Politicians pillory ‘pyromaniac’ Ben Gvir; coalition faction says unsure it can partner with him

Criticism of Ben Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount is pouring in from the opposition and also from ultra-Orthodox coalition members, after the far-right minister again declared Jewish prayer permitted there as pilgrims prostrated near him.

Moshe Gafni, head of the Degel HaTorah faction of the United Torah Judaism party, says Ben Gvir doesn’t care about the “harm to the Temple Mount’s sanctity and the status quo,” alleging he is causing immense damage to the Jewish nation and causing unnecessary hate on Tisha B’Av, the solemn day marking the destruction of the Jewish Temples.

Gafni says the faction will have to “check with our rabbis whether we can be partners with him and will clarify this to the prime minister as well.”

Gafni has several times threatened to bolt the coalition over several issues, but has not followed through.

“Ben Gvir’s election campaign at the Temple Mount, which completely goes against the stance of security officials, during a war, is endangering the lives of Israeli citizens and the lives of our soldiers and police officers,” argues Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

“The bunch of irresponsible extremists in the government is trying to drag Israel to an all-out regional war,” he adds. “These people can’t run a country.”

Religious Affairs Minister Michael Malkieli (Shas) reiterates the Chief Rabbinate’s stance against Jewish visits to the site due to its holiness, adding that it is also “unnecessary provocation to nations around the world.”

He quotes the fathers of religious Zionism, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and his son Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, as saying that Jewish sovereignty in Israel mustn’t be achieved via means that go against the Torah.

Ra’am MK Waleed Alhawashla tweets: “Red lines were crossed today at Al Aqsa will mass provocations by extremists. Ben Gvir and his supporters yearn for more war and more fatalities, yearning for conflagration.”

Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi calls Ben Gvir a “pyromaniac” who has decided to go ahead with “any provocation to bring about a regional war,” placing the blame on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is letting him “go wild for the sake of his political survival.”