Chief settler: “We make Israeli economy more stable”

Ami Kaufman By Ami Kaufman August 4, 2011 | Edit

Naftali Bennet, the Director General  of the Yesha Council, is apparently suffering from the heat wave. Otherwise, how could one explain the answers he gave to Yossi Verter of Haaretz today, who asked him about the settler movement that Bennnet heads joining the tent demo.

Verter: Didn’t anyone (in the tents – AK) tell you that if Israel hadn’t invested till today almost 100 billion dollars in the settlements, maybe the situation would be better here?

Bennet: Rubbish. Our presence in Judea and Samaria prevents bombings in Rothschild boulevard. The economy in Israel was in the dumps before the IDF went back into Judea and Samaria in Operation Defensive Shield.

Verter: That was the IDF, not families of settlers.

Bennet: If we leave Judea and Samaria the economy will crash. There will be missiles on Tel Aviv. As long as there is Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, the State of Israel is safer and her economy more stable.

Talk about la la land…

Ami Kaufman

Ami Kaufman was chief night editor for Haaretz, for the prominent Israeli financial daily Calcalist, and correspondent on Israeli affairs for 93.6 RAM FM, a joint Palestinian-Israel radio station. His interest in food and cooking led to culinary studies at the "Israeli CIA" (Tadmor, Herzliya) and a brief stint in the restaurant business. Born in Tel Aviv, Ami lives in Bat Yam with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time he blogs at Half & Half.

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