Naftali Bennett made a Sept. 10 appearance on the stage of Tel Aviv University’s Smolarz Auditorium. Behind him were giant screens primarily projecting photographs of himself and video clips of his interviews with foreign media, making him appear more like a chief executive officer at the launch of his large hi-tech firm than the chairman of a national-religious right-wing party.
It was no coincidence that Israel's economy and trade minister had decided to hold HaBayit HaYehudi’s convention at Tel Aviv University, a secular, left-wing bastion. Bennett wanted to send a message: In upcoming national elections, he will be targeting the broader public. Beyond that, he wanted to create an impression of victory and of plenty, as befitting a large, strong party. Bennett therefore made sure to hire opulent, expensive catering to provide massive quantities never before seen at a political party event, and certainly not for a party like Mafdal-HaBayit HaYehudi, which until just two years ago was on the verge of disappearing from the political map.
There was no mistaking the star of the event. Bennett did not even try to create the outward appearance of a team affair. Even when Knesset members rose to speak, behind them a giant screen beamed with Bennett orating in excellent English (with Hebrew subtitles) to foreign TV stations during Operation Protective Edge and explaining why Israel had the right to strike Hamas. The unfortunate parliamentarians didn’t stand much chance getting the audience's attention. Although they stood on a stage, they looked small and far away compared to the giant, on-screen Bennett, as absurd as it sounds.
What might have appeared to the casual bystander as a display of megalomania did not make Bennett uncomfortable at all. In fact, the opposite was true. This was his intention. This was a significant show of power for him, in the party he took control of less than two years ago. At that time, the party was on the verge of extinction, and now polls were predicting 17 to 19 mandates [out of 120] for it. Bennett made sure to present this piece of information on the screen in Tel Aviv, in case someone had failed to internalize the message.
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