Ben Gvir to sue anti-government activist group which claimed he dodged IDF draft

National security minister – who was not drafted due to extremist activity – demands NIS 10 million in compensation from Brothers in Arms protest group

By ToI Staff 23 April 2023, 7:46 pm Edit
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at a ceremony at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem, on April 20, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ Flash90)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at a ceremony at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem, on April 20, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sent a letter on Friday notifying a prominent anti-government protest group that he intends to sue it for claiming he dodged his military service.

In a letter to the Brothers in Arms group, Ben Gvir said the claim is “a total lie,” and that he will seek NIS 10 million ($2,730,000) in damages.

Ben Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, was not accepted for compulsory service in the IDF because of far-right activism in his youth, though he explained in the letter that he campaigned to be drafted despite the rejection.

Brothers in Arms, whose members are reservist soldiers, is one of several groups organizing protests against government policy, including a planned drastic overhaul of the judiciary that critics say will downgrade Israel’s democratic character.

Recently, Brothers in Arms ran a publicity campaign that included a poster showing Ben Gvir along with other ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government who did not serve in the army, or for only a short period.

The poster carried the slogan “Netanyahu’s coalition of [draft] dodgers.”

Attorney Ishai Gispan, representing Ben Gvir, wrote in the notification letter, “You published a false campaign against my client.”

He went on to say that Ben Gvir had resorted to going on a hunger strike in his efforts to be accepted into the army, though he ultimately did not serve.

In addition to the compensation, Ben Gvir is demanding that Brother in Arms immediately remove the campaign and issue an apology on all platforms where it was published.

Ben Gvir is a self-described disciple of Rabbi Meir Kahane, a former Knesset member whose Kach party was banned and declared a terror group in the 1980s in both Israel and the US. Like the late Kahane, Ben Gvir was convicted in the past of supporting a terror organization, though he insists he has become more moderate in recent years.

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