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    Who Is Itamar Ben-Gvir?

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    Itamar Ben-Gvir is a rising far-right Israeli lawmaker whose influence has grown. He was once considered too extremist to serve in the military but is now a major player in Netanyahu's coalition. While known in the past for extreme views like displaying a photo of a terrorist, he claims to have become more moderate. However, his critics argue his moderation may not be sincere and question how dependent the new government is on a once-fringe figure like Ben-Gvir.

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    Who Is Itamar Ben-Gvir?

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    Itamar Ben-Gvir is a rising far-right Israeli lawmaker whose influence has grown. He was once considered too extremist to serve in the military but is now a major player in Netanyahu's coalition. While known in the past for extreme views like displaying a photo of a terrorist, he claims to have become more moderate. However, his critics argue his moderation may not be sincere and question how dependent the new government is on a once-fringe figure like Ben-Gvir.

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    Itamar Ben-Gvir is a rising far-right Israeli lawmaker whose influence has grown. He was once considered too extremist to serve in the military but is now a major player in Netanyahu's coalition. While known in the past for extreme views like displaying a photo of a terrorist, he claims to have become more moderate. However, his critics argue his moderation may not be sincere and question how dependent the new government is on a once-fringe figure like Ben-Gvir.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    50 views4 pages

    Who Is Itamar Ben-Gvir?

    Uploaded by

    Respaldo CB
    Itamar Ben-Gvir is a rising far-right Israeli lawmaker whose influence has grown. He was once considered too extremist to serve in the military but is now a major player in Netanyahu's coalition. While known in the past for extreme views like displaying a photo of a terrorist, he claims to have become more moderate. However, his critics argue his moderation may not be sincere and question how dependent the new government is on a once-fringe figure like Ben-Gvir.

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    of 4

    https://www.nytimes.

    com/2023/03
    /27/world/middleeast/israel-
    netanyahu-ben-gvir.html

    Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir?


    The influence of Itamar Ben-Gvir, a rising far-right
    lawmaker, was underscored when he said he would agree
    to a delay of the divisive judicial overhaul.

    By Patrick Kingsley

    March 27, 2023

    He was barred as a teenager from serving in the Israeli


    Army because he was considered too extremist. He
    admires a hard-line rabbi who wanted to strip Arab
    Israelis of their citizenship. Until recently, he hung a
    portrait in his home of Baruch Goldstein, who shot dead
    29 Palestinians in a West Bank mosque in 1994.

    Itamar Ben-Gvir, a rising far-right lawmaker, had long


    occupied the fringes of Israeli politics and been widely
    vilified for his extreme views. But last year he became a
    major player in Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to regain
    power and his party, Jewish Power, a key part of Mr.
    Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

    On Monday, Mr. Ben-Gvir’s influence was underscored by


    his initial opposition to — and then grudging blessing of
    — Mr. Netanyahu’s decision to delay, at least temporarily,
    the divisive judicial overhaul that had led to widespread
    protests.

    While right-wing dominance of Israeli politics is not new,


    Mr. Ben-Gvir’s rise illustrates how Mr. Netanyahu’s camp
    has become more extreme and religious.

    As his traditional allies abandoned him, Mr. Netanyahu —


    though secular himself — was forced to forge a stronger
    bond with ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. And though
    wary of appearing in public with them, he has become
    more reliant on ultranationalists like Mr. Ben-Gvir.

    That has made the government dependent on a lawmaker


    who, in addition to trying to upend Israel’s judicial
    system, wants to grant legal immunity to Israeli soldiers
    who shoot at Palestinians and deport rival lawmakers he
    accuses of terrorism.

    For more than a quarter-century, Mr. Ben-Gvir, 46, was


    relevant only on Israel’s far-right fringe. In 1995, he was
    filmed holding an emblem ripped from the car of Yitzhak
    Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who signed the Oslo
    peace accords.

    “Just as we got to this emblem, we’ll get to Rabin,” he said


    at the time. Mr. Rabin was assassinated later in 1995; Mr.
    Ben-Gvir had no connection to his murder.

    Mr. Ben-Gvir has been an admirer of Meir Kahane, an


    Israeli American extremist assassinated in 1990 who
    wanted to strip Arab Israelis of their citizenship,
    segregate Israeli public space, and ban marriage between
    Jews and non-Jews.

    Today, Mr. Ben-Gvir still calls Mr. Kahane “a hero,” but


    has distanced himself from Mr. Kahane’s most extreme
    policies.

    “I have no problem, of course, with the minorities here,”


    he said in a brief voice message last year, after declining a
    full interview. “But whoever is a terrorist, whoever
    commits terror — and anyone who wants jihad and to
    annihilate Jews, and not only that, also hurts Arabs — I
    have a problem with him.”

    In other interviews, he has said he has become more


    moderate.
    The portrait of Mr. Goldstein, who killed the Palestinians
    in 1994, no longer hangs in Mr. Ben-Gvir’s home. He
    regrets the episode involving Mr. Rabin’s car, he said in
    September. If he had actually “got to” Mr. Rabin himself,
    he would have only shouted at him, Mr. Ben-Gvir added.

    He has told his supporters to chant, “Death to terrorists,”


    instead of, “Death to Arabs.” He does not support
    expelling all Arabs, only those he calls terrorists.

    “This is a Jewish country,” he said in his voice message.


    But, he added, “I also want this country to be a safe
    country for all its citizens.”

    The sincerity of Mr. Ben-Gvir’s shift was placed in doubt


    in September by a senior member of his party, Jewish
    Power. In a leaked video, that party member, Almog
    Cohen, appeared to present his leader’s moderation as an
    election ploy.

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