Ben-Gvir: I am anti-racist – JNS.org

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(October 6, 2022 / JNS) Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Otzmah Yehudit (“Jewish Strength”) party, issued a statement on Tuesday responding to reports that US Senator Robert Menendez (DN.J.) recently warned that his inclusion in a future Israeli government would harm Washington’s relations with Jerusalem.

I am deeply concerned by reports that Senator Menendez has aimed incorrect and mistaken criticisms at the millions of Israelis who will soon vote in favor of a center-right government and me personally, Ben-Gvir said in reference to claims that Menendez urged opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu to not include the far-right lawmaker in a governing coalition following Israel’s Nov. 1 election.

Everyone knows that the senator is a true friend of Israel and a champion of the US-Israel relationship, and more importantly, he is a man of integrity, Ben-Gvir continued. Therefore, my sense is that he would not have made the statements reported had he been correctly informed of the positions I hold, as well as those I do not hold.

Those who are enemies of a strong Israel seek to bemirch me by calling me and my racist party. But the truth is that were anti-racistwe are fighting against the racist anti-Semitism fomenting within the boundaries of our homeland. We believe that Israel needs to uproot terror organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and [Fatah’s] Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, just as the United States defeated al-Qaeda, said Ben-Gvir.

In a press conference this week, Benjamin Netanyahu put the critique against me in proportion: I would have expected [the Americans] to warn us of a government that depends on the Muslim Brotherhood [i.e. the Islamist Ra’am party] who support terrorism,’” Ben-Gvir quoted the former prime minister as saying.

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Otzmah Yehudit is part of the Religious Zionist alliance of parties that polls show garnering 12-14 mandates in the upcoming national vote, which would likely make it the third-largest faction in the parliament and position Ben-Gvir to receive a senior cabinet posting, if Netanyahu’s right-wing/religious bloc secures a parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu is reported to have pushed hard in order to effect the political union, which has come under widespread criticism due to Ben-Gvir’s extremist past.

On Monday, US Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) on Twitter publicly warned Israeli lawmakers against legitimizing Ben-Gvir.

As #Israel heads towards another election in November, I urge Israeli political leaders from all sides of the political spectrum to ostracize extremists like Itamar Ben-Gvir whose outrageous views run contrary to Israel’s core principles of a democratic and Jewish state. (1/2)

— Congressman Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) October 3, 2022

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