Billionaire Trump donor Bill Ackman says far-right ministers should not be in next gov’t
Saying Ben Gvir, Smotrich have caused Israel 'enormous reputational damage,' Jewish hedge fund exec says he supports Netanyahu, but PM should signal country is turning 'new page'
Reuters — Billionaire American investor Bill Ackman on Sunday said that far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich should not serve in the next government, saying the two politicians had caused enormous damage to the country’s reputation.
The public intervention by the prominent hedge fund manager, who is Jewish, comes just two days before Israel’s general election, in which polls show a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition.
Ackman wrote on X that from the perspective of someone who had an understanding of how Israel was perceived in the United States, “Ben Gvir and Smotrich have caused Israel enormous reputational damage with their statements and actions.”
Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, who praised Netanyahu last week, said a government without the two ministers would send a message that Israel was “turning a new page.”
“This will allow Israel to rebuild lost credibility, increase the opportunity for an expansion of the Abraham Accords, and [lead it to] enjoy a better relationship with Democrats and Republicans, and Americans at large,” he said, referring to the 2020 agreement, mediated by US President Donald Trump’s first administration, that saw Israel establish relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. It later reestablished official ties with Morocco.
Representatives for Ben Gvir and Smotrich did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Ackman’s statement.
As ministers in Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have overseen policies widely perceived as discriminatory against Israel’s minority Arab population and Palestinians living in the West Bank.
Several countries, including Britain, Canada, and Australia, have imposed sanctions on the two ministers over accusations that they have incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party is projected to win around 8-10 Knesset seats in Tuesday’s election, up from six, while Smotrich’s Religious Zionism is projected to win 6, down from 7.
Ackman, who was visiting Israel last week, and who, along with his wife, Neri Oxman, owns five percent of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, supported Donald Trump’s candidacy for US president in 2024. Trump last week publicly endorsed Netanyahu for prime minister.
Speaking at a Tel Aviv conference on Thursday, Ackman praised Netanyahu, who he said had done a good job in protecting and defending Israel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
I said I wasn’t going to weigh in on who should be prime minister of Israel as that is a decision for Israeli citizens. I did, however, want to share one point of view from the perspective of someone who has an understanding of how Israel is perceived in America.
Itamar…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) October 25, 2026
Nimrod Goren, the president of Israeli think tank Mitvim, said Ackman’s statement appeared to reflect a desire among Trump’s circles for Netanyahu to drop his far-right allies after the vote to form a ‘unity government’ with opposition parties.
However, opposition party leaders have ruled out forming a government with Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and Netanyahu is all but guaranteed to rely on his far-right allies to bolster his bloc.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.