Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more
×

Bentzi Gopstein

Left: A large birthday cake featuring a golden noose and guns is presented to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at his 50th birthday party, on May 2, 2026. Right: Ayala Ben Gvir gives her husband a second, smaller birthday cake, also featuring a noose, on May 2, 2026. (Screenshot: Itamar Ben Gvir via Instagram)
May 3, 2026, 12:41 am
Top cops attend Ben Gvir’s birthday, where cakes decorated with nooses take center stage
Bennett spars with minister over invites, vows to fire officials who politicize roles if he wins election, after police chief lets brass go to party along with far-right activists
By Charlie Summers and ToI Staff
Elisha Yered at the illegal West Bank settlement outpost of Ramat Migron, on September 8, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
November 21, 2025, 11:08 am
Singapore sanctions four Israelis over ‘extreme violence’ against Palestinians
Meir Mordechai Ettinger, Elisha Yered, Ben-Zion Gopstein and Baruch Marzel committed ‘unlawful actions,’ foreign ministry says, as it imposes entry bans, financial penalties
By Reuters and ToI Staff
Itamar Ben Gvir in the Knesset on November 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)
November 21, 2024, 2:59 pm
US blasts Ben Gvir over visit to grave of extremist rabbi Kahane
State Department says celebrating legacy of ‘terrorist’ Kach party leader is ‘abhorrent;’ Jerusalem memorial event hosted by Ben Gvir’s associate Bentzi Gopstein draws hundreds
By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 11, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
November 13, 2024, 11:37 am
Ben Gvir’s texts show him conspiring with aides to exert power over police – report
Minister’s leaked correspondence with extremist advisers and wife during first year in office is exposed as AG seeks his ouster for meddling inappropriately in law enforcement
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote in the Knesset plenum, December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90/File)
November 11, 2024, 4:53 am
Attorney general said set to order Ben Gvir sacked unless he stops meddling in police
Report says PM will likely be told he needs to fire far-right minister or High Court will compel him to; separate report says Ben Gvir’s wife behind 2023 ouster of Tel Aviv top cop
By Sam Sokol and Jeremy Sharon
Illustrative: Volunteers with the Hashomer Yosh (Guardians of Judea and Samaria) organization which was sanctioned by the US on August 28, 2024. (Screenshot from promotional campaign video for Hashomer Yosh; used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
August 28, 2024, 11:12 pm
US issues new batch of sanctions targeting West Bank settlers amid rampant violence
Biden administration blacklists security chief of radical Yitzhar settlement and a group funded by Israeli gov’t that secures illegal outposts; PM views move ‘with great severity’
By Jacob Magid and Jeremy Sharon
Lehava chairman Benzi Gopstein seen after a court hearing at the Court for Local Affairs in Jerusalem, on March 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 15, 2024, 10:23 pm
EU sanctions group that tries to block aid to Gaza, far-right activists Gopstein, Marzel
Sanctions targeting Gopstein, leader of the anti-miscegenation group Lehava, come after EU sanctioned the group itself in May; two settlement outposts also penalized
By ToI Staff
Bentzi Gopstein, head of the racist Lehava organization and a former Knesset candidate for Otzma Yehudit until he was disqualified from running due to incitement to racism, stages a protest against the annual Gay Pride parade in central Jerusalem, June 6, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
July 11, 2024, 9:30 pm
US issues largest yet batch of sanctions against Israeli extremists, West Bank outposts
Those targeted include anti-miscegenation Lehava group led by Ben Gvir ally, leaders of group behind attacks on Gaza aid convoys and 4 wildcat towns tied to attacks on Palestinians
By Jacob Magid
Lehava chairman Benzi Gopstein (left) seen after a court hearing at Jerusalem District Court, on January 14, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); Daniella Weiss takes part in a march to the Evyatar outspot, near the West Bank city of Nablus, on April 10, 2023. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)
June 27, 2024, 10:31 pm
Canada sanctions Israeli extremists, settler groups over violence against Palestinians
List of sanctioned individuals includes far-right leaders Bentzi Gopstein and Daniella Weiss; move latest made by Israeli allies to confront settler violence
By Lazar Berman
Illustrative: Demonstrators burn a US and an Israeli flag during the funeral for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on April 5, 2024. (Atta Kenare / AFP)
April 20, 2024, 10:07 pm
Daily Briefing Apr. 20: Day 197 – US silent on Iran strike after urging Israeli restraint
US bureau chief Jacob Magid delves into the vetoed UN vote for Palestinian statehood, new US sanctions on extremist settlers and Saudi-Israeli normalization talks
By ToI Staff
Lehava chairman Benzi Gopstein seen after a court hearing in Jerusalem on January 14, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 19, 2024, 11:41 pm
Top Ben Gvir ally, former MK aide among targets of latest US and EU settler sanctions
US official says listing Benzi Gopstein part of calculated decision to target those in political orbit of most extreme Israeli officials while avoiding Ben Gvir, Smotrich for now
By Jacob Magid
Lehava chairman Benzi Gopstein seen after a court hearing at Jerusalem District Court, on January 14, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
January 14, 2024, 7:23 pm
Jewish extremist Bentzi Gopstein found guilty of incitement to anti-Arab racism
Lehava chair cleared of incitement to violence and to terror, convicted over 2014 remark casting Arabs as ‘cancer’; he says Oct. 7 proved he was right: ‘I’m proud of what I said’
By Michael Horovitz
Amiram Ben Uliel, convicted of the Duma arson murder in July 2015, in which three members of the Dawabsha family were killed, attends a hearing on his appeal, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, on March 7, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 21, 2023, 10:59 am
Campaign to free Israeli killer of Palestinian family raises over NIS 1.2 million
6,000 people donate, reportedly including right-wing rabbis, head of ultranationalist Lehava, singer Ariel Zilber; Shalom Hanoch, Aviv Geffen back out of concert with Zilber
By ToI Staff
Jewish activists clash with police during a protest against a conference of Christians outside the Davidson Center in Jerusalem, Israel, on May 28, 2023. (Arie Leib Abrams/ Flash90)
July 7, 2023, 5:55 am
Christians worry growing protests against ‘missionaries’ will soon turn bloody
Deputy Jerusalem mayor leads extremists’ campaign against evangelists they believe are trying to convert Jews, as Messianic Jews and others fend off attacks and missionizing claims
By Lazar Berman
Benzi Gopstein, chairman of the extreme-right group Lehava, during a visit of then-MK Itamar Ben Gvir to the Arab town of Kafr Qasim, October 5, 2021. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)
June 8, 2023, 12:26 pm
Jewish far-right extremist Benzi Gopstein said advising Ben Gvir on police issues
Sources close to national security minister deny report but concede leader of racist and anti-LGBTQ Lehava group, who has been banned from running for Knesset, is ‘close friend’
By ToI Staff
Load More
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By joining you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Only ToI Community members can comment below articles
Forgot your password? / Send me a login link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.
Back to top
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.