Bennett defends attorney general, takes aim at ministers, in new recording

In newly published audio from a recent conference in Kfar Saba, former prime minister Naftali Bennett can be heard defending the conduct of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara while launching fierce attacks on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

In the recordings, published by the Walla news site, Bennett criticizes the slow pace of judicial proceedings but speaks out against the coalition’s judicial overhaul agenda while defending Baharav-Miara, who he says “helped [the previous government] bring the Shin Bet into the fight against crime in Arab society — within legal limits.”

Bennett’s short-lived government appointed Baharav-Miara, who is now facing being fired by the current government over her professional opinions against the legality of many of its policies.

“That is exactly her role: to allow the government to implement legitimate policy. In contrast, the current government behaves differently – instead of coming to work, it is busy with jobs and politics, and therefore the attorney general is forced to stand against it as a gatekeeper,” he said.

Bennett calls Ben Gvir “the most failed police minister in the history of the state,” whose decision to disband an inter-ministerial team dealing with Arab crime led to a soaring murder rate.

A steadily rising murder rate in the Arab community was briefly halted under Bennett, but the tally has since risen every year, with 2025 on pace to break last year’s record murder rate.

As for Kisch, Bennett says that the education minister was focused on providing jobs for Likud activists, prompting Kisch to release a statement accusing Bennett of lying and threatening a lawsuit.

“This time he crossed a red line with lies and slander that have no connection to reality. The matter will be dealt with through legal means,” Kisch says in a statement.

Bennett in the recording promises to establishment a state commission of inquiry into October 7, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “busy blaming everyone – the Shin Bet, the army, the Attorney General.”

The former right-wing party leader states that his new faction has already recruited 200 local campaign chiefs and 9,000 activists, adding that he is being much more careful in vetting candidates for his 2026 Knesset candidate list.

This is the second time that Walla has reported comments made by Bennett during last week’s conference. In a previous report, the news site quoted Bennett as stating that the current government was made up of “stupid” ministers and that he intended to unite the various opposition parties and figures to form a “big party” that could defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition in the next election.