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Bennett: Israelis grateful to America’s bipartisan support

Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett stood away from controversies and confrontation as he appeared on U.S. media outlets during a visit to the United States Monday.
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December 1, 2015

Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett stood away from controversies and confrontation as he appeared on U.S. media outlets during a visit to the United States Monday.

During an interview with Josh Zepps on Huffington Post Live, Bennett was asked via social media why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to align himself with the Republican Party – the American right?

“We are fully bipartisan. We don’t support any particular party,” Bennett replied. “We are thankful and grateful to America, who, clearly, is our biggest and best friend in the world. And I think many Americans can appreciate the uphill battle we are fighting – just to exist – in a very tough neighbourhood. So, I think that goes way deeper than any local disagreements.”

Bennett said the U.S.-Israel relationship would survive any disagreements with the U.S. Administration. “I lived her for five years heading my hi-tech company, I got to know the American ethos, and it’s a wonderful one – a freedom of self-reliance,” he asserted. Adding, “Also America has its imperfections. So do we. But I think both countries are trying to do the best to make the world a better place.”

Asked to comment about Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, Bennett refused to take the bait. “Ah… I don’t know. I am — I am no political commentator,” he said.

“We’ve got our own mess in politics. You’re not going to get me involved,” he added with a huge smile on his face.

Bennett was referring to the most recent scandal rocking his own Party – Bayit Yehudi with the resignation of MK Yinon Magal in light of several sexual harassment allegations raised against him in recent days.

The Israeli minister also appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program Monday morning and on Al Jazeera America. During his visit to New York, Bennett briefed members of the Council for Foreign Relations. “The questions were very different this time,” he tweeted in Hebrew. “Daesh (ISIS) more than the Palestinian issue.”

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