Itamar Ben-Gvir | |
|---|---|
אִיתָמָר בֶּן גְּבִיר | |
.jpg) Ben-Gvir in 2022 | |
| Minister of National Security | |
| Assumed office 29 December 2022 | |
| Faction represented in the Knesset | |
| 2021–2022 | Religious Zionist Party |
| 2022– | Otzma Yehudit |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 May 1976 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]
- ^ "Ben Gvir's wife: Yes, I carry a gun, 'deal with it'". The Times of Israel. 14 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Far-right extremist gets Israeli security job as coalition deals struck". The Guardian. Reuters. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ Tanno, Sophie (2 June 2024). "Two far-right Israeli ministers threaten to topple the government if it accepts Biden peace plan". CNN. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Keller-Lynn, Carrie (29 December 2022). "Netanyahu returns as PM, wins Knesset support for Israel's most hardline government". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ Kelman, Aaron (27 January 2013). "Arab town doesn't love anti-Arab party". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ Ahren, Raphael (18 February 2015). "The extremist who could bring Kahanism back to the Knesset". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ a b Magid, Jacob (24 February 2019). "Otzma Yehudit candidate: Critics have to go back 30 years in order to attack us". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ Bateman, Tom (25 August 2023). "US condemns Israeli minister Ben Gvir's 'inflammatory' Palestinian comments". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Ruth Margalit (20 February 2023). "Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's Minister of Chaos". The New Yorker.
- ^ Maltz, Judy (4 January 2016). "The Lawyer for Jewish Terrorists Who Started Out by Stealing Rabin's Car Emblem". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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