The Notorious I.B.G.
Friday April 18, 2025 – כ׳ נִיסָן
אָמַ֥ר אוֹיֵ֛ב אֶרְדֹּ֥ף אַשִּׂ֖יג
אֲחַלֵּ֣ק שָׁלָ֑ל תִּמְלָאֵ֣מוֹ נַפְשִׁ֔י
אָרִ֣יק חַרְבִּ֔י תּוֹרִישֵׁ֖מוֹ יָדִֽי
(שמות ט”ו:ט)
“The foe said,
I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall have its fill of them.
I will bare my sword—
My hand shall subdue them.”
(Exodus 15:9 – “Shirat Hayam – Song of the Sea” read on the morning of the 7th day of Pesach)
The notorious I.B.G., also known as Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, is coming to America. After years as an international persona non grata, Israeli Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has announced his first official foreign trip, scheduled for April 20th, marking the first visit to the United States since 1989.
This visit should serve as a call for moral clarity: that Itamar Ben-Gvir is not welcome in our community.
***There are two essential actions you can take today to stand up to Ben Gvir and
his followers, READ TO THE END to find out how!***
(Hint: VOTE REFORM!)
Ben-Gvir first gained renown as a leader of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization, the Jewish Defense League (later called Kach in Israel). Ben-Gvir was convicted of supporting a terror organization and inciting racism. He is known for ripping the Cadillac hood ornament from then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car in 1995 and declaring, “We reached Rabin’s car, we will get to Rabin too.” Rabin was assassinated later that year.
Ben-Gvir is a disciple of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, who championed a Torah of racism and supremacy, and claimed that “the idea of a democratic Jewish state is nonsense,” preferring Israel’s Jewish majority over democracy.
Itamar Ben Gvir represents a distorted version of Judaism that is trying to take control over all of the State of Israel. He lionizes violence, champions racism, and jettisons the rule of law, ironic for the minister who has oversight over the police. His blatant disregard for democratic principles and his boastful elation at ending the ceasefire at the expense of 59 of his people still languishing as captives to the murderous Hamas in Gaza should render him unfit to serve in this, or any lofty governmental position. There is no question that we should not give him a platform or an audience anywhere in the United States.
In a comprehensive February 2023 profile of him written by Ruth Margalit in the New Yorker (Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of Chaos), one can dive into Ben-Gvir’s background and ideology in this video to gain a sense of the real danger of Kahanism, a true distortion of Judaism.
The danger of Ben Gvir in Israeli society is simple: Violence.
Since he took over the police force and the Israeli correctional system, there has been a rise in police brutality against protesters who rally to bring home the hostages, and a sharp increase in Settler violence in the West Bank towards Palestinians and human rights activists. He has made the case time and again that the tragedy of October 7 has paved the way for Jewish Settlement in Gaza, and he consistently advocates retaking the Gaza Strip and transferring (i.e., ethnic cleansing) Palestinians from it.
Few American politicians can claim to back Israel more emphatically than Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). So it is telling that, recently, when Torres got word that Israel’s national security minister was visiting Washington this week, he went on the attack:
“There is no universe in which I would ever grant an audience to an extremist like [Itamar] Ben Gvir,” Torres tweeted, adding that he has “nothing but contempt” for the Israeli minister.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs commented:
“Some may argue that Minister Ben-Gvir is entitled to be heard. On the contrary, we feel that some views are so beyond the pale, and so contrary to Jewish values that have sustained our people throughout the millennia, that they do not deserve legitimation in the public square. Minister Ben-Gvir’s views – which include furthering the Jewish supremacist ideology championed by disgraced Rabbi Meir Kahane, denigrating LGBTQ Jews, and fomenting Jewish extremist attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank – fall into that category.”
Take Action:
Minister Ben Gvir will visit Miami, Washington D.C., and New York. He will be hosted by Chabad in Crown Heights (an evening to support Chabad of Hevron) and by the Shabtai Society (a global Jewish leadership society based at Yale University, which in the past has hosted MK Simcha Rothman, the architect of the judicial overhaul). Notably, the administration will not be meeting with him, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem does not plan to meet with her Israeli counterpart, despite his warm affinity for President Trump.
- We’re asking you to sign this letter now – ITAMAR BEN GVIR IS BEYOND THE PALE
- With his success in the Knesset, Ben Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit Party (Jewish Power) will also have significant representation in the World Zionist Congress. Rest assured that he and his ilk will do everything they can to use these worldwide institutions of the Jewish people to advance their racist, supremacist, and annexationist agenda.
To counter this, we must, of course, do everything possible to ensure that Minister Ben Gvir is shunned during his upcoming visit to the United States. Beyond that, we must ensure that we have sufficient power and influence to counter his party’s poisonous principles and ill-intended ideology. It is upon us to VOTE and to reach out to every Jewish person over 18 in the United States to VOTE REFORM in the World Zionist Congress elections. Ben Gvir and his band of racist and violent supporters are trying to reshape Judaism and Zionism. We cannot let that happen.
As we approach the end of our week of Pesach, when we gather together with family and friends, and once again tomorrow morning as we read about the Exodus from Egypt and the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea, may we remember our fight against our enemies, both internally and externally. This is a moment to declare loudly that our Zionism and Judaism eschew racism, supremacy, political violence, and intimidation.
Just Say No.
Shabbat Shalom and Hag Sameach.