The right-wing bloc has triumphed in Israel, mainly thanks to a surge in enthusiasm for hardliner Itamar Ben Gvir’s party Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish Strength”). Gun owner Ben Gvir promises to stand up for soldiers and his country, and wants to become the next Security Minister.
The right-wing bloc looks poised to take about 65 seats out of 120 in the Knesset, potentially giving the Holy land the first stable patriotic government after 5 elections in 3 years, as far-left Soros-financed NGOs and prosecutors tried in vain to get rid of Trump ally Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu achieved this stunning comeback thanks to a deal he made in Spring, when new elections were called, with the other right-wing parties, Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party and the smaller Noam party, which formed a joint list and gave conservative voters disaffected with Netanyahu an alternative.
The biggest winner is Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, who went from only one seat in 2021 to eight or nine in the current round, making Ben Gvir the kingmaker in coalition negotiations. The mainstream media paint Ben Gvir as a radical, since he was a student of far-right firebrand Meir Kahane, whose Kach party was banned after Kahane disciple Baruch Goldstein killed 29 Muslim worshippers and wounded 125 at the Cave of the Patriarchs 1994. Ben Gvir is said to have kept Goldstein’s photo on his wall and never condemned the attack.
“I am an extremist”
“I can’t say I haven’t changed, maybe mellowed,” Ben Gvir told Adam Berkowitz at Israel365 News. “Itamar at 46 years old is not the Itamar at 16 years old. But my basic principles remain unchanged and uncompromised. I love Israel. I always have and I always will. When I was young, I shouted that we should kick out all of the Arabs. I don’t believe that anymore. But I do think that anyone who lives in this country should obey the laws. I still think terrorists have no place in this country, even more than I did when I was young.”
“I am an extremist,” Ben Gvir told Berkowitz. “I am an extremist when it comes to a love of Israel. I love Jerusalem. I love Judea and Samaria. I love our soldiers. I love Israelis. But this isn’t extremist anymore. The majority of Israelis are becoming ‘extremists’ in their love of Israel and those are the Israelis who support me. We have a lot to be proud of and a lot to love.”
“Terrorists deserve the death penalty”
“I am not a racist, God forbid. I don’t hate Arabs. They are part of my country and I love my country”, said Ben Gvir. “But anyone who hurts my country, I hate them. Arabs who are violent, who attack others, I have a problem with these people. We need to deal with these people in a very strict manner. Terrorists deserve the death penalty. A terrorist that murdered a baby should not be sitting in a prison being treated like he is a guest at a four-star hotel while collecting a salary from the Palestinian Authority. I want to stand up for our soldiers, give them the support they need. If they are attacked, they need to feel that they can fight back without worrying about being abandoned to be attacked in the press or, worse, prosecuted for acting correctly. In Israel, civilians should be able to acquire a gun to protect themselves. ”
In the wake of Ben Gvir’s electoral triumph, Western media have been highlighting a video showing Ben Gvir defending himself with a gun during clashes in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, as Arab rioters hurled stones. Two Jewish teens were hurt in the clashes. “If they throw stones, shoot them,” Ben Gvir is heard saying to the police.
“The politicians are tying the hands of our cops,” he later said in a tweet that included a picture of him with the pistol. “It cannot be that Arabs throw stones next to cops and the cops don’t respond with fire.”
הערב בשמעון הצדיק – מחבלים ערבים זורקים אבנים ומסכנים את חיי ואת חיי התושבים כאן והשוטרים מפחדים לירות. הממשלה הזו כובלת את ידי השוטרים ומסכנת אותם ואת אזרחי המדינה, ואנחנו פה כדי להגן עליהם. דם יהודי אינו הפקר.
צילום:זושא לוסטיג. pic.twitter.com/hAeWDSMbDf— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) October 13, 2022
In December 2021, Ben Gvir drew his gun in an altercation with two Arab security guards in a Tel Aviv garage, claiming that he was attacked and harrassed by the Arab guards.
Now, gun-toting patriot Ben Gvir is poised to become Israel’s next security minister.
More on the Israeli elections and Itamar Ben Gvir from The Israel Guys:
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