New Israeli political identity to visit Sydney
Naftali Bennett, one of the new faces and rising stars of Israel’s recently elected government, will address a public meeting in Sydney next month.
Naftali Bennett
Minister of Economy, Jerusalem, and Diaspora Affairs and leader of the Jewish Home party, Bennett was a member of the elite Sayeret Matkall unit of the Israel Defence Forces and is a self-made IT millionaire.
He will speak at Central Synagogue at a public meeting on Sunday night December 8, organised by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies in conjunction with the United Israel Appeal and the Zionist Council of NSW.
While he in Sydney, he will also address a lunch hosted by the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce, conduct media interviews and address boardroom community meetings.
As a commander in the Sayeret Matkal, Bennett led teams 100 soldiers on counter-terrorism missions deep inside enemy territory. Today, he is a major (res.) in the unit.
In 1999 he co-founded and served as CEO of Cyota, an anti-fraud software company, until it was sold in 2005 for $145 million. Today, Cyota (now RSA-Security) employs over 300 people in Israel.
After serving in the Second Lebanon War, Bennett turned to public service, where he served as chief of staff to then-opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu, contributing to the growth of Likud from 12 MKs to 27 . In that period Bennett was also the leader of the Likud’s education reform team.
Before running for Knesset, he served as CEO of the Council of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) and created a non-profit organization, MyIsrael, which connected the broader Israeli public with Zionism and Jewish values.
Born to American immigrants, Bennett grew up in Haifa, received his Law Degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and currently lives with his wife and four children in Ra’anana.
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