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Israeli education minister prepares for Netanyahu’s succession battle

HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett, the only Cabinet minister to criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after police recommended indicting him, is preparing for the fight to lead the Israeli right in the post-Netanyahu era.
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In case anyone missed the speech by HaBayit HaYehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett at the Local Government Conference on Feb. 14, he posted a video of it on his Facebook page along with a full transcript. The speech, delivered the day after the police recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for graft in Cases 1000 and 2000, included criticism of Netanyahu’s ethics and behavior.

This was much more than an act of defiance by Bennett. It also went beyond an attempt to garner media attention, and by extension that of the public, as the most “bold and ethical” Cabinet member, while the other ministers gave Netanyahu their backing without reservations. It was, first and foremost, a cold and calculated opening salvo in the war over who will succeed Netanyahu as leader of the Israeli right.

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