Peloni: Bennet has a hard sell to make. Evidence of this hard sell is demonstrated in a poll by Channel 14 which shows that the coalition would defeat Bennet even with the full support of the opposition parties, including the Arab lists. This is just one of many polls of course with the others demonstrating the possibility of neither the current coalition nor the opposition having the numbers to win without support of the Arab list. So we will see what comes from Bennett’s attempts to employ Bibi and Trump strategists to aid his attempts to return the makeup of his previous govt to power. His success at the time brought about many stark disasters, not least of which was the grand subsidies to the Arab street in the wake of the May 2021 War of Riots and Rockets when the Arab street raised pogroms across Israel in support of Hamas, not to mention the inexplicable gift of the gas fields to Hezbollah controlled Lebanon to satisfy American demands. Politics is always interesting, of course, but this political season promises to be even more interesting than normal.
Former PM recruits top American strategists Fabrizio and Birnbaum as election showdown with Netanyahu looms.
Israfan | Feb 5, 2026
Former PM Naftali Bennett. Photo by Itzhak Harari / Knesset Archives, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikipedia
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Wednesday that two heavyweight American political consultants Anthony Fabrizio and George Birnbaum are joining his campaign team ahead of Israel’s upcoming national elections.
Fabrizio, a veteran Republican pollster and key adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, brings years of high-stakes campaign experience, having led polling efforts for both the 2016 and 2024 Trump presidential campaigns. His addition signals Bennett’s intent to bolster his international credentials and appeal to conservative voters aligned with pro-Trump sentiment.
George Birnbaum, meanwhile, is a familiar face in Israeli politics, having worked on every general election in Israel since 1996. A former chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seasoned global strategist, Birnbaum’s experience spans over 20 national campaigns across multiple countries.
Their recruitment is widely seen as a strategic move to tighten the race with Netanyahu, who remains Bennett’s chief political rival. By bringing in two figures deeply connected to the Likud leader’s own past campaigns both worked closely with Netanyahu and the late Republican strategist Arthur Finkelstein—Bennett is not only building a powerful advisory team but also sending a clear message: he intends to compete at the highest level.
“I’m proud and honored to add two highly successful and experienced advisers like Tony and George to my team,” Bennett said in a statement. “Their extensive experience in Israel and around the world will be of enormous value. I am confident they will help lead us to victory and, in doing so, also help heal and unite our country.”
Finkelstein, who passed away in 2017, played a legendary role in Netanyahu’s first election victory in 1996 and later became a mentor to both Birnbaum and Fabrizio. Their addition is seen by analysts as an attempt by Bennett to reclaim some of that strategic edge in what promises to be a tightly contested election.
Bennett’s new right-wing party, Bennett 2026, is trailing Netanyahu’s Likud in recent polls, but with elections expected no later than the end of October, campaign dynamics are rapidly shifting.
By recruiting Fabrizio and Birnbaum, Bennett is staking his claim not just as a comeback candidate but as a serious contender capable of challenging the political status quo with precision, professionalism, and broad appeal.
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