Naftali Bennett

Israel just learned that the US and Iran have agreed to a deconfliction cell with Lebanon — and Israel wasn't in the room. As the dust settles on a war whose outcome is, at best, ambiguous, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who wants his old job back. Bennett doesn't hold back: on why he believes this government dragged out a war Israel was never built to fight, on the "infinite power of propaganda" keeping Netanyahu afloat three years after October 7th, and on whether he can trust Trump — or JD Vance — to look out for Israel's interests when Israel isn't at the table. He also lays out, in detail, what he'd do differently on the Haredi draft, the judiciary, the Palestinians, and Ben Gvir and Smotrich — and admits the polls aren't moving the way he hoped.   00:00 Introduction: Naftali Bennett joins Unholy 00:09 The Iran deal and the deconfliction cell with Lebanon 03:18 Would he have avoided this war altogether? 06:29 Did Netanyahu prolong the war for political reasons? 08:05 Trust in Trump and JD Vance on Iran 13:11 Reports the Trump administration is opening channels to him 15:19 What would actually change if Bennett became PM? 17:39 The Kogat story: improving Palestinian quality of life without a state 21:51 Pushback: is a two-state "spectrum" really viable? 24:06 Why he opposes full Palestinian sovereignty 24:39 Mansour Abbas and Arab parties in a Bennett coalition 26:52 Lapid, the polls, and stepping aside for Eisenkot 29:34 Judicial reform: would he continue where this government left off? 31:26 Why Ben Gvir and Smotrich are out 33:51 Fears of a "January 6th" scenario in Israel 36:16 Was joining forces with Lapid a mistake? 39:21 Did Bennett change, or did Israel change? 42:05 The story that brought him back: a scientist in tears 44:43 How is Netanyahu still in this race? 💛 Become a friend of the pod:Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/📺 FOLLOW UNHOLYYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/X: https://x.com/unholypodBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLYApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTSYonit LeviInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/X: https://x.com/LeviYonitLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/Jonathan FreedlandInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: [email protected]🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.