Itamar Ben Gvir’s exclusion from Netanyahu’s security forum sparks public feud with Shas
Shas chief Deri reportedly ‘vetoes’ far-right minister’s inclusion in proposed high-level decision-making body, whereupon Otzma Yehudit threatens to block coalition legislation
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s reported exclusion from a proposed high-level decision-making body has sparked a bitter public feud with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which is said to have blocked his participation.
According to Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in talks to create a new body to manage the war in Gaza that would have included Ben Gvir, as part of an effort to placate the far-right politician, who has actively thwarted legislation pushed by fellow coalition member Shas in order to pressure the premier to appoint him to the no-longer-extant war cabinet.
Netanyahu’s office has denied the reports, stating that the prime minister is looking to create “a forum for consultations and updates that will not replace the existing bodies and will not take their authority.”
However, on Wednesday, officials in Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party said there was “positive progress” in talks with the ruling Likud to include the minister in a forum to manage the ongoing war.
Speaking to Hebrew media outlets, the officials said they appreciated the prime minister for “not planning on surrendering to the ugly delegitimization campaign against Ben Gvir” by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and National Unity chair Benny Gantz.
The officials added that if an agreement is reached, the party will vote for legislation pushed by Shas.
While the Kan public broadcaster indicated that the talks had been delayed while Netanyahu is in the United States — amid concerns of how they might be perceived by Washington — the Ynet news site reported Wednesday morning that Ben Gvir’s inclusion had been completely “vetoed” by Shas, even if it meant that the party’s so-called Rabbis Law will not pass.
In response, Ben Gvir tweeted “Shame you didn’t veto Oslo,” alluding to Shas’s decision to abstain in Knesset votes on the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians in 1993.
Asked for comment, a Shas spokesman dismissed the Ynet report, stating that its writer had not contacted the party for comment.
In response, coalition whip Ofir Katz pushed off until Sunday the vote on the Rabbis Bill, which seeks to grant the religious services minister the power to allocate additional funds to local religious councils around the country.
“I will not endanger important laws for Israelis and the security of Israel that were meant to pass here today,” Katz said in his announcement of the postponement. “Also, the prime minister’s visit to the US is of crucial importance and nothing should be allowed to interfere with it.”
This is the second time that the legislation has been delayed because of Ben Gvir.
Earlier this month, the national security minister pulled his support from the Shas-fronted bill over the issue of his appointment to the war-managing forum, causing it to be removed from the Knesset agenda and prompting a walkout by Shas lawmakers.
At the time, Ben Gvir, who pledged not to vote with the coalition, issued a statement accusing Likud and Shas of reaching a deal with Arab parties to block him from a seat on the war cabinet, later blasting Netanyahu as running a “one-man government.”
In response, Katz pulled all bills from the Knesset agenda for the following day, blaming what he called “the irresponsible behavior of Otzma Yehudit.”
A previous version of the bill failed in June when members of Netanyahu’s own Likud bucked party discipline to oppose it, weakening the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties’ faith in the prime minister’s ability to advance their interests.
Throughout the course of the war that began October 7, Ben Gvir had repeatedly demanded inclusion in the now-defunct war cabinet. Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who both oppose any hostage-ceasefire agreement that ends the fighting before Hamas is destroyed, have threatened to topple the government if such a deal is approved.
Netanyahu is widely seen as distrusting Ben Gvir.
Last month, Netanyahu’s Likud party accused the national security minister of leaking “state secrets” following the publication of reports that Netanyahu had offered Ben Gvir sensitive security briefings in exchange for his support of the Rabbis Bill.
Ben Gvir has faced multiple accusations of leaking sensitive information from closed-door meetings to the press.
In March, the National Security Council reportedly decided to stop sending representatives to weekly security briefings held by Ben Gvir due to flagrant violations of confidentiality protocols and unprofessional conduct.
“Sitting in the Israeli government is a pyromaniac who is trying to set fire to the Middle East,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tweeted on Wednesday afternoon in an apparent reference to Ben Gvir. “I oppose any negotiations to put him in the war cabinet — this will allow him to fulfill his plans.”
In response, Ben Gvir countered that Gallant and Deri were leftists who are undermining Israeli national security.
Both politicians represent a flawed security “conception” that believes in restraint in the north and waffling in the south, Ben Gvir alleged, accusing the pair of “striving for a reckless deal and the end of the war.”
“This is the reason why this duo opposes my joining the limited forum: because my perception is that decisive results should be sought in both the south and the north, and the hostages should be brought back — not through surrender, but through military pressure and decisive actions,” he tweeted.
In 2008, the Jerusalem District Court convicted Ben Gvir of incitement to racism and supporting a terror organization over a placard he held reading “Arabs out” following a Palestinian terror attack in the capital, and anti-Arab signs he had in his car that referred to the far-right Kach movement, a Jewish group that was banned as a terror organization.
Ben Gvir has been indicted dozens of times, mostly for disturbing the peace, though he was exonerated in almost all the cases.
Shas MKs have previously threatened to stop voting with the coalition and even bring down the government over Ben Gvir’s opposition to their legislative priorities — and a spokesman for the party told the Times of Israel on Wednesday that its MKs would actively vote against giving him authority over the Interior Ministry’s Real Estate Enforcement Division.
The ultra-Orthodox party had previously blocked this expansion of Ben Gvir’s authority in April after he reportedly came out against legislation relating to so-called “kosher phones” that it supports.
Times of Israel staff and Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
