Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has a plan. And he is doing everything he can to execute his plan before he is either thrown out of the government or the ruling coalition of which he is a part collapses.
In the meantime, Ben-Gvir grabs headlines and provokes controversy with a single-minded focus, even as Israel is on edge and tensions continue spreading across the Middle East.
Ben-Gvir is the leader of the Otzma Yehudit, a hard-right Kahanist and anti-Arab political party that won six seats in the 2022 Israeli legislative elections. His party is a coalition member in Israel’s most right-wing government in history. And he sits near the top among Israeli leaders in influence, savvy and sheer chutzpah as he seeks to pull the Netanyahu government farther and farther to the right and to the brink of a regional war.
Ben-Gvir supports the ultra-Zionist settler movement. He opposes virtually all efforts of conciliation or negotiation with Israel’s Arab citizens and neighbors. He refuses to engage with Palestinian leadership and opposes efforts to negotiate with Hamas for the freedom of hostages for whom ransom would be paid through the release of terrorists with blood on their hands.
And he insists on the right of Jews to pray at the Temple Mount — claiming that he is the person who has the right to decide the issue, no matter what the prime minister, the police, rabbinic authorities, other politicians or the commonly accepted “status quo” might prefer or require.
For the past several months, Ben-Gvir has made very public visits to the Temple Mount, accompanied by an entourage and photographers who record his activities. He marches in with police protection and, along with those accompanying him, engages in prayer activity knowing that his actions are provocative and incendiary. Following each of Ben-Gvir’s visits, the prime minister’s office issues a statement condemning the visit and confirming that Ben-Gvir’s activity contradicts Israeli policy.
It happened again last week. On Tisha B’Av morning, Aug. 13, Ben-Gvir and friends marked the solemn Jewish fast day which mourns the destruction of the Temple with a visit to the Temple Mount and a prayer service. That move had one purpose, and it succeeded. It angered almost everyone and ratcheted up the tension in Israel and among its Arab neighbors. And that’s exactly what Ben-Gvir wanted to do.
Criticism of Ben-Gvir came from all corners — from the prime minister’s office, Arab and Western leaders, members of the opposition and even Haredi lawmakers who are Ben-Gvir’s coalition partners. Ben-Gvir doesn’t seem to care. In fact, he seems to thrive on the attention and the recognition that, at least for now, his critics are powerless to stop him.
Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount adventures are more theater than substance and are intentionally designed to evoke reactions. They are an unnecessary distraction and dangerous, as nothing good can come from such continuing provocation.
Someone needs to talk sense into Itamar Ben-Gvir.
