Itamar Ben-Gvir

Itamar Ben-Gvir (Hebrew: אִיתָמָר בֶּן גְּבִיר [itaˈmaʁ benˈgviʁ]; born 6 May 1976) is an Israeli lawyer, politician, who ran for the Security Ministry since 2022. He is the leader of Otzma Yehudit, a far-right Kahanist party in Israel that won six seats in the 2022 legislative election, which entered the 37th Israeli government.

Ben-Gvir is an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, who served as a representative of Kahanism, a Zionist racist movement. He has a long history of anti-Arab activism, leading to dozens of indictments and at least 8 convictions of crimes including incitement to racism, support of and possession of propaganda of a terror organization (referring to the illegal, Zionist far-right party Kach). As a lawyer, he is known for defending Jews accused of Jewish extremist terrorism in Israeli courts. 

He used to hang a portrait of Baruch Goldstein in his living room.

On 18 January 2025, it was reported that Ben-Gvir intended to resign from his ministerial position in response to the approval and implementation of the three-phase Gaza war ceasefire deal. He resigned on 19 January 2025. Two months later, it was announced that he and other party members would return to the government after an agreement was reached, following the conti

 Early life 
Itamar Ben-Gvir was born in Mevaseret Zion as the youngest. Father Zadok, was born in Jerusalem to parents from Iraqi Kurdistan, and worked at a gasoline company and dabbled in writing. His mother, Shoshana Ben-Gvir, was a Kurdish Jewish immigrant from Iraq who was active in the Irgun as a teenager. She was arrested by the British at age 14, and later worked as a homemaker. 

 Legal and Political career 
Itamar Ben-Gvir and his family used to be secular, but following the Intifada, he joined theRehavam Ze'evi's Moledet, then the youth wing of Meir Kahane's Kach, both of which sought the expulsion of Palestinians from the Land of Israel. 

Ben-Gvir worked as a Youth Coordinator for Kach, designated as a terror group.

At the age of 18, Ben-Gvir refused conscription into the Israel Defense Forces due to disqualifications based on his far-right background.

Ben-Gvir used represented himself during his many indictments, and at the suggestion of several judges, he decided to study Law, which he did at the Ono Academic College, a private college in Kiryat Ono. At the end of his studies, the Israel Bar Association blocked him from taking the bar exam on grounds of his criminal record. Ben-Gvir claimed the decision was politically motivated. After a series of appeals, this decision was overturned, but it was ruled that Ben-Gvir would first have to settle three criminal cases in which he was charged at the time. After being acquitted in all three cases on charges including holding an illegal gathering and disturbing a civil servant, Ben-Gvir was allowed to take the exam. He passed the written and oral examinations, and was granted a license to practice law.

Ben-Gvir used to serve as an attorney for far-right Jewish activists convicted of hate crimes, violence and terror. He has stated that his work representing them is motivated by his ideology, creed and religion. Notable clients include Baruch Marzel, former representative of the Jewish National Front, Benzi Gopstein, current leader of Lehava, and two teens charged in Duma arson attack, in which three people died. Ben-Gvir has also represented Lehava, a far-right Israeli anti-assimilation organization founded by Gopstein which is active in opposing Jewish intermarriage with non-Jews, and has sued the Jerusalem Waqf. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz described Ben-Gvir as the "go-to man" for Hebrew extremists facing legal trouble, and reported that his client list "reads like a 'Who's Who' of suspects in Jewish terror cases and hate crimes in Israel". 

Later on, Ben-Gvir worked for the Jewish National Front, led by Baruch Marzel, which joined the National Union, of which Michael Ben-Ari, a self-described devotee of Kahane ran as #4, marking the first time that a follower of Meir Kahane (dubbed Kahanist) was elected.

Once Baruch Marzel, Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (of Jewish National Front) and Aryeh Eldad (of HaTikvah) left the Eretz Yisrael Shelanu party to found the Otzma LeYisrael, in the 18th Knesset, Marzel, Ben-Gvir, and Gopstein served as parliamentary aides to Mike Ben-Ari, chairman of Otzma Yehudit (2012-19).

Otzma Yehudit is a Hebrew name that means "Jewish Power", reflective of its unrelenting use of force (or violence) against the Palestinian millitants. 

In the 2013 Israeli legislative election, he ran fifth for the Jewish Power Party, but failed to enter Knesset since the party did not pass the election threshold. On 23 July 2017, he led a protest that included dozens of people outside of the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. The protest was held by both Lehava and Otzma Yehudit.

In the 2022 Israeli legislative election, far-right Zionist parties, Jewish Power, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich and Noam, led by Avi Maoz, ran together in a coalition drafted by the Israeli Prime Minister's office, held by Netanyahu, which publicly posted a video address warning against the parties running independently and risking falling below the 3.25% electoral threshold needed to get a seat. The prospect of Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, and Maoz entering government was highly controversial. Jacob Katz, the then editor of The Jerusalem Post, formerly called "Palestinian Post", warned that such a government would work "toward the same goal of destroying Israeli democracy." The combined list received the 3rd most votes in the 25th Knesset, a total of 14 seats out of 120. Ben-Gvir and his party entered the Netanyahu-led government. The president of Israel, Yitzhak Herzog was heard on a hot mic saying that the entire world was worried about Ben-Gvir's potential entry to a Minister's office. In November 2022, Netanyahu appointed Ben-Gvir as the recent Security Minister, whose duties would include overseeing the Israel Border Police in the West Bank and Gaza.

Itamar Ben-Gvir continues to associate himself with Kach and Kahane Chai, despite removing a portrait of Baruch Goldstein, who used to run for the Ben-Gvir's former movement.

In January 2022, his level of security was increased. Due to frequent death threats, Ben-Gvir was accompanied by multiple security guards in public, and extra security measures are taken to ensure his safety.

As minister, Ben-Gvir worked to loosen Israel's firearm-ownership regulations. His office stated in August 2025 that reforms had led to 230,000 new firearm licenses. Netanyahu backed the creation of a National Guard, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir.

On 26 January 2024 he accused the International Court of Justice of antisemitism following its ruling on the case South Africa v. Israel. He was the subject of a foiled assassination plot by seven Arab citizens of Israel and four Palestinians from the West Bank in 2024.

Four Palestinian people and three Arabs in Israel vowed to assassinate Ben-Gvir.

After the Israeli Police in July 2024 visited Sde Teiman detention camp to detain nine Israeli soldiers, suspected of aggravated abuse and forcible sodomy of a Palestinian prisoner, Ben-Gvir condemned the prosecution of the soldiers as "shameful", calling for "the military authorities to back the fighters ... Soldiers need to have our full support".

On 16 January 2025, Ben-Gvir held a press conference in which he announced his intent to cease his ministry, withdraw Otzma Yehudit from the coalition if the government accepted the three-phase ceasefire proposal. The proposal was accepted, and Ben-Gvir and his party's ministers resigned when the ceasefire went into effect on 19 January 2025. His term expired on 21 January. Otzma Yehudit has stated its intention to rejoin the governing coalition if the deal does not result in a permanent ceasefire.

His party announced their intention to return to the government on 18 March 2025. The cabinet approved Ben-Gvir's reappointment that night and it was approved by the Knesset the following day.

On 10 June 2025, the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway announced that they would impose travel bans and freeze assets belonging to Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, and Avi Maoz, accusing them of inciting settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The decision was criticized by the two ministers and the United States. In July 2025, he was also sanctioned by the governments of Slovenia. The decision was criticized by the two ministers and the United States. In July 2025, he was also sanctioned by the governments of Slovenia and the Netherlands. In September 2025, the government of Spain sanctioned him.

In September 2025, Shin Bet, Israel Defence Forces, Israeli police uncovered and thwarted a plot by a cell in Hebron, most likely the Palestinians, to assassinate Itamar Ben-Gvir using an explosive drone during a visit Ben-Gvir had planned to the Cave of the Patriarchs. According to many sources, Hamas officials in Turkey funded this cell.

On 7 November 2025, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of Turkey charged Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and 35 other Israeli officials with committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza and issued an arrest warrant for him.

 Controversies 
Having defended the perpetrators of the 2015 Duma arson attack in which vigilante Jewish settlers firebombed the home of a family in a Palestinian village, resulting in the deaths of a 18 month baby and its parents, it was controversial that Ben-Gvir and Gopstein, themselves Israeli settlers in the West Bank, were seen attending the wedding of a couple related to the perpetrators, which became known as "the wedding of hate", in which the weddinggoers could be seen waving rifles, guns and firebombs and even stabbing a photograph of the Palestinian toddler who was killed.

On 25 February 2019, Ben-Gvir asserted Arab citizens of Israel "must be expelled".

Prior to entering office Ben-Gvir used to hang a portrait of Goldstein, an Israeli settler physician and activist, who killed 29 Palestinians in Hebron at home. he removed the portrait in preparation for the 2020 Israeli legislative election in hope of being allowed to run on the unified right list headed by Naftali Bennett.

In the context of the Sheikh Jarrah controversy, in May 2021, Itamar Ben-Gvir set up a makeshift office in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in a show of solidarity with Jewish settlers. Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah have faced potential evictions by Israeli settlers for years. Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai placed the blame for the outbreak of violent clashes on Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir dismantled his office and left the neighbourhood after Netanyahu agreed to increase police presence in the neighbourhood during Ramadan.

On 13 October 2022, Ben-Gvir took part in clashes in Sheikh Jarrah between Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents, brandishing a gun, telling the police to shoot at people throwing stones at the scene, and yelling at them that "We're the landlords here, I am your landlord.", referencing his status as a Jewish settler in the West Bank. This was a message he later repeated in a tweet on the morning after the 2022 election in his victory tweet.

Ben-Gvir has led several visits to the Temple Mount as an activist and member of Knesset, as well as contentious marches through Jerusalem's Old City Muslim Quarter. On 3 January 2023, he visited the Temple Mount as national security minister, which prompted a wave of international criticism from the United States, European Union, and Arab countries including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who characterised his visit as provocative and called on Israel to respect the status quo of holy sites. On 3 January 2023, he visited the Temple Mount as national security minister, which prompted a wave of international criticism from the United States, European Union, Arab and Muslim countries including Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan who characterised his visit as provocative and called on Israel to respect the status quo of holy sites. On 13 August 2024, he led a group of Jewish worshippers to the compound on the occasion of Tisha B'Av, an annual day of fasting in the religion of Judaism. Against convention, several Jews were seen praying and prostrating themselves without being challenged by police who were present. 

This caused wide outrage in Israel as well as internationally, and resulted in contradictory statements made by prime minister Netanyahu's office and Ben-Gvir himself about whether this indicated a formal change in Israeli policy. Moshe Lion commanded five senior rabbis to issue a video statement in Hebrew, with Arabic subtitles, stating that it is strictly forbidden for Jews to enter the compound, and called for calm, which they did.

On 8 January 2023, Ben-Gvir ordered Israeli police to remove flags of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) being flown in public, stating the flags symbolized terrorism. In May 2023 the European Union cancelled its diplomatic event for Europe Day in Israel because of the planned participation of Ben-Gvir. It was also reported that, since Netanyahu returned to the Prime Minister's Office, representatives of many European countries—which have strong relations with the State of Israel—have refused to meet Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Avi Maoz. 

In August 2023 Ben-Gvir asserted "My right, and my wife's and my children's right, to get around on the roads in Judea and Samaria is more important than the right to movement for the Arabs". These comments were condemned by the PA and the U.S. State Department as racist. The Palestine Liberation Organization/Palestinian Authority condemned "the racist and heinous remarks by Israel's fascist minister Itamar Ben Gvir, which only confirms Israel's apartheid regime of Jewish supremacy and racial terror against Palestinians".

In October 2023, following the arrest of five Haredim for spitting at Christians outside churches, Ben-Gvir said it was "not a criminal case" following arrests. He said he thought it should be addressed "through instruction and education", rather than justifying arrest. Prior to entering politics, he defended Orthodox Jews spitting at Christians as "an ancient Jewish custom". After Hamas's attacks on October 7th, 2023, Ben-Gvir said that "the State of Israel is experiencing one of the most difficult events in its history. This is not the time for questions, tests and investigations."

The Arab community in Israel has seen a significant increase in violence and organized crime, including a rise in gang-related murders in recent years. A report by The Abraham Initiatives highlighted that 244 Arab community members were killed in Israel in 2023, more than double the previous year's count. The report attributed this surge in homicides directly to Police Minister Ben Gvir, who campaigned on a platform promising to improve personal security and oversees law enforcement.

In November 2023 he declared that "when they say that HAMAS and Hezbollah needs to be eliminated, it also means those who sing, those who support and those who distribute candy, all of these are terrorists." On 1 January 2024, Ben-Gvir said that the war with Hamas presented an "opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza." He has stated that "We cannot withdraw from any territory we are in in the Gaza Strip. Not only don't I rule out Jewish settlements there, I believe it is also an important thing". On the day that a number of European countries recognised a Palestinian state, Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and said "We will not allow any surrender that would even include a declaration of a Palestinian state" and that the mosque site belongs "only to Israel".

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell has requested for sanctions of various Israeli ministers by the 27 member states of the bloc for their 'hate messages' towards the Palestinian people. He did not specify the ministers, but recently he has publicly criticized Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and Maoz for statements he described as 'sinister'.

Ben-Gvir was responsbile for delaying further ceasefire negotiations during the war in Gaza.

In July 2025, Ben‑Gvir urged for the obliteration of the current President of Syria, al-Sharaa, labeling him the "head of the snake" and insisting that "the only thing that can be done is to eliminate al‑Julani."

The following month, Itamar Ben-Gvir vowed to take punitive measures to topple the Palestinian Authority, calling it's President, Mahmoud Abbas, a "terrorist".

In November 2025, at an Otzma Yehudit party meeting, Ben-Gvir reiterated his calls to overthrow the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), calling for arrest of the President of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Mazen and targeted actions to officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) following the recognition of the State of Palestine by various countries.

He also slammed potential pathways to a Palestinian state arguing that "a [Palestinian] state of the 'invented' people who call themselves 'Palestinian' must not be established ...", vowing that he and his party, Otzma Yehudit, won't be part of a government that agrees with that, on November 15, 2025.

Meanwhile, in January 2026, Itamar Ben-Gvir overseen the demolition of the UNRWA office in Jerusalem, State of Palestine and  and the implementation of crocodiles in Israeli prisons.

Recently, on 26 January 2026, Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Settlements Commissioner Orit Strock slammed the decision to open Rafah Crossing at a cabinet meeting. 

 References 

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Category:Zionists
Category:Israeli Kahanists
Category:Israeli Jews
Category:Otzma Yehudit politicians
Category:Jewish National Front politicians
Category:Kach and Kahane Chai politicians
Category:Israeli Mizrahi Jews
Category:Kahanists
Category:Ono Academic College alumni
Category:Israeli settlers
Category:Israeli lawyers
Category:Jewish lawyers
Category:Living people
Category:Israeli Orthodox Jews