It is quite evident to anyone living in Israel that Itamar Ben-Gvir is unsuitable to be the country’s national security minister.
His incompetence and attempted politicization of the police, one of the most sacred safeguards of Israel’s institutions, has been blatant and threatens Israel’s stability during these very turbulent times.
It’s also clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t trust his national security minister, restricts him from the inner decision-making sanctums, and only keeps Ben-Gvir in his position in order to retain his coalition majority.
There’s a good case to be made that under Ben-Gvir’s tenure, which began in late 2022, the police are regularly reluctant to arrest right-wing perpetrators of violence, ranging from extremists who attacked trucks bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza to mobs who stormed two army bases this summer after IDF reservists were detained on suspicion of having sodomized a Palestinian prisoner.
At the same time, the police have been heavy-handed and quick to arrest protesters who have been gathering for months demanding a ceasefire deal that will bring the hostages home, a move that Ben-Gvir and his coalition partners oppose.
Ben-Gvir is bad news, and the anger against him and his policies by the citizenry is certainly justified.
Acts of violence against government officials aren't justified
However, what is not justified is acts of violence against government officials – even one as innocuous as throwing wet sand in a fit of rage.
Noa Goldenberg, 27 from Tel Aviv, allegedly did just that on Friday, when Ben-Gvir visited the city’s Geula Beach with his children. The minister was accosted by some beachgoers, with one repeatedly yelling “murderer” at him in footage posted on social media. The footage also showed policemen approaching the sea after the muddy wet sand was apparently thrown toward Ben-Gvir.
After spending the night at Neve Tirtza Women’s Prison in Ramle, Goldenberg, who professed her innocence, was released to house arrest on Saturday night and ordered to stay away from Ben-Gvir for 30 days.
If Goldenberg did indeed throw the sand, it’s not a trifling act, and it’s not an isolated incident. Last week, police arrested two protesters for attempted assault on Education Minister Yoav Kisch, who was attending the first day of school in Kfar Menahem.
We know far too well where incitement and violence in Israeli society can lead, and we cannot afford to once again head down the path that resulted in the assassination of a prime minister.
Police said it “takes the offense of assaulting a public servant extremely seriously.”
However, in this case, even an attack on a minister, which should be condemned across the board by the public and politicians on both sides of the fence, has become shrouded in controversy over accusations that the police – and Ben-Gvir – abused their power in making the arrest.
“There’s nothing here, there’s really nothing here… I’m not convinced that there is a reason for the arrest,” Judge Menachem Klein said in ordering the release to house arrest. “We can settle for an alternative of 48 hours of supervised house arrest.”
The handcuffing of Goldenberg’s hands and feet and her incarceration in a prison instead of a police lockup are signs that Ben-Gvir may have ordered the police to make her an example.
Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak wrote on social media that “Ben-Gvir did this to Noa because he wants you to be afraid. Don’t be afraid,” while adding, “No I don’t think it’s okay to throw sand, or anything else, at elected officials. Not even at unlawful, criminal, lying, clownish ministers.”
We cannot endure a society in which public servants are assaulted by citizens who don’t agree with them. At the same time, the country needs to have faith that the police are acting above all partisan concerns, and not acting as the long arm of their boss, the national security minister.
The upshot of Ben-Gvir’s tenure as national security minister is that any police action is now suspect as having political motivations. That’s his muddy and dangerous legacy, and it must be nipped in the bud now, once and for all.