Bennett hospitalized overnight after feeling unwell, undergoes cardiac catheterization
Former PM admitted to Meir Medical Center following a workout and is in good condition, says his spokesperson; will remain hospitalized for monitoring and treatment
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett was hospitalized overnight in Kfar Saba after feeling unwell, according to Meir Medical Center, which said in a statement on Sunday that he had undergone cardiac catheterization.
In a separate statement, a spokesperson for Bennett said that he was admitted following a workout and was in good condition. The statement added that Bennett will remain at the medical center for continued monitoring and treatment.
According to the Mayo Clinic, cardiac catheterization is a short test or treatment to give doctors further information about the patient’s heart and its function.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wished Bennett a quick recovery, tweeting that “the people of Israel need you.” There was no statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Osher Shekalim, a lawmaker from Netanyahu’s Likud party, used the news of Bennett’s medical emergency as an opportunity to criticize the former premier, posting on X that he “wonders how someone who collapses at age 53 from working out would be able to manage seven arenas of conflict.”
Shekalim went on to “request that his medical records be disclosed immediately, as is required by law.” As Bennett does not hold public office, he is not required to disclose his medical record.
Likud firebrand MK Tali Gotliv also chimed in with criticism of Bennett, saying that she hopes the experience will bring him to rethink his political positions.
“I hope that by the way, you will abandon your style of false promises and remember that in an actual fraud you took the votes of the right-wing religious public and allied yourself with the Muslim Brotherhood,” she posted on X. “We have not forgotten.”
Bennett’s hospitalization comes only weeks after the former prime minister, who is widely believed to be preparing to run in the next national election, announced the registration of a new political party under the temporary name “Bennett 2026.”
Rabbi Haim Drukman, at Merkaz Shapira, near Kiryat Malachi, on December 26, 2022. (Gil Cohen-Magen/ AFP)
Bennett, who led the now-defunct right-wing Yamina party, has been out of office since the 2022 collapse of his diverse coalition government, which in 2021 ousted Netanyahu from the premiership after 12 consecutive years during which Israel underwent political turmoil, including four national elections in three years.
Polling has consistently shown Bennett pulling ahead of Netanyahu, should he run.
A Channel 12 survey from late March showed Bennett as the only politician who performed better than Netanyahu in a head-to-head matchup.
When asked who is better suited to serve as prime minister, 38 percent said Bennett, compared to 31% who said Netanyahu.
Bennett does not appear to have a history of heart issues.
The 75-year old Netanyahu has had a history of medical problems, most recently undergoing prostate removal surgery last December.
Last March, Netanyahu underwent surgery for a hernia at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital and in July 2023 he was fitted with a pacemaker after suffering a “transient heart block.”
A week before then, Netanyahu had been hospitalized for what he said at the time was dehydration. Doctors subsequently revealed that the prime minister has had a heart conduction problem for years.
That episode led to considerable speculation among many in Israel as to the health of the prime minister and to what degree details had been hidden from the public.
A medical report released in January 2024 said Netanyahu was in a “completely normal state of health,” that his pacemaker was working correctly and that there was no evidence of heart arrhythmia or any other problematic conditions.
Despite protocols requiring prime ministers to release such health reports annually, Netanyahu did not release one between 2016 and late 2023. He could not be legally forced to share his health information as these protocols, developed by the Prime Minister’s Office, are not enshrined in law.
The Times of Israel Community.