In first, poll finds Bennett more popular than Netanyahu

For the first time, a poll finds that more Israelis would like to see Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett as prime minister over Benjamin Netanyahu.

Bennett, a right-wing religious leader currently in the opposition, has grown in popularity after continuously criticizing the government’s policies on the coronavirus, recommending steps that were eventually implemented by Netanyahu months later, seemingly proving him right. He has declared himself a candidate for the premiership.

The Channel 12 poll — which is hypothetical since Israel doesn’t have direct elections — finds that if Bennett runs against Netanyahu and those are the only options, Bennett would get 31.4% of the votes while Netanyahu would get 28.6%.

35% say they would not vote for either of the two right-wing leaders.