A Member of Otzma Yehudit Might Become a Member of the Knesset

Itamar Ben Gvir (left) with Michael Ben Ari (right)

Journalists in the Agence France-Presse, an international news agency, along with the staff of the Times of Israel jointly assembled an article that discussed a far-right wing politician.  The politician they focused on was Itamar Ben Gvir.  Ben Gvir has been indicted 53 times, and has been cleared in 46 of these cases.  The authors raise concern over the fact that he may end up becoming a member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, due to a deal brokered by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  The article says that the purported deal repulsed many Jewish communities in and away from Israel because it puts a party whose reputation for racism, Otzma Yehudit, on Israel’s electoral slate.  In building a coalition, Netanyahu made a political decision in not allowing right-wing votes to be wasted – without this alliance, the Otzma Yehudit party might not obtain enough electoral votes in order to qualify for any seats in the Knesset.  According to Article 4 of Basic Law in Israel, in order to be represented in the Knesset, the party must exceed the electoral threshold with at least 3.25% of votes.  Although the specifics surrounding any deals pertaining to forming a government, Netanyahu has up to six weeks in order to form a coalition resulting from his re-election as prime minister.  The Times article discusses three additional people associated with racist behavior – that are linked to Otzama Yehudit: Meir Kahane, Baruch Goldstein, and Michael Ben Ari.  Rabbi Meir Kahane who was assassinated in New York in 1990, was the leader of the Kach movement, an ultranationalist party that wanted to expel Arabs from Israel.  Baruch Goldstein was motivated by Kahane’s ideology.  In Hebron during 1994 he killed 29 Palestinian people in who were in the midst of worship activity.  The article says that Ben Gvir admits to displaying a picture of Goldstein inside his home, but he maintains that it is because Goldstein was a doctor who rescued Jews from attacks carried out by Palestinians.  Michael Ben Ari is a former member of the Knesset and is the leader of the Otzma Yehudit party.  Ben Ari was also running but the High Court of Justice banned him from the election due to inciting racism.  The article concludes with a flashback to when Ben Gvir was 19 years old.  He was on television in possession of a stolen Cadillac emblem that belonged to prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated that year.  Ben Gvir is quoted saying that they had the Cadillac emblem, and that they would “get to” Rabin.

Itamar Ben Gvir interacts with a police officer

The authors of this article used the examples of Kahane, Goldstein, and Ben Ari as evidence that Ben Gvir is associated with racism.  They quote a resident of an Israeli Settlement in the West Bank, Yehudit Katz, who claims that the Otzma Yehudit party is not racist – they just do not want terrorists.  Her use of the word “terrorists” raises the question, who are the terrorists?  Palestinians in general?  She probably means extremists within the West Bank, but the article implies that the Otzma Yehudit party and those who are associated with them are racist of all Arabs in general.  The authors provide objective information that the leadership of the Otzma Yehudit party were followers of the Kach movement, which also inspired Goldstein to murder 29 Palestinians.  Another objective detail regarding Ben Ari, is that his racist behavior was judged by the Supreme Court of Israel, which consequently disqualified him from running in Israel’s elections.  In contrast to the facts produced relating Otzma Yehudit to racism, they give Ben Gvir a minor benefit of doubt in his claim that the party is not racist, but only against Israel’s enemies, and not against all Arabs.  Another important fact is that Itamar Ben Gvir has been indicted 53 times, and was once blocked from taking the bar exam due to his criminal record.  Although the authors do not give commentary on what the young Ben Gvir said, or perhaps what he meant, the quote at the end of the article implicates Ben Gvir in fanatical behavior.  We can, however, speculate that Ben Gvir’s quote could be interpreted that he supported the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin.

Itamar Ben Gvir with Israeli Arab candidate Ata Abu Medeghem

By referencing the associations of racism to the Otzma Yehudit party, the authors’ viewpoint is raising awareness to Benjamin Netanyahu’s political maneuvering in building a coalition with the radical right-wing party.  The authors produce data that represents the association of public figures who are known to be racist, but also give the political party a voice to defend themselves from the accusation.  They use a resident who supports the party who said they are not racist at all, and they quote Ben Gvir in the Supreme Court arguing against the characterization.  Therefore, the article is reporting news from both sides, but provides glaring evidence that is difficult to refute.  By focusing on Ben Gvir’s character – a man who became a lawyer at the advice of judges so he can defend himself in court in all the times he was indicted, the authors’ designed this article to alarm the voters of Israel concerning Netanyahu and what deals he is willing to make in order to stay in power.