Former prime minister Naftali Bennett criticized Israel's current leadership on Tuesday, accusing them of shirking military service while the rest of the country fights and sacrifices amid the ongoing war against Hamas.
Speaking at the Israel IT Conference of the Israel Chamber of Information Technology, held in Ness Ziona, Bennett addressed an audience of more than 3,000 senior figures from across Israel’s tech sector. He opened by recalling the first hours of the war on October 7.
"During Shabbat, messages began arriving—emergency call-up orders (Tzav 8) to tens of thousands of Israelis," Bennett said. "They were sent to secular and religious citizens, right-wing and left-wing, people from the periphery and from the center—and they all showed up. Because inside a tank in Gaza, there is no Right or Left, no secular or religious. There is only unity of purpose: to bring the hostages home and defeat Hamas."
Bennett said this moment of unity forged a new alliance: “a covenant of service.”
“Who are the ones who serve? The ones who say ‘hineni’—here I am—when the country calls. They are the ones who rushed south on October 7 to rescue their brothers and sisters. They are the millions who go to work, pay taxes, do reserve duty and give to the country.”
In sharp contrast, Bennett turned his criticism toward the current Israeli leadership.
“Five out of six party leaders in today’s coalition either dodged army service altogether or avoided meaningful military service,” he claimed. “They’re working day and night to funnel billions to perpetuate this same evasion.”
He added: “So we have a nation that mostly serves, but is led by a leadership that mostly dodges. That must change. The people want change. A covenant of service will first unify the country, then it will win—and it will rebuild Israel.”
Bennett concluded his speech with a call for optimism and national renewal, encouraging the audience to “raise your heads—the change will come.”
Israel's role on the global stage
He also spoke about Israel’s role as a global innovator and its potential as a solutions powerhouse. “Historically, we Jews have been the best in the world at developing our own answers—and offering them to the world,” he said. “After Israel emerges from this hole, we must become a nation of solutions.”
Citing the Shabbat as a uniquely Jewish innovation, Bennett added, “Take the iPhone—it destroys our lives and sucks us in. But the Jewish solution to this? Shabbat. It’s the best way to disconnect and talk to each other again.”
He concluded by calling for new leadership. “We have the people. We produce the most talented individuals anywhere. Now we just need to replace Israel’s failed leadership.”