Former prime minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday publicly challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a debate, saying he seeks to replace, not humiliate, the longtime leader.
“I invite Netanyahu to a debate, anytime, anywhere,” Bennett said at a political activist event in the northern city of Karmiel. “I don’t hate him. I’m here to replace him.”
Bennett, who served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022 and is now seen in polls as Netanyahu’s chief political rival, positioned himself as a unifying figure offering a positive alternative to what he described as the current atmosphere of “chaos, dysfunction and hate.” “I care about the State of Israel,” he said. “I offer a vision of hope and a better future. I’m not looking to trample anyone. I just want to win.”
The former premier also weighed in on Monday's tragedy in Jerusalem, where two infants died at an unregulated daycare center, calling it “not a natural disaster but a direct result of neglect, mismanagement and the government’s preference for politics over the lives of Israeli citizens.”
Bennett said that during his tenure, responsibility for early childhood education (ages 0–3) was transferred from the Economy Ministry to the Education Ministry. His government established a licensing, supervision and training system for private daycare centers and allocated 200 million shekels to the effort.
“Since the current government came in, the budget was slashed to 60 million shekels,” he said. “There’s no training, no oversight—nothing.”
Bennett added that, on the very day the toddlers died, the government announced in its 2026 budget proposal another cut to private daycare funding, down to 46 million shekels.
“This, while billions are handed out freely in stipends and political funds,” he said. “This is what willful abandonment of our most precious asset looks like: our children.”