Late last month as tensions surrounding Gaza escalated, the chairman of the New Right, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, launched a scathing media attack on March 25 against what he called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s submissive policies toward Hamas. Bennett, a member of the Security Cabinet, even appealed to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to order Netanyahu to convene the Security Cabinet on the issue. He went on to accuse the prime minister of excluding the other ministers from the decision-making process and taking action on his own. Yet, the real reason behind Bennett's assault was to inject some life into his party’s election campaign, which has failed to take off.
Bennett's partner in the New Right’s leadership, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, a member of the Security Cabinet as well, played an active role in the campaign against Netanyahu. She gave numerous interviews and tweeted incessantly, with messages along the lines of “Enough of this disgrace. Bennett for Defense” and “Shaked will defeat the Supreme Court, and Bennett will defeat Hamas.” The New Right depicted Netanyahu as having failed to deal with Hamas from a security perspective throughout his tenure.
