Will EU Snubbing of Ben-Gvir Shake Coalition Stability?
One analyst says no, but protest organizers say the cracks are beginning to show
The European Union’s snubbing of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was a diplomatic embarrassment for the Jewish state and comes amid tensions in the ruling coalition and an escalating security situation threatening the stability of the government.
On Monday, the EU delegation to Israel canceled a scheduled diplomatic reception for Europe Day in order to avoid giving the stage to Ben-Gvir, slotted by the Israeli government to attend the event in place of Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who is abroad.
We don’t endorse the political views of Mr. Ben-Gvir and we don’t endorse the views of his party, because they are in stark contradiction with all the values and principles the EU stands for and believes in
The EU said in a statement it did not want to “offer a platform to someone whose views contradict” its own values.
“We don’t endorse the political views of Mr. Ben-Gvir and we don’t endorse the views of his party, because they are in stark contradiction with all the values and principles the EU stands for and believes in,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.
When contacted, the local EU office would not elaborate on its official statement, but its website lists six official values, including human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights.
It’s a shame that the EU, which pretends to represent democratic values and multiculturalism, behaves with undiplomatic gagging
Ben-Gvir struck back, accusing the EU of undermining Israel’s democratic elections that placed him in the government.
“It’s a shame that the EU, which pretends to represent democratic values and multiculturalism, behaves with undiplomatic gagging,” Ben-Gvir said.
“It is an honor for me to represent the Israeli government, the heroic IDF, and the people of Israel in every forum,” he said in a statement on social media. “Real friends know how to voice criticism and how to hear it as well.”
Just two years ago, Ben-Gvir was in the outer orbit of Israeli politics, his views considered extremist and even “racist” by other politicians. But now Ben-Gvir—whose party ran on the Religious Zionism slate in the Nov. 1 election—is an integral part of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government.
Aviv Bushinsky, former media adviser and chief of staff for Netanyahu, told The Media Line he didn’t believe that the diplomatic kerfuffle would cause an isolation of Israel in the international arena.
“They are talking about a specific person, not about government policy,” he said. “The Israeli government could have said, ‘He’s a senior person in the government and he reflects government policy,’ but it didn’t.”
“It is not a policy per se, it’s a personality” that the EU rejected, he said.
But Bushinsky doesn’t see that this will collapse the government either. With the entire coalition dipping in the polls, “they all need each other at the moment,” he said.
The leader of the Jewish Power faction has been exerting his coalition muscle, skipping Sunday’s Cabinet meeting and directing his faction to boycott votes in the Knesset to protest what he called an “unacceptable” security situation.
“In the last few days, the prime minister and defense minister continue their policy, the release of the Jordanian terrorist, the release of the bodies of terrorists, etc.,” Ben-Gvir said on Sunday. “This is unacceptable to us and cannot continue like this.”
Meanwhile, Netanyahu held security consultations without Ben-Gvir.
After Israel attacked targets in Gaza today in response to rocket fire last week, Ben-Gvir said he would be willing to return to voting, the minister’s adviser Yishai Fleisher told The Media Line.
However, an organization heavily involved in the ongoing weekly protests against the government’s proposed judicial reform package credited the demonstrations for raising awareness that contributed to the EU cancellation.
“The demonstrations in Israel caused the world to give Israel more attention in the past few weeks. It is still not clear if Israel is becoming a dictatorship or if it will stay a democracy,” said Orit Brown Agami, spokesperson for the Voice of Liberty News Agency, referring to the 18 weeks of protests against the judicial reform package. “Itamar Ben-Gvir’s fascist and racist Ideology, incitement and constant provocative activity have a crucial part in the deteriorating situation in Israel and the rise of hate crimes towards Arabs and towards demonstrators for saving Israeli democracy.”
Ben-Gvir famously had a picture of Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein in his home and called himself a disciple of Meir Kahane, whose political party was designated a terrorist group by the State of Israel. The lawyer was himself reportedly indicted more than 50 times and convicted seven times on charges of obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties, rioting, and incitement to racism, two charges of possession of propaganda material for a terrorist organization, and two charges of supporting a terrorist organization. At age 18, he was exempted from mandatory military service due to his previous involvement in extremist Jewish movements.
