Israeli President Herzog in political spat with Ben Gvir: ‘Kahanism must be removed from government’

Dispute raises questions about role of national security minister in dealing with political violence

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During weekly protests on Shabbat, a group of demonstrators gathered outside the home of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, where they accused him of inaction regarding a hostage release deal.

Herzog and his wife Michal spoke with the demonstrators, where he said there was a need for unity in Israeli society. As the protesters began to interrupt him, some argued that there was no unity in the Israeli government.

One protester responded: “I am not the equivalent of a Kahanist!”

Herzog continued, saying: “I believe in the Israeli elections and I believe in the Israeli public and I believe in Israeli democracy. I believe that only together we will win.”

Some protesters began shouting about Jewish Power party leader Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's minister of National Security.

“You are the president of a Kahanist government!” one of the protesters shouted

As Herzog continued to speak about unity for the whole of Israeli society, the protesters retorted, “There is no unity with Kahanists!”

Herzog responded: “Of course, Kahanism must be removed [from the government].”

The Israeli president continued by stating, "The people need to remove Ben Gvir," when told by protesters that he should address the issue.

Rabbi Meir Kahane was an ultra-nationalist politician who advocated for the separation of Jews and Arabs into different neighborhoods. He also believed that Israel should restrict democracy and voting to Jewish citizens.

Kahana’s political party was outlawed from the Knesset in 1988, while in 1985, the Knesset restricted any parties that openly espoused Kahanist ideals.

Several groups founded by supporters of Kahane and his ideas were declared Israeli terrorist organizations after a series of violent attacks on Palestinians, including the killing of 29 Muslims in 1994 by Baruch Goldstein, a Brooklyn-born Jew and Kahane supporter, who opened fire in the middle of a Muslim prayer service at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

Ben Gvir was a follower of Kahane but claimed he had left the Kahanist ideology, however, most of his opponents do not believe it is true.

Herzog also said that whenever he sees a threat to the Israeli democracy, he speaks up, as he did during the judicial reform controversy last year.

“If I see a threat to the government, I will stand at the front of the camp,” Herzog said.

“Excuse me, did you not see what happened in Jit?” one of the protesters asked, referring to the deadly riot last Thursday, when a mob of about 100 extremist Israeli settlers entered the Palestinian town of Jit and began throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.

The attack was widely condemned by many Israeli politicians across the political spectrum. Ben Gvir gave a weak condemnation, accusing Israel Defense Forces of inaction, which led to the attack.

“The fact that we do not back soldiers to shoot any terrorist who throws stones leads to events such as that which happened tonight,” Ben Gvir said regarding the riot. “It is unequivocally forbidden to take the law into one’s own hands. The one who needs to deal with terrorism and deterrence, including against terrorists from the village of Jit, is the IDF.”

The president responded that the riot in Jit was being taken care of.

“There are half a million people living there [in the settlements], who are citizens of Israel, that truthfully, 99% of them are law-abiding citizens, all of them are in the middle of battle with this war, with a terrible threat to their lives from every direction,” Herzog reminded the demonstrators.

Ben Gvir responded to Herzog’s comments on social media at the end of Shabbat, claiming that the Israeli president met with him several times when he was running for office and later.

“He always complimented how talented Jewish Power ministers are, how satisfied he is with our Knesset members, and how, even though there are disagreements, he personally appreciates me very much,” Ben Gvir wrote on 𝕏.

“It was amusing to hear the honorable president bow down to a handful of anarchists who are trying to run the country and divide the people,” he continued.

Using a nickname for the president, Ben Gvir referred to a previous investigation, in which Herzog was accused of improper financial contributions in the early 2000s and was questioned by police. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

“Perhaps it would be better for Boji to act like he did in his police investigations and just shut up – hypocrisy is a disgusting thing,” Ben Gvir wrote.