Ben Gvir at southern polling station: ‘I just want to be police minister,’ not PM

KIRYAT MALACHI — Religious Zionism MK Itamar Ben Gvir arrives at a polling station in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi to chants of “Hey ho look who’s come, the next prime prime minister [of Israel-dom]” from several dozen ultra-Orthodox elementary school boys.

The far-right lawmaker quickly corrects them, saying that he only wants to be public security minister, as he announced earlier this week.

While Kiryat Malachi has long been a Likud stronghold, the excitement for Ben Gvir along with the near-exclusive presence of his party’s activists indicates that the political winds in the town might be changing.

A lone Shas supporter pleads with voters entering the polling station to no avail as one after the other tells him that they’re “voting Ben Gvir.”

“Make it rain tet!” declares Religious Zionism’s No. 7 candidate Almog Cohen, referring to the party’s Hebrew letter on ballot slips. Heeding the call, a young supporter starts shuffling mock ballots into the air to cheers from his peers.

Asked whether their parents also support Religious Zionism, the young boys excitedly answer in the affirmative. “They’re done with Shas!” proclaims one ultra-Orthodox teen. “The time has come for Ben Gvir!”