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Naftali Bennett, propelled by coronavirus crisis, challenges Netanyahu

By presenting a level-headed image of a politician with a real anti-coronavirus program, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett is gaining the support of many who are disappointed in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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He appeared dressed in scrubs like any member of the medical team, complete with regulation personal protective equipment, only he was surrounded by the hospital’s director and a team of physicians. It was Oct. 7, and Yamina party chairman Naftali Bennett was paying a visit to the coronavirus intensive care unit ward at Rambam Hospital in Haifa. He could easily have been mistaken for a run-of-the-mill member of the team in the middle of an exhausting day. That’s exactly the image he wanted the media to capture.

Later that day, Bennett tweeted: “And a word about ‘togetherness.’ I met doctors and nurses, men and women, Arabs and Jews, religious and secular, all of them pouring heart and soul into one noble purpose — saving human lives. … Let’s put our differences aside and beat the coronavirus together. Together we will win!”

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