Ben Gvir’s visit to Ramle market sparks joy and outrage in mixed Arab-Jewish city

JTA — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the parties in his coalition seem to be losing support heading into Israel’s first election since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023 – with one exception. Otzma Yehudit, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, is seeing a rise in the polls.

Ben Gvir’s growing popularity ahead of the October 27 election was on full display on a recent weekday when the far-right politician, surrounded by a massive entourage of security guards, police and flag-waving fans, made his way through the market of Ramle in central Israel on Wednesday.

But amid the cheering and celebration, the extreme nationalism that has contributed to his meteoric rise through the ranks of Israel’s political system – and made Ben Gvir a household name even beyond Israel’s borders – also drew ire and deep-seated fear in the mixed Jewish-Arab city.

“Here comes the next defense minister,” a gaggle of teenage boys in matching Ben Gvir T-shirts chanted as the minister walked through the market, greeting shoppers and stallholders begging for selfies. Ben Gvir has his sights set on being Israel’s next minister of defense, a huge promotion from his current role managing internal security.

At several of the stalls, the controversial minister stopped to embrace vendors. At a pickle stand, he sampled olives. At a candy store, the owner joyfully threw handfuls of small candies over the passing group. And at a juice stand, Ben Gvir and his entourage were treated to complimentary cups of lemonade.

The minister, elated by the welcome, smiled and waved at passersby, grabbing phones to take selfies, and even chatting with excited fans on video calls.

 

Beyond the celebration in Ramle, however, Ben Gvir has been condemned in Israel and abroad for dehumanizing language about Palestinians and calling for their “voluntary emigration” from Gaza and the West Bank.

A disciple of extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, Ben Gvir had for years displayed in the living room of his Hebron home a photo of Baruch Goldstein, who in 1994 gunned down 29 Muslim worshippers and wounded over 100 others at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city.

Nor is it just Ben Gvir’s rhetoric and symbolic gestures that draw polarized reactions.

In his four years as national security minister, Ben Gvir has actively downgraded conditions for Palestinian inmates in Israeli security prisons; pushed through a law establishing a death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of deadly terrorist acts; and led police during a proliferation of settler violence — which he largely denies — against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Ben Gvir’s conduct has earned him opprobrium abroad but appears to be winning votes for his Otzma Yehudit party at home.

Polls indicate that the party, whose name means “Jewish Power” in Hebrew, is expected to nab about eight of the Knesset’s 120 seats — up from the six it won last election, in 2022, when it ran in a joint slate with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party.

The boost for Otzma Yehudit is expected even as polls project losses for both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and for Religious Zionism, which has split with Otzma Yehudit ahead of the coming election.

In the Ramle market, reactions to Ben Gvir’s visit on Wednesday ranged from sheer joy to pure anger.

“I love Ben Gvir,” gushed Hodaya Nabara, 52, who seconds before snapped a selfie with the politician. “He does what he says he’ll do.”

A resident of southern Israel, Nabara said she was most impressed by how he had ordered the demolition of Bedouin homes built without permits in hamlets where the Bedouins say the government neglects their needs.

“They need to know there’s a red line and they can’t do whatever they want,” Nabara said.

But as the entourage passed by Michal Sharabi, the 53-year-old began hurling insults at him and shaking.

“I can’t stand him at all. Because of him, there’s no peace in this country,” she told JTA after calming down. “He’s a lowlife, and the people going with him don’t believe in themselves. Isn’t he embarrassed to come to this city, where Jews and Arabs live together?”

“It’s chutzpah,” said Sharabi. “I’m furious.”

In a nearby grocery store, a mixed group of Arabs and Jews frowned at the unfolding spectacle.

“We don’t like being defined as Arabs or Jews; we’re Ramle-ites,” said Uri, a Jewish man. “We are all neighbors here, and he is making people fight.”

Another member of the group, Hamudi Abu Ghanam, said Arab residents of the city like him were affected by the October 7 attack just like Jews were, and that many came out to help, but Ben Gvir still incited against them anyway.

“He’s a racist,” said Abu Ghanam. “Since October 7, we’re all against Hamas, and instead of saying thank you, he comes and destroys people’s homes.”

Ben Gvir’s stop in Ramle struck a particular nerve because the city, which is about 78% Jewish and 22% Arab, was a central point of tension during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, when tens of thousands of Arabs were expelled from the historic city.

For Arab residents, evidence of the “Nakba” — the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” used by Palestinians to describe their exodus and expulsion in 1948 — is all around in Ramle’s ruins.

At one point on Ben Gvir’s jaunt through the market, two Arab girls donning traditional hijab headcoverings hovered nearby, but they quickly made a U-turn when they realized who was at the center of the commotion.

Some Jewish onlookers pointed to his theatrics as reasons they were unimpressed by him. Benny Muhtar, 68, a Jewish resident of Ramle, told JTA he thought Ben Gvir was full of “hot air” – a populist with no substantial policies.

“Look at the young men surrounding him; they are making a lot of noise like this is a serious campaign … that is what is making the people look up and take notice, but none of it is real, and he is doing a lot of damage,” he said.

Others enjoyed the spectacle but, with less than two weeks to go until casting their vote, were still unsure whom they would choose.

“He’s done a lot of really good things,” said Edna Mahbesh, 65, who was handing out the free lemonade. “I really hope he is successful in the election.”

But she was not sure if she would actually vote for him. “I’ll decide that next week,” she said.

Arbel Flehandler, 19, a first-time voter, stood on the side, watching in awe as the politician passed by.

“He is really good and does a lot of good things,” he said. “I am definitely going to vote for a right-wing party, but not sure if I will vote for him or not. This is my first time, and I am still thinking about it.”

Zehava Perets, 80, said the reactions to Ben Gvir showed just how polarized Israel is right now.

“It is such a shame there are so many divisions,” she said. “I really don’t know whom I will vote for … There are a few good people in each bloc, but it is impossible to get them to work together.”

Liron Lavie, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University, said the extreme reactions for and against Ben Gvir “speaks to how politics works these days” – as politicians “connect with the electorate through emotional reaction and a sense of pride or fear.”

She said Ben Gvir should be viewed as part of the “larger global trend where far-right parties are getting stronger.”

Lavie assessed that Otzma Yehudit benefited from the growing appeal of providing simple solutions and simple messaging – and that Ben Gvir was especially effective on social media platforms such as TikTok.

“At the end of the day, people prefer simple messages,” said Lavie.

She also said that Ben Gvir, despite being in the government on October 7, had successfully distanced himself from that fact and positioned himself as a strong alternative to Netanyahu on the right.

“Likud and Netanyahu are losing ground,” she said. “They are being criticized about how they managed the situation, either from the center and left or from the right, allowing voters to go to Ben Gvir, who was able to position himself as an [alternative] to Netanyahu from the right.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.