His political rise mirrors a broader trend across Europe and the West, where parties such as Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s National Rally <\/a>in France, Geert Wilders\u2019 Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, Australia’s One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, Italy\u2019s Matteo Salvini and Germany’s Alice Weidel of the AfD have all gained ground on traditional conservative political parties.<\/p>\n The highly controversial Ben-Gvir, as national security minister, oversees the ministry responsible for internal security, including the Israel Police, Israel Prison Service and civilian firearms licensing.<\/p>\n “I always say that Minister Ben-Gvir, if he were in America, he would just be called a Texan,” Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron and a candidate ranked No. 12 on the Otzma Yehudit list, told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n NETANYAHU PRAISES TRUMP’S ‘WICKED SENSE OF HUMOR,’ DEFENDS IRONCLAD ALLIANCE AHEAD OF HISTORIC ISRAEL VOTE<\/a><\/p>\n Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a session at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before it dissolves ahead of the 2026 Israeli elections, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026.\u00a0 (Ronen Zvulun\/Reuters)<\/p>\n In a video interview with Fox News Digital, Fleisher continued, “Meaning law and order, the death penalty for murderers, tough conditions for jihadists in our prisons and gun rights for the average Jewish person to be able to defend themselves in our national state. That\u2019s what Itamar Ben-Gvir stands for,” he added.<\/p>\n Fleisher said that mass immigration had fueled Islamist extremism and unrest in parts of Europe<\/a>, saying Israelis want to avoid similar developments.<\/p>\n “There is a jihadist takeover that has come in through immigration, and now the streets of Paris are burning, and the people of Belgium and the U.K. want their countries back,” Fleisher said. “In Israel, we don\u2019t want to see Tel Aviv burning,” prompting politicians to embrace what are known in the United States as “law-and-order” and “tough-on-crime” candidates.<\/p>\n Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visits the Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, during Jerusalem’s Day, in Jerusalem’s Old City May 26, 2025.\u00a0 (Ammar Awad\/Reuters)<\/p>\n FORMER IDF CHIEF GADI EISENKOT EMERGES AS NETANYAHU\u2019S LEADING ELECTION CHALLENGER<\/a> “Ben-Gvir spoke in a way that turned the entire world against Israel, portraying it as a racist country by making statements that made Israel a pariah state,” Ayalon said.<\/p>\n “I always say that Minister Ben-Gvir, if he were in America, he would just be called a Texan…Meaning law and order, the death penalty for murderers.<\/p>\n Fleisher praised Ben-Gvir, who he said has cracked down on protection rackets in southern Israel and made significant progress toward what he described as greater equality for Jews on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem<\/a>, Judaism\u2019s holiest site.<\/p>\n “Minister Ben-Gvir was an activist from a very young age. He saw the dangers and evils of the Oslo process with the Palestinians and tried to stop it. He was arrested and stopped many times because of that, and he faced the court many times. It was then-Chief Justice Aharon Barak who once told him, \u2018Why don\u2019t you go study to be a lawyer?\u2019” Fleisher said.<\/p>\n Leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders speaks to the press after a meeting with Speaker of the House at the House of Representatives in The Hague, on November 24, 2023. After his shock election win, far-right Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders on Friday kicked off the formal process of building a government coalition, battling to convince reluctant rivals to serve under him as premier.\u00a0 (Sem van der Wal\/ANP\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “Ben-Gvir spoke in a way that turned the entire world against Israel, portraying it as a racist country by making statements that made Israel a pariah state.”<\/p>\n Ben-Gvir, who studied law, became active in public and political affairs and was first elected to the Knesset in 2021. Following the 2022 elections, he was appointed minister of national security by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>.<\/p>\n His many critics have taken issue with his firebrand style and what many view as a lack of political correctness. \u00a0Ambassador Ayalon, a former deputy foreign minister, told Fox News Digital that he also viewed Ben-Gvir\u2019s performance as national security minister negatively.<\/p>\n EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CONFRONT MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, ‘ISLAMIST ENTRYISM’ IN OVERWHELMING VOTE<\/a><\/p>\n Security attempted to prevent Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir from holding up signs reading “Shame’ during a session at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), which had convened to vote on the country’s next government under Naftali Bennett, who became Israel’s new Prime Minister by leading a fragile coalition of eight parties. Jun. 13, 2021\u00a0 (Ilia Yefimovich\/picture-alliance\/dpa\/AP Images)<\/p>\n “During his tenure, Israel has become less secure internally because crime is rising. Many young people believed in the last election that he would bring governability and authority to areas such as the Negev and the Galilee, on the outskirts of the country, where there is almost no law,” Ayalon said.<\/p>\n In 2007, Ben-Gvir was convicted of supporting a terrorist organization and inciting racism.<\/p>\n His campaign told Fox News Digital that the conviction stemmed from displaying a sticker of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane<\/a>, whose Kach party was outlawed in 1994, and reflected his support for a Jewish nationalist movement.<\/p>\n “As a young man, Minister Ben-Gvir was an intense Jewish nationalist. He has said many times, publicly, that he has matured since then and moved on from those positions.”<\/p>\n ABBAS DELAYS PALESTINIAN ELECTIONS AGAIN, MAKING MORE THAN TWO DECADES WITHOUT VOTE<\/a><\/p>\n A demonstrator holds a sign with an image of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the words “The Bedouins against the murder, You failed” as members of Israel’s Arab minority protest, calling on the Israeli government to protect Arab communities of the Negev desert from crime and killings from within the community through effective law and order, outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, January 11, 2026. REUTERS\/Ammar Awad\u00a0 (Ammar Awad\/Reuters)<\/p>\n Recent posts on Ben-Gvir\u2019s social media accounts, along with statements issued through Netanyahu\u2019s and Likud\u2019s official channels, have raised questions about whether the two remain fully aligned.<\/p>\n On Oct. 15, Ben-Gvir shared a Hebrew-language media report quoting Netanyahu as saying that he would not serve again as national security minister. In response, Ben-Gvir wrote: “Dear Prime Minister, only the people will decide. Ben Gvir is strong, Israel is strong!”<\/p>\n TRUMP SAYS NETANYAHU NEEDS TO BE RE-ELECTED, OR ELSE US WILL HAVE TO ‘FINISH THE JOB\u2019 AGAINST IRAN ALONE<\/a><\/p>\n Last Wednesday, Netanyahu’s Likud party<\/a> appeared to reverse course, posting a message on its official WhatsApp channel stating: “Ben-Gvir is a senior minister in our government, and he will remain so in the next government \u2014 provided that the bloc consisting of the Left and Arab parties does not win.”<\/p>\n Despite the public statements, Ayalon said Netanyahu could opt not to include Ben-Gvir in the next government, even if it meant forming an alliance with opposition parties such as Gadi Eisenkot\u2019s Yashar.<\/p>\n “Netanyahu is brilliant. He kept Ben-Gvir because it suited him. If he could, he would get rid of him in a minute. Bibi is capable of changing his mind on a dime,” Ayalon said.<\/p>\n Election banners with images of Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Likud party, in Sderot, near Israel’s border with Gaza, in southern Israel, Oct.18, 2026.\u00a0 (Reuters\/Amir Cohen)<\/p>\n Fleisher credited Ben-Gvir with tripling the number of personal firearms and firearms licenses issued to Israelis over four years, establishing 1,000 rapid-response teams, overhauling the prison system and demolishing 9,000 illegally built homes, particularly in the Negev.<\/p>\n![\"Netanyahu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/netanyahu-ben-gvir-knesset.jpg\")
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Former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon said that Ben-Gvir had missed an opportunity to change course despite his lack of military service and past conviction, arguing that his tenure had instead had a damaging impact, including on Israel\u2019s diplomatic standing.<\/p>\n![\"European](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-1800487572-scaled.jpg\")
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