ADDRESS BY PM-DESIGNATE BENNETT SWEARING IN OF THE GOVERNMENT
ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER-DESIGNATE NAFTALI BENNETT SWEARING IN OF THE
GOVERNMENT,
THE KNESSET, JERUSALEM
SUNDAY, 13 JUNE 2021 / 3 TAMMUZ 5781
Translation from the Government Press Office

H.E. President Reuven Rivlin; President-elect Isaac Herzog; Mr. Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; President of the Supreme Court, Justice Esther
Hayut; Speaker of the Knesset Yariv Levin; my partner in forming the Unity
Government, Member of Knesset Yair Lapid, and his wife Lihi; Ministers of
the outgoing government; Ministers of the incoming government; Members of
Knesset; honored guests.

I want to begin my words by saying, on my own behalf, and in the name of the
members of the designated government, in the name of this House, and in the
name of all the citizens of Israel – thank you. Thank you to the outgoing
Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for your many years of service, replete
with achievements, for the sake of the State of Israel. As Prime Minister
you acted throughout many years to embolden Israel’s political, security,
and economic strength. I saw you from up-close, in extensive security
deliberations, late into the night, investigating, making inquiries and
considerations out of a sense of grave responsibility.

Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu, over the years, we have not always agreed, but
we have both sacrificed much on a personal level in order to serve our
people, the people of Israel. Expressing gratitude is a fundamental
principle in Judaism. This is the time for the people to say to you, thank
you.

I also want to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to the
Tenth President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, for his years as
President, as Speaker of the Knesset, and as a public servant. And to
congratulate President-elect, Isaac Herzog, and wish him much success. God
willing, we will work together very well.

Honored ladies and gentlemen, this is a special moment. The moment in which
the baton of leading the people and the country passes – as in a relay
race – to the next generation. It a sacred endowment.

The State of Israel is not ‘just another country’. It is the dream of
generations of Jews – from Marrakesh to Budapest, from Bagdad to San
Francisco – a dream we merited to see realized every day before our very
eyes. Each generation has its own challenges, and out of each generation
comes the leaders that can overcome them.

The external challenges we face are great: the Iranian nuclear project,
which is moving towards a crucial point; the ongoing war on terror; Israel's
image in the world and the unfair treatment it receives in international
institutions – these are all sizable and complex tasks.

At this time, we are also facing an internal challenge. The ongoing rift in
the nation, as we see in these very moments, which continues to rip apart
the seams that hold us together, and has thrown us – one election after
another – into a maelstrom of hatred and in-fighting.

Such quarrels, between the people who are supposed to be running the
country, led to paralysis. One who quarrels, cannot function.

And so Israel ceased to be managed: a lack of governance in the Negev and
loss of the South for 12 years, riots in mixed cities, the lack of state
budget, the terrible disaster in Meron.

Dear friends, in the guests gallery today, sits Maya Moreno, widow of my
friend, Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Moreno, of blessed memory. At every
important juncture of my life, I think of Emmanuel. The intensity of his
devotion and sense of mission guides us.

Friends, as the Jewish people tend to be people with opinions… and as we see
here, the Parliament of the Jewish state, is a parliament of opinions, and
anyone who has ever seen a pair of students studying Talmud together, or a
heated debate about a product in the office corridors of an Israeli
start-up, understands the force for good of “disputes for the sake of
Heaven”. But there are points in Jewish history in which the disagreements
between us have gone out of control, in which they were no longer “disputes
for the sake of Heaven”, times in which they threatened us, and all that we
have built with our sweat and blood.

Twice in history, we have lost our national home precisely because the
leaders of the generation were not able to sit with one and another and
compromise. Each was right, yet with all their being right, they burnt the
house down on top of us. I am proud of the ability to sit together with
people with very different views from my own.

This time, at the decisive moment, we have taken responsibility. We
understood that we have to safeguard our home. To continue on in this way –
more elections, more hatred, more vitriolic posts on Facebook – is just not
an option. Therefore, we stopped the train, a moment before it barreled into
the abyss. And I want to thank my friend, Foreign Minister-designate, MK
Yair Lapid, who showed national responsibility, political generosity, and
without whom we would not be here today.

The time has come for different leaders, from all parts of the people, to
stop, to stop this madness.

The government that will be formed represents many of Israel’s citizens:
from Ofra to Tel Aviv, from Rahat to Kiryat Shmona. Precisely here lies the
opportunity. Our principle is, we will sit together, and we will forge
forward on that which we agree – and there is much we agree on, transport,
education and so on, and what separates us we will leave to the side.

To the citizens of Israel I say: this is a sensitive moment, of political
change. I call on all, to demonstrate maturity and restraint.

The new government will be a government which strives for real, practical
solutions, to the problems faced by the country and its citizens. The
work-plan which we are presenting today is the most detailed in years. We
have come to work. To remove the barriers, to free up the jams, and to turn
our country into what it can be.

The following, are some of the things the government will promote
immediately:

• We will take responsibility for the education of Israeli children from
  birth. The most formative years. As a first step, we will transfer
  responsibility for infant daycare to the Ministry of Education.
• We will enable many ultra-Orthodox youth to go out to work by lowering
  the (national service) exemption age from 24 to 21. Not by force, but by
  positive encouragement, allowing young people who want to learn a vocation
  to be able to, and those who want to study Torah will continue to do so.
• We will close with immediate effect the Ministry of Digital Affairs,
  the Ministry for Water, the Ministry for Communal Advancement, and the
  Ministry for Strategic Affairs.
• Foreign Minister-designate and Alternate Prime Minister-designate, Yair
  Lapid, will lead a process to rehabilitate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
  which is a fundamental tool for building Israel’s political strength.
• Finance Minister-designate Avigdor Lieberman, will lead a plan by which
  we will return to work those who lost their employment due to COVID-19. We
  will bring in as many people as possible in the high-tech industry, where
  there are higher salaries, by setting a national target of raising the
  number of high-tech workers to 15% of the workforce by 2026.
• We will reduce superfluous regulation and frustrating bureaucracy, and
  we will work for citizen-friendly government services, as in Singapore among
  other countries – without paperwork, without queues.
• We will make life easier for independent workers and small business
  owners, including through unemployment benefits.
• We will increase income support for the elderly to 70% of the minimum
  wage.
• We will open up competition in Kashrut (kosher certification), and set
  standards for the system. This will lighten the burden on restaurant owners,
  ending the stranglehold monopoly in this area, bringing down the cost of
  food, and strengthening the public’s faith in the level of Kashrut.
• Justice Minister-designate Gideon Saar will lead a process to create an
  appropriate balance between the judicial, legislative, and executive
  branches of government, whereby his initiative to split the role of the
  Attorney General is a significant first step.
• We will – finally – promote a national plan for the North of Israel,
  including establishing a hospital and a university in the Galilee.
• Defense Minister Benny Gantz will lead a process to significantly
  strengthen and build up the IDF through a multi-year plan, which will
  include significant investment in offensive and defensive capabilities. We
  must invest because the threats will not leave us. Our soldiers deserve the
  best and most advanced equipment in the world.
• We will work to upgrade Israel’s public transport system, led by
  Transport Minister-designate Merav Michaeli.
• We will strengthen the building of communities across the Land of
  Israel.
• We will ensure Israel’s national interests in Area C – and we will
  increase standards to that end after much neglect in this area.
• And yes my friends, we will open a new page in the relations between
  the State of Israel and the country’s Arab citizens. The Arab community will
  be represented in the coalition by Mansour Abbas and his party. This is a
  process that I must give credit to Prime Minister Netanyahu who held a
  groundbreaking series of meetings with Mansour Abbas, who reached out a
  hand. This was the right thing to do. We understand the plight and needs of
  the Arab society. The fight against crime and violence, the housing crisis,
  the gaps in education and infrastructure – will be addressed.
• We will begin the process of regulating the Bedouin settlements in the
  Negev, so that Israel’s Bedouin citizens can live in dignity.
• Health Minister-designate Nitzan Horowitz, will prepare the health
  system for a new age of community, and home based medical care, and together
  we will prepare an emergency plan in the case of future pandemics. You can’t
  always know there will be a vaccine, not every illness has a vaccine, and
  you have to be prepared to build on vaccinations, but also on an organized
  plan and not as we saw in the last year.
• We will accelerate the pace of building homes in Israel. The government
  will take the initiative, remove obstacles, and allow for extensive
  construction throughout the country, in order to but the breaks on the rise
  in the cost of housing. There has been a slowdown in the building of houses
  in the last year – we should be seeing the opposite – we should have
  increased the building, there is a deficit in housing which drives up the
  prices, and no propaganda will hide that. Therefore we will up the pace of
  building to but the brakes on the rise in prices, and allow young people –
  who serve in the army, fulfil reserve duty, pay their taxes, and have no
  chance of building a house. So yes, we need to deal with this.
• The government will work to promote Jewish immigration (Aliyah) to
  Israel, and the best integration for them.
• We will strengthen the bond between the State of Israel, and the Jews
  of the Diaspora. We will care for our brothers and sisters around the world,
  we will fight against the wave of antisemitism.
• We will safeguard the State of Israel, the nation state of the Jewish
  people, as a Jewish and democratic state.

And that is just part of our plans. As I said, we have come to work! For
everyone.

From here, I turn to the ultra-Orthodox community. Although the
ultra-Orthodox parties chose not to join the coalition, that does not mean
you are not represented - I will represent you, we will represent you. The
new government will respect the study of Torah, the Torah which kept us safe
for so many years in exile, and at the same time will work to remove the
barriers which prevent the ultra-Orthodox community’s integration into the
employment market, and Israeli society. Instead of perpetuating the same
methods, we will have the opportunity to address the deep problems which
burden ultra-Orthodox society: key amongst them the housing crisis. The pace
of construction of apartments, neighborhoods, and cities simply does not
keep up with natural growth, and there is room for the establishment of new
ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods and even a new city in Israel.

I was asked by the father of Eliyahu Shmuel, of blessed memory – a 16 year
old ultra-Orthodox boy, who was killed in the Meron Disaster – to remember
him in my swearing in address. Eli was a sweet child. He always helped his
friends, and saw the good in everyone. We will not forget Eli, and we will
not ignore his death. A State Commission of Inquiry will be set up.

Honored ladies and gentlemen. The government is setting out on its path, as
the greatest threat to Israel, the Iranian nuclear project, is reaching a
critical point. The Middle East is still yet to recover from the effects of
the first nuclear deal, which emboldened Iran to the tune of billions of
dollars, and with international legitimacy.

Iran, through its Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard, has established
terrorist outposts - from Syria, through Gaza and Lebanon, and to Yemen.
Renewing the nuclear deal with Iran is a mistake that will once again lend
legitimacy to one of the most discriminatory and violent regimes in the
world.

Israel will not allow Iran to be equipped with nuclear weapons. Israel is
not party to the agreement, and will maintain full freedom to act.

Last month, we received a reminder that the conflict with the Palestinians
is still here. We must remember, and remind the world, that our enemies deny
our very existence in the Land of Israel, and that this is not a dispute
over territory.

We need military strength, civil resilience, and a belief in the justness of
our path at times when the conflict raises its head.

I hope the ceasefire in the south is maintained. But if Hamas again chooses
the path of violence against Israeli civilians, it will encounter a wall of
iron.

Violence and terrorism are not a natural phenomenon or destiny with which we
are supposed to just come to terms. The Palestinians must take
responsibility for their actions, and understand that violence will be met
with a firm response.

That said, security calm will lead to economic moves, which will lead to
reducing friction and the conflict.

To the Goldin, Shaul, Mengistu, and Sayed families. The government led by me
will work to bring home the IDF’s fallen, and the Israeli citizens held in
Gaza by Hamas. We see in their return a sacred duty, which should be
undertaken out of responsibility.

The government will work to establish and expand peace agreements with the
Arab states, to increase regional economic, entrepreneurial, and cultural
cooperation, and to deepen the direct connection between the peoples of the
region, such as the connection between the citizens of Israel and the
citizens of the United Arab Emirates.

(continuing)