Naftali Bennett addresses the UN General Assembly

• Author: LAHAV HARKOV
• Published date: 27 September 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

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The core message Bennett plans to relay concerning Iran is that "we deal with security through actions. Speeches are important, but this is the time to act," a source in the prime minister's entourage in New York said on Sunday.

Bennett is also considering using Hillel the Elder's phrase, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" in that context, to reflect that Israel cannot rely on others for its own defense.

The prime minister took the lead in writing the speech, though he worked on it with his staff and took advice from others, such as author and philosopher Micah Goodman.

"It was important to him that the speech be in his voice and reflect what he thinks as accurately as possible," the source in his entourage, who was also involved in the process, explained.

Bennett rejected gimmicks of all kinds suggested to him, in contrast to his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, and said he wants to give a direct speech "like a grown-up," the source quipped.

Bennett also seeks to tell the story of Israel's successes without viewing them through the prism of conflict with the Palestinians.

When it comes to the Palestinians, Bennett is "trying to present his authentic feeling as policy, that for 73 years, Israel's place in the world was all about the conflict, and that is not healthy," the source said. "Making us Siamese twins with the Palestinians is wrong and unhelpful. They will not be a major part [of the speech]. Relations with other countries will not be defined by them."

Israel, Bennett seeks to relay, is "an important and active country in the world with a big footprint of its own, and we want to put that forward in bilateral relations."

And the Palestinians, as well as the Iranians, should "deal with their own people and improving their lives, and stop their obsession with Israel," Bennett said on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport on Saturday night.

He does not plan to respond to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's speech to the UN, in which he gave Israel a one-year ultimatum to withdraw from all of Judea and Samaria and east Jerusalem.

Bennett also said on the tarmac that he plans to "bring the...