After a nail-biting win of just 60 to 59 votes, Naftali Bennett was sworn in as Israel's new prime minister on Sunday, 13 June, ending former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year grip on power.
Bennett – a former tech entrepreneur who made millions before switching to right-wing politics in 2013 – will be leading an ideologically divided eight-party coalition. For the first time in the country’s political history, a small Arab party will also join to serve in the government.
Some experts have labelled Bennett an ‘ultra-nationalist’. In his speech on Sunday, Bennett said that he “will work for the sake of all people", adding that the priorities would be reforms in education, health, and cutting red tape.
Bennett’s government is Israel's broadest ever – but that also makes it unstable. The glue that was holding the coalition together was the agenda of dethroning Netanyahu, which has now been achieved.
The coalition will now be challenged to find common ground on key national issues such as the policy towards Palestinians and social issues like the advancement of gay rights.
In today’s episode, we dive into Israel's new leadership, an ideologically divided coalition, and what Bennett's appointment means for India-Israel relations.
To understand this, we spoke with former Indian ambassador and former Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, who served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in India’s embassy in Israel from 1995-1999.
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