Naftali Bennett warned on Wednesday that Israel was moving toward what he called an ultra-Orthodox, anti-Zionist state.
The Together party chairman made the remarks at the Israel Democracy Institute’s Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society.
Bennett cited government policy on conscription and daycare subsidies. He said Israel’s approach toward the ultra-Orthodox public had put the country on a “slow-motion path to suicide.”
He also said public money was funding institutions that reject Zionism and military service.
According to Bennett, a third of Jewish children in Israel study in schools that teach against Zionism and the Israel Defence Forces. However, he did not provide a source for the figure in the cited remarks.
The former prime minister also attacked the proposed Daycare Law. He said the bill would shift limited daycare subsidies away from working and serving families. Instead, Bennett said, the money would go to families where fathers do not work or serve.
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Meanwhile, he described the bill as part of a final wave of divisive legislation by the outgoing government. He said a future government led by his camp would repeal what he called laws of “chaos, plunder, and division.”
Bennett also called for a national education framework tied to public funding. Under that plan, publicly funded schools would teach core subjects such as math, English and civics.
