Ben Gvir sends birthday greetings to indicted Likud activist who assaulted protesters

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sent birthday greetings to an activist in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party who has assaulted anti-government protesters and accused of threatening the family of the lead prosecutor in the premier’s corruption trial.

“Warm greetings from here in Cyprus. We love you, may God bless you,” Ben Gvir said in the video sent to Rami Ben-Yehuda.

Ben Gvir, who heads the far-right Otzma Yehudit party and is one of the most prominent figures in Netanyahu’s hardline government, has not commented on the video.

Ben-Yehuda is known for his attack dog tactics against political rivals and opponents of the party. He was suspended from the Likud in September after physically assaulting anti-Netanyahu protesters, and placed under a restraining order in 2021 for verbally abusing the wife of Likud defector MK Ze’ev Elkin.

Despite his antics, which include calling opponents of the judicial overhaul both “Hitler’s contemptible handmaids” and wishing a lawmaker would be sent “to the gas chambers,” Ben-Yehuda has been feted by senior Likud members and photographed alongside them.

Ben-Yehuda told the Haaretz daily, which first reported on the clip, that Ben Gvir sent it after running into another Likud member in Cyprus, were the far-right leader was vacationing.

“This video has no significance,” Ben-Yehuda told the newspaper, apparently seeking to squash any speculation raised by the video over his partisan allegiances.

He also played down his legal woes, predicting the accusations against him would “collapse” once heard in court.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYju8uiChfA

In February, Ben-Yehuda was indicted for threatening prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari and her son in a Facebook live video, after she filed a police complaint and requested a straining order against him

“Where is your son? Tell us where your son disappeared. Shwekey, where have you gone?” Ben-Yehuda said in the online video, referring to Ben-Ari’s son, Tomer Shwekey.

In the video, Ben-Yehuda also accused Ben-Ari of covering up her son’s alleged involvement in attacking a police officer during a protest, a false claim he has previously made.

Ben-Ari reportedly considered quitting the position due to the wave of threats and vitriol directed at her by Netanyahu supporters since the trial began in 2020. Security around her was increased that summer after police reportedly received intelligence that the threats had become more serious.

The prime minister’s defenders have harshly criticized Ben-Ari and other members of the justice system and law enforcement community whom they accuse, without evidence, of attempting to unseat Netanyahu for political motives.

Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 and in Case 2000, and charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000. He denies wrongdoing and says the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.