Naftali Bennett

Naftali Bennett, born on March 25, 1972, in Haifa, is a prominent Israeli businessman and politician. He is best known for his tenure as the Prime Minister of Israel from June 13, 2021, to June 30, 2022, and as the Alternate Prime Minister from July 1 to November 8, 2022. Bennett's political journey began in 2006 when he served as Chief of Staff for Benjamin Netanyahu, later rising to lead the New Right party from 2018 to 2022.

Raised by American immigrants, Bennett's early life was marked by his service in the elite Sayeret Matkal and Maglan units of the Israel Defense Forces, where he commanded numerous combat operations. Transitioning to the business world, he co-founded Cyota in 1999, a company that was sold for one hundred forty-five million dollars in 2005. He also led Soluto, an Israeli cloud computing service, which was sold in 2013 for a reported sum between one hundred and one hundred thirty million dollars.

In politics, Bennett's leadership of The Jewish Home party from 2012 to 2018 saw significant electoral success, including winning twelve seats in the Knesset during the 2013 elections. He held various ministerial roles, including Minister of Economy and Minister of Education, before establishing the New Right party in December 2018. After a brief setback in the April 2019 elections, he regained his Knesset seat in September 2019 and was appointed Minister of Defense.

Under Bennett's leadership, Yamina won seven seats in the 2021 Knesset elections, leading to a coalition agreement with Yair Lapid. This agreement allowed Bennett to serve as Prime Minister until 2023, after which Lapid would take over. However, due to coalition challenges, Bennett announced his intention to dissolve the Knesset in June 2022 and subsequently stepped down as Prime Minister. He later registered a new political party in April 2025, under the placeholder name Bennett 2026.