Lapid: Ben Gvir a ‘dangerous Jewish fascist’ and ‘people have died because of him’

By Sam Sokol 10 November 2025, 3:01 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. 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"

Opposition Leader MK Yair Lapid leads a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on November 10, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as a “dangerous Jewish fascist” and a “disgrace to Judaism” over the recent arrest of a protester who heckled the far-right politician at an event last week at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Alec Yefremov was detained by police on Thursday after calling Ben Gvir a “racist,” “responsible for so much death,” and a “Kahanist,” referring to the ideology espoused by US-born extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, who called for the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel.

He also called Ben Gvir a “Goldstein fan,” referring to Baruch Goldstein, the US-born settler who in 1994 killed 29 Muslim worshipers in a terror attack at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Ben Gvir, for many years, kept a photo of Goldstein in his home.

“In response, the police arrested him, handcuffed him, subjected him to a strip search, and took him in for questioning. For what reason? Itamar Ben Gvir is a Kahanist, a racist, an admirer of Baruch Goldstein, and people have died because of him. All of it is true,” Lapid tells reporters at his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“He regularly takes part in memorials for Meir Kahane; for years, a photo of Baruch Goldstein hung in his living room. He is an avowed racist, and we have all heard the testimonies of those who returned from Hamas captivity about how they were abused because of his behavior and statements. He is a central part of the negligence that led to the disaster of October 7. People truly did die because of him,” Lapid continues.

Lapid slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing Ben Gvir, a “nationalist criminal convicted of supporting terrorism” who “was fully complicit in the incitement that led to the assassination of Rabin,” to head up the Israel police.

“Ben Gvir is a national disaster, an international disaster, a disgrace to Judaism, a stain on Zionism, a dangerous Jewish fascist. There is one thing Itamar Ben Gvir is not: he is not immune to criticism,” he continues, arguing that the minister is “neither allowed nor entitled to silence the justified demonstrations against him.”

Turning to the police, Lapid declares that Ben Gvir will not be minister for much longer and that their job is “not to protect the minister” but rather “to protect the right to protest and Israeli democracy.”