From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Naftali Bennett: ‘Startup nation rose again’ by filling gaps when government ‘melted down’ after October 7
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett says that what happened on October 7 was a “colossal failure of the State of Israel.”
“We failed in intelligence, operations, and institutional Israel failed as government ministries melted down, nothing worked – education, finance, or health,” Bennett says at the Cyber Week 2024 conference at Tel Aviv University.
“But we also saw thousands of Israelis on October 7 getting in their cars and driving to the Gaza envelope to defend their brothers and sisters and prevent a much worse disaster – they saved the day.”
Bennett says that in the national trauma that Israel is facing, he draws his strength and confidence from the “courage of the Israeli people.”
“We are a startup nation and in the war startup nation rose again and filled the gaps that the state didn’t and stepped in with many initiatives,” Bennett declares. “I assert that Israel will have a short bumpy road and then we are in for amazing growth and success for the next 50 years.”
“The single most valuable resource in 2024 is the flexible, dynamic and agile people who can make stuff happen. What we discovered since October 7 that we have a younger generation that is the toughest we have ever seen,” he says.
Bennett tells the audience that “now is the best time to invest in Israel as prices are low.”
“We are a breeding ground for super-entrepreneurs,” he adds.
