Naftali Bennett

Naftali Bennett was born in 1972 in Haifa

Bennett was born in Haifa in 1972, the youngest of three sons of Jim and Myrna Bennett, who immigrated to Israel from San Francisco in 1967. The family lived for periods in Montreal and New Jersey before settling in Haifa. He attended Yavne Yeshiva High School and was a group leader in Bnei Akiva.

He was drafted into the IDF in 1990 and served in Sayeret Matkal, then moved to the Maglan unit, where he became a company commander. He later served in the reserves with the rank of major.

After his service he studied law and business at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1999 he co-founded the software security company Cyota, which was sold in 2005 for $145 million. He was later CEO of Soluto.

He was chief of staff to Benjamin Netanyahu from 2006 to 2008 and led The Jewish Home from 2012. He served as Minister of Economy and Religious Services, Minister of Education and Minister of Defense. In 2018 he formed the New Right party.

In 2021 he formed a rotation government with Yair Lapid and became prime minister. After the coalition lost its majority, Lapid replaced him on 1 July 2022. In 2025 he registered a new party, Bennett 2026.