Itamar Ben-Gvir

Itamar Ben-Gvir
אִיתָמָר בֶּן גְּבִיר
Ben-Gvir in 2022
Minister of National Security
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 December 2022
Faction represented in the Knesset
2021–2022	Religious Zionist Party
2022–	Otzma Yehudit
Personal details
Born	(1976-05-06) 6 May 1976 (age 48) Mevaseret Zion, Israel
Political party	Otzma Yehudit
Spouse	Ayala Nimrodi
Children	6[1]
Education	Ono Academic College
Signature

Itamar Ben-Gvir (Hebrew: אִיתָמָר בֶּן גְּבִיר, [itaˈmaʁ benˈgviʁ]; born 6 May 1976) is an Israeli far-right politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of National Security since 2022.^[2][3] He is the leader of Otzma Yehudit, a Kahanist and anti-Arab party that won six seats in the 2022 Israeli legislative election, and is part of what is widely regarded as the most right-wing government in Israel's history.^[4][5][6][7]

Ben-Gvir is a settler in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, whose "political background lies in Kahanism - a violently racist movement that supports the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands".^[8] He has a long history of anti-Arab activism leading to dozens of indictments and at least eight convictions of crimes including incitement to racism, possession of propaganda for a terrorist organization (the now illegal political party Kach) and support for a terrorist organisation (also Kach).^[9] As a lawyer, he is known for defending Jews accused of Jewish extremist terrorism on trial in Israel.^[10]

Ben-Gvir is known for being a provocateur and has grabbed headlines for a variety of reasons; threatening Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on live television in 1995 (Rabin was assassinated shortly after that), having had a portrait in his living room of Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish extremist terrorist and mass murderer, calling for the expulsion of Arab citizens of Israel who are not loyal to Israel in 2019,^[7] inciting violent clashes between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in 2021, and for making highly controversial visits to the Temple Mount, where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located, in 2023 and 2024.^[11]

Itamar Ben-Gvir was born in Mevaseret Zion. His father was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and worked at a gasoline company and dabbled in writing.^[10] His mother was a Kurdish Jewish immigrant who was active in the Irgun as a teenager and was a homemaker. His family was secular, but as a teenager, he adopted religious and radical right-wing views during the First Intifada. He first joined a right-wing youth movement affiliated with Moledet, a party which advocated the expulsion of Arabs out of Israel, and then joined the youth movement of the even more radical Kach and Kahane Chai party, which was designated as a terrorist organization and outlawed by the Israeli government.^[12][13] He became youth coordinator of Kach, and claimed that he was detained at the age of 14. When he came of age for conscription into the Israel Defense Forces at 18, he was exempted from service by the IDF due to his extreme-right political background.^[14][10]

Ben-Gvir continued to be associated with the Kahanist movement;^[15] Otzma Yehudit is considered Kach's ideological successor.^[16] However, when forming the Otzma Yehudit party, he claimed that it would not be a Kach, Kahane Chai or splinter group.^[17] He carried out a series of far-right activities that have resulted in dozens of indictments. In a November 2015 interview, he claimed to have been indicted 53 times.^[18] In most cases, the charges were thrown out of court.^[10] In 2007, however, he was convicted for incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization.^[19][20] Ben-Gvir has been convicted of at least eight charges.^[9]

In the 1990s, he was active in protests against the Oslo Accords. In 1995, Ben-Gvir came to public attention for the first time, when he appeared on television brandishing a Cadillac hood ornament that had been stolen from Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's car, and declared: "We got to his car, and we'll get to him too." Several weeks later, Rabin was assassinated by right-wing extremist Yigal Amir.^[10][21]

Ben-Gvir sometimes represented himself during his many indictments, and at the suggestion of several judges, he decided to study law. Ben-Gvir studied law at the Ono Academic College.^[10] At the end of his studies, the Israel Bar Association blocked him from taking the bar exam on grounds of his criminal record. Ben-Gvir claimed the decision was politically motivated. After a series of appeals, this decision was overturned, but it was ruled that Ben-Gvir would first have to settle three criminal cases in which he was charged at the time. After being acquitted in all three cases on charges including holding an illegal gathering and disturbing a civil servant, Ben-Gvir was allowed to take the exam. He passed the written and oral examinations, and was granted a license to practice law.^[22][23]

As a lawyer, Ben-Gvir has represented a series of far-right Jewish activists suspected of terrorism and hate crimes, some of which are colloquially known as hilltop youth. He has stated that his work representing them is ideologically motivated.^[10] Notable clients include Kahanist activist Benzi Gopstein and two teenagers charged in the Duma arson attack. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz described Ben-Gvir as the "go-to man" for Jewish extremists facing legal trouble, and reported that his client list "reads like a 'Who's Who' of suspects in Jewish terror cases and hate crimes in Israel".^[10] Ben-Gvir has also represented Lehava, a far-right Israeli anti-assimilation organization founded by Gopstein which is active in opposing Jewish intermarriage with non-Jews,^[24][25] and has sued the Jerusalem Waqf.^[26][27][28]

Ben-Gvir was the parliamentary assistant in the 18th Knesset for Michael Ben-Ari.^[17] In the 2013 Israeli legislative election, he was placed fifth on the Otzma Leyisrael list, but failed to enter Knesset since the party did not pass the election threshold.^[29] On 23 July 2017, he was part of the leadership of a protest that included dozens of people outside of the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem. The protest was held by both Lehava and Otzma Yehudit.^[30]

Ben-Gvir had planned to run for a seat in the Knesset in the 2019 Israeli legislative election in the first slot of a combined Noam/Otzma Yehudit electoral list,^[31] though the two parties split over Otzma's inclusion of a secular candidate on the combined list (which Noam disagreed with).^[32] Ben-Gvir was in the third seat^[33] of a joint list that included Otzma Yehudit, Noam and the Religious Zionist Party that ran in the 2021 Israeli legislative election.^[34] He was elected to the Knesset as the alliance won six seats.^[35]

In the 2022 Israeli legislative election, Otzma Yehudit again ran as part of a combined list with the Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich. This combined list was strongly encouraged by Benjamin Netanyahu who publicly posted a video address warning against the parties running independently and risking falling below the 3,25% electoral threshold needed to get a seat.^[36] The prospect of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich entering government was highly controversial. Yaakov Katz, the then editor of The Jerusalem Post, warned that such a government would work "toward the same goal of destroying Israeli democracy."^[37] The combined list received the 3rd most votes in the 25th Knesset, a total of 14 seats out of 120.^[38][39] Ben-Gvir and his party entered a Netanyahu-led government. The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog was heard on microphone saying that the entire world was worried about Ben-Gvir becoming a minister.^[40] It was reported in late November 2022 that Ben-Gvir would head the newly created National Security Ministry, whose duties would include overseeing the Israel Border Police in the West Bank.^[41]

In January 2022, his level of security was increased. Due to frequent death threats, Ben-Gvir is accompanied by multiple security guards in public, and extra security measures are taken to ensure his safety.^[42]

As minister, Ben-Gvir worked to loosen Israel's firearm-ownership regulations.^[43]

On 26 January 2024 he accused the International Court of Justice of anti-semitism following its ruling on the case South Africa v. Israel.^[44] He was the subject of a foiled assassination plot by seven Arab citizens of Israel and four Palestinians from the West Bank in 2024.^[45]

After the Israeli military police in July 2024 visited Sde Teiman detention camp to detain nine Israeli soldiers suspected of aggravated abuse and forcible sodomy of a Palestinian prisoner, Ben-Gvir condemned the prosecution of the soldiers as "shameful", calling for "the military authorities to back the fighters … Soldiers need to have our full support".^[46]

Various reports indicate that, since the October 7 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel mistreatment has become an integral part of Israel’s detention of Palestinian prisoners in Israel which is under Ben-Gvir.^[47][48]

On 25 February 2019, Ben-Gvir said that Arab citizens of Israel who were not loyal to Israel "must be expelled".^[5]

Prior to entering office Ben-Gvir was known to have a portrait in his living room of Israeli-American mass murderer Baruch Goldstein, who massacred 29 Palestinian Muslim worshipers and wounded 125 others in Hebron, in the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre;^[49][50] he removed the portrait in preparation for the 2020 Israeli legislative election in hope of being allowed to run on the unified right list headed by Naftali Bennett.^[51]

In the context of the Sheikh Jarrah controversy, in May 2021, Ben-Gvir set up a makeshift office in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in a show of solidarity with Jewish settlers.^[52] Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah have faced potential evictions by Israeli settlers for years. Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai placed the blame for the outbreak of violent clashes on Ben-Gvir.^[53] Ben-Gvir dismantled his office and left the neighbourhood after Netanyahu agreed to increase police presence in the neighbourhood during Ramadan.^[54]

In October 2021, Ben-Gvir and Joint List leader Ayman Odeh had a physical confrontation during a visit to the Kaplan Medical Center to see Miqdad Qawasmeh, a Hamas operative who had been on a hunger strike for over three months of his administrative detention. Ben-Gvir was against Qawasmeh being treated in an Israeli hospital, and stated that he had visited to check the detainee's conditions, as well as to "see up close this miracle that a person remains alive despite not eating for several months". As Ben-Gvir attempted to enter Qawasmeh's room, he accused Odeh of being a terrorist for supporting extremists like Qawasmeh. Odeh then struck first, pushing Ben-Gvir, and the pair began to scuffle before being separated by bystanders.^[55] Ben-Gvir later filed a complaint against Odeh, claiming that he had "committed a serious criminal act".^[56]

In December 2021, Ben-Gvir was investigated after a video surfaced of him pulling a handgun on Arab security guards during a parking dispute in the underground garage of the Expo Tel Aviv conference center. The guards asked Ben-Gvir to move his vehicle as he was parked in a prohibited space. He then drew a pistol and brandished it at the guards.^[57] Both parties taunted each other, and Ben-Gvir claimed that he felt his life threatened. The guards were unarmed.^[58] He was criticized by lawmakers across the aisle, and the incident was investigated.^[59]

On October 13, 2022, Ben-Gvir took part in clashes in Sheikh Jarrah between Israeli Jewish settlers and local Palestinian residents whilst brandishing a gun, telling the police to shoot at Palestinians throwing stones at the scene, and yelling at them that "We're the landlords here, remember that, I am your landlord."^[60] This was a message he later repeated in a tweet on the morning after the 2022 election in his victory tweet.^[61]

Ben-Gvir has led several visits to the Temple Mount as an activist and member of Knesset, as well as contentious marches through Jerusalem's Old City Muslim Quarter.^[11] On 3 January 2023, he visited the Temple Mount as national security minister, which prompted a wave of international criticism from the United States, European Union, and Arab countries including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who characterised his visit as provocative and called on Israel to respect the status quo of holy sites.^[11] On 13 August 2024, he led a group of Jewish worshippers to the compound on the occasion of Tisha B'Av, an annual day of fasting in Judaism. Against convention, several Jews were seen praying and prostrating themselves without being challenged by police who were present. This caused wide outrage in Israel as well as internationally, and resulted in contradictory statements made by prime minister Netanyahu's office and Ben-Gvir himself about whether this indicated a formal change in Israeli policy.^[62] At the urging of Jerusalem mayor Moshe Lion, five senior rabbis issued a video statement in Hebrew—with Arabic subtitles—stating that it is strictly forbidden for Jews to enter the compound, and called for calm.^[63]

On 8 January 2023, Ben-Gvir ordered Israeli police to remove Palestinian flags being flown in public, stating the flags symbolized terrorism.^[64]

In August 2023 Ben-Gvir stated, "My right, and my wife's and my children's right, to get around on the roads in Judea and Samaria is more important than the right to movement for Arabs".^[65] These comments were condemned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the US State Department as racist. The PA condemned "the racist and heinous remarks by Israel's fascist minister Itamar Ben Gvir, which only confirms Israel's apartheid regime of Jewish supremacy and racial terror against the Palestinian people".^[66]

In October 2023, following the arrest of five Haredi Jews for spitting at Christians outside churches, Ben-Gvir said it was "not a criminal case" following arrests.^[67] He said he thought it should be addressed "through instruction and education", rather than justifying arrest.^[68] Prior to entering politics, he defended Jews spitting at Christians as "an ancient Jewish custom".^[68] After the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, Ben-Gvir said that "Israel is experiencing one of the most difficult events in its history. This is not the time for questions, tests and investigations."^[69]

The Arab community in Israel has seen a significant increase in violence and organized crime, including a rise in gang-related murders in recent years.^[70][71] A report by the The Abraham Initiatives highlighted that 244 Arab community members were killed in Israel in 2023, more than double the previous year's count.^[72][73] The report attributed this surge in homicides directly to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who campaigned on a platform promising to improve personal security and oversees law enforcement.^[72]

In November 2023 he declared that "when they say that Hamas needs to be eliminated, it also means those who sing, those who support and those who distribute candy, all of these are terrorists."^[74][75] On 1 January 2024, Ben-Gvir said that the war with Hamas presented an "opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza."^[76] He has stated that "We cannot withdraw from any territory we are in in the Gaza Strip. Not only do I not rule out Jewish settlement there, I believe it is also an important thing".^[77] On the day that a number of European countries recognised a Palestinian state, Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and said "We will not allow any surrender that would even include a declaration of a Palestinian state" and that the mosque site belongs "only to the State of Israel".^[78]

Noted Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz has said Ben-Gvir represents "Jewish fascism".^[79]

The European Union's foreign policy chief has requested that some Israeli ministers be sanctioned by the 27 member states of the bloc for their 'hate messages' towards Palestinians. He didn't specify the ministers, but recently he's publicly criticized Ben-Gvir and Smotrich for statements he described as 'sinister'.^[80]

Ben-Gvir is married to Ayala Nimrodi, a distant relative of Ofer Nimrodi, the former owner of the Maariv daily newspaper. Reportedly, the couple visited the grave of Baruch Goldstein, a mass murderer, on their first date.^[9] The couple has six children, and they live in the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba/Hebron, which is illegal under international law, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.^[10]

Ben-Gvir sued his father's caregiver, a foreign worker from Sri Lanka, for 100,000 NIS after he asked for severance pay from him and his brother, after Ben-Gvir's father died. Ben-Gvir's claim was that his father died because the worker went on a vacation. The court ruled that Ben-Gvir and his brother would pay the foreign worker around 100,000 NIS as their father's heirs.^[81]

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