After a particularly exhausting year, Yamina Chairman Naftali Bennett on Sunday visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
He learned first-hand that with all due respect to campaigns and slogans, interviews and ads, videos and activists – that not everything can be controlled. Ultimately, this was Bennett's lesson to learn throughout these three rounds of elections, during which he expired politically yet came back to be appointed defense minister.
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He and his Yamina comrades came into this election determined to hit the campaign trail. They knew, however, that many of their supporters were angry with them. The splinter and reunification, the addition of Itamar Ben-Gvir and then relegating him, the external appointment of Rafi Peretz and Netanyahu's meddling – all these factors led more than a few national-religious voters (the knitted kippot, as they're known) to explore the pastures of Blue and White and Likud. Yamina will look to reverse this momentum on Election Day. Leaning on intra-sectorial connections, thousands of party volunteers will descend upon the national-religious population hubs in the hope that not a single voter remains home. The internal polls show seven, maybe eight mandates. Barring any last-second slippage, these are the numbers the party expects to attain.
What's certain is that the lesson was learned. This time, Bennett declared a faction meeting as early as Tuesday, while the faction's members have vowed to remain united. Moreover, Bennett has taken responsibility for his mistakes – not just for the sake of appearances in the press but in private meetings with constituents. And in general, in the eternal feud with Netanyahu, Bennett and Ayelet Shaked were the responsible adults.
The pressure and chatter will begin on Tuesday, along with the threats and subterfuge. Blue and White will try enticing Bennett and Shaked, whether as leverage against Netanyahu or to try forming a government. One thing will ensure Yamina stays in the right-wing bloc at all costs, and that is sovereignty. If this promise is squandered, similar to others he has made, his constituents will begin losing patience.
