Ben-Gvir, shut up!

If there is one message we could send to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, it would be: Shut up. Ben-Gvir is just one politician, but he has caused so much damage, that it is about time for us to speak a bit less diplomatically.

If only Ben-Gvir would devote his time to ensuring that Israelis had national security as much as he does giving interviews to Israeli media – perhaps Israel’s security would be a bit more stable.

Earlier this week, he gave his first interview to an international news outlet since his election to the government in December 2022. In the interview, the chairman of the far-Right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party took a swipe at US President Joe Biden, telling Dov Leiber of The Wall Street Journal that “Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with humanitarian aid and fuel [to Gaza], which goes to Hamas. If Trump [were] in power, the US conduct would be completely different.”

Ben-Gvir issued a stern warning, stating his firm opposition to any agreement with Hamas that would result in the release of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned for terrorism-related charges, or would conclude the military offensive without Hamas’s complete defeat.

In Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthdox city adjacent to Tel Aviv, Ben-Gvir highlighted to the WSJ the critical juncture at which Netanyahu finds himself.

With Israel in, arguably, the most significant war it has faced since independence in 1948, Ben-Gvir tried to humiliate our most valuable ally. Biden has become a hero to most Israelis. His speeches about his support for Israel have gone viral; pop singer Hanan Ben-Ari even uses part of his speech in a popular song about the war: “We have nowhere else to go,” a line Biden heard from then-prime minister Golda Meir in 1973 that he has since repeated many times.

Ben-Gvir has been controversial for his hate speech against Arabs and his previous display of a portrait of mass murderer Baruch Goldstein, and was convicted of supporting the terrorist group Kach and espousing Kahanism, a racist ideology. Under his leadership, Otzma Yehudit won six Knesset seats in 2022, contributing to the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.

Accused of being a provocateur, he has led contentious visits to the Temple Mount and set up an office in Sheikh Jarrah, an east Jerusalem neighborhood from which Palestinian residents have been evicted, actions that drew international criticism. As a lawyer, for years, he defended Jewish terrorists in court.

Ben-Gvir has been an inflammatory force, leading members of the current government to speak in a divisive and toxic manner, with center-right politicians speaking violently or harshly, to avoid being seen as left-wing.

Though promoting judicial reform wasn’t the main issue on his platform, he dove into this conflict as well, sowing more hate.

Israel is suffering in a time of deep mourning, yet Israelis have united post-October 7 and have become more unified than they have been for decades.

It is time for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a more decisive stance against his rogue minister.

“It’s ok to disagree, even with our largest and most important ally, but we must act in the relevant forums and not through irresponsible comments in the media that harm Israel’s strategic relations, national security, and the war effort at this time,” National Unity head and minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz wrote on X.

Netanyahu took a few hours to finally respond to Ben-Gvir’s stupidity, and when he did, it wasn’t directly: “There are those who say ‘Yes’ to everything, even when one must say ‘No.’ While the international community applauds them, they endanger our national security. And some say ‘No’ to everything. While they are applauded at home, they also endanger vital interests. From my experience, wisdom knows how to navigate – to say ‘Yes’ when possible and to say ‘No’ when necessary.

“I do not need any assistance navigating our relations with the US and the international community while steadfastly upholding our national interests. Thank God, I have been doing this for a few years,” Netanyahu added.

If Netanyahu cares at all about this country and its future, he needs to immediately eradicate all sources of hate and divisiveness from his government. The first step is obvious: Fire Ben-Gvir before he does any more harm.