Ben Gvir fumed after aide prevented from joining meeting in IDF command center – report

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was reportedly angered when his chief of staff, Chanamel Dorfman, was among aides prevented from attending a meeting in the Israel Defense Force’s underground command center beneath the military headquarters.

Sources told Channel 12 news that Ben Gvir noticed that only the spokespeople and aides of the war cabinet members had been allowed to enter with ministers into the secure underground area of the Kirya, and that Dorfman was waiting outside.

The report says that Ben Gvir confronted security guards.

Channel 12 says the decision not to allow aides and spokespeople for all ministers into the classified area was made after an assistant to Transportation Minister Miri Regev was found to be carrying a cellphone in a meeting, in contravention of regulations.

Dorfman has a history of far-right settler activism that saw him slapped with restraining orders and led the Shin Bet security service to describe him in the past as a danger to society.

In October, Dorfman was filmed briefly handing over his state-issued pistol for examination by a stranger in public, an ostensibly illegal act. That incident occurred at a street kiosk operated by Dorfman to sell the Four Species, a collection of plants used ritually during the Sukkot holiday. According to Haaretz, which first published the video, the kiosk itself was problematic as workers did not issue receipts unless they were specifically asked to do so, and there may have been conflict of interest violations as he is a state employee. Dorfman himself was seen taking payments via credit card, but also cash that he simply slipped into his pocket.