washington Post this week.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett at Knesset swear in, Feb 5, 2013.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett at Knesset swear in, Feb 5, 2013. – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post

Dubbing the two-state solution an “honest divorce” between Israel and the Palestinians, Lapid vowed to “push for this as hard as [he] can.”

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| June 18, 2013
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PA accuses Israel of declaring death of ‘2-state solution’

Responding to Minister Bennett’s claim that 2-state concept reached ‘dead end,’ Erekat deflects blame, says Israel ‘determined to make Kerry’s efforts fail’.

Yesh Atid, Livni also had criticism for Minister Bennett.

By Elior Levy, Moran Azulay

 

 

“Israel has officially declared the death of the two-state solution,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday in response to Economy Minister Naftali Bennett’s claim that the two-state solution had reached a “dead end.”

Erekat blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for matching such statements in policy, and said the “Israeli government is determined to make (US Secretary of State) Kerry’s efforts fail.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| June 10, 2013
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Minister Bennett: More High Tech in Jerusalem and Less PA

In order to ensure Jerusalem stays strong and Israeli, the capital needs more high-tech industry and fewer PA institutions, Naftali Bennett said.

By David Lev

 

 

In order to strengthen Jerusalem, two things are necessary, Minister of Industry and Trade Naftali Bennett told Bayit Yehudi MKs at the party’s weekly meeting Monday. One is to encourage more high-tech businesses to open up shop in Jerusalem – and the other is to keep the Palestinian Authority, and its institutions, out of town.

Encouraging more high-tech businesses to open up offices in Jerusalem is a sure way to strengthen Israel’s presence in the city, Bennett said. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| June 5, 2013
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Israeli industries targeted by low taxes from Palestinian Authority

Factory owners explain how the PA deliberately cuts taxes so that Israeli industries can’t compete.

‘Bennett must intervene before we become totally dependent on the PA.’

By Maayana Miskin

 

Israeli factory owners in the textile and furniture industries have called on Minister of Economics and Trade Naftali Bennett to tax Palestinian Authority-area goods in order to save Israeli industry.

Despite its reported financial crisis, the PA is deliberately taking in less tax income than it could in order to hurt Israel, says factory owner Shaul Ben-Yosef, who spoke to Arutz Sheva.

Israeli factories are currently forced to compete with PA factories – a competition that is heavily biased in the PA’s favor, he said. Continue Reading »

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