Itamar Ben-Gvir

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	6 May 1976 (age 48); Mevaseret Zion, Israel
Political party	Otzma Yehudit
Spouse	Ayala Nimrodi
Children	6
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] 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.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

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".^[7] 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).^[8] As a lawyer, he is known for defending Jews accused of Jewish extremist terrorism on trial in Israel.^[9]

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,^[6] inciting violent clashes between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in 2021, and for visiting the Temple Mount where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located, spurring an international wave of criticism in January 2023.^[10]

^ "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.
^ 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 TOI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] "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.

[2] "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.

[3] 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.

[auto-4] 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.

[:9-5] 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.

[auto2-6] 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.

[7] 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.

[chaos_yorker-8] Ruth Margalit (20 February 2023). "Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's Minister of Chaos". The New Yorker.

[:0-9] 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.

[TOI-10] Cite error: The named reference TOI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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