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Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett delivered a sweeping and blunt assessment of Israel’s international standing this week, declaring that the country has hit “the most terrible low point” in its diplomatic history and laying out an ambitious agenda for the next government he intends to lead.
“We have lost the United States. We have lost the world,” Bennett said, in remarks that cut to the heart of a crisis that has been building since October 7, 2023 — and that has accelerated dramatically under the current Netanyahu-led government.
“We are at the most terrible low point in Israel’s international standing since the establishment of the state. We have to work on this.”
A New Unit For The Battle Over Global Consciousness
Among the most striking proposals Bennett outlined: the creation of a dedicated national public-diplomacy body — modeled explicitly on the elite intelligence Unit 8200 — to be called Unit 8300, operating directly under the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Just as there is Unit 8200 for intelligence, we will establish 8300 for the battle over public consciousness and influence,” Bennett said. “It will take the fight to Qatar, Iran, and the enemies of Israel. This time, I’m talking about it on steroids.”
The proposal reflects growing recognition within Israeli political circles that the country has been losing the information war at a catastrophic pace — and that the current government’s approach has accelerated the deterioration rather than reversed it.
A Direct Attack On Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, And Smotrich
Bennett was equally pointed in his criticism of the current coalition. He directly accused Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of signing “an official document that establishes a path to a Palestinian state” — a charge that, if accurate, would represent a profound ideological betrayal by the Israeli right.
“We, of course, oppose that,” Bennett said. “We will also have to pull ourselves out of yet another hole they have gotten us into.”
Normalization, Regional Alliance, And Active Shaping Of The Middle East
On the foreign policy front, Bennett laid out a vision of proactive regional engagement — a sharp contrast to what he characterized as the current government’s isolation and diplomatic passivity.
“We will bring normalization with Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia, and with additional countries,” he said. “We will build an alliance of the ‘moderate forces’ in the region against the ‘Islamist forces’ — against Iran, against Qatar, Türkiye, and all the ‘radical forces.'”
Crucially, Bennett framed this not as a defensive posture but as an offensive one: “We will focus on active measures to shape the region. We will go out and shape the region.”
The Political Context
Bennett served as Israel’s Prime Minister from 2021 to 2022, heading a broad coalition government before it collapsed. He has been positioning himself for a political return as Israeli public opinion has shifted dramatically in the wake of the October 7 attacks and the prolonged Gaza war.
His remarks land at a moment of acute vulnerability for Netanyahu’s government — under pressure from the hostage crisis, mounting international isolation, ICC proceedings, and growing domestic exhaustion with a war now entering its second year with no clear endgame.
Whether Bennett can turn his diagnosis of Israel’s predicament into a viable electoral coalition remains to be seen. But the ambition and the specificity of his program — from Unit 8300 to Saudi normalization to regional alliance-building — signal that he intends to campaign on something more than opposition. He is presenting himself as a builder, at a moment when Israel desperately needs one.
2 comments
All the americans that I know support Isreal and always have .
This article sounds like politics bullshit to me.
Of course, it’s political. It’s an article about Israeli politics, quoting the opposition.