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<\/a><\/p>\nItamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister and head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, tours a market in Ramle on Oct. 14, 2026. (Ilia YEFIMOVICH \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Ben-Gvir\u2019s growing popularity ahead of the Oct. 27 election was on full display on a recent weekday when the far-right politician, surrounded by a massive entourage of security guards, police and flag-waving fans, made his way through the central Israeli city of Ramla\u2019s marketplace.<\/p>\n
Yet, amidst the cheering and celebration, the extreme nationalism that has contributed to his meteoric rise through the ranks of Israel\u2019s political system \u2013 and made Ben-Gvir a household name even beyond Israel\u2019s borders \u2013 also drew ire and deep-seated fear in this city known for its mixed Jewish-Arab population. <\/p>\n
\u201cHere comes the next defense minister,\u201d a gaggle of teenage boys in matching Ben-Gvir T-shirts chanted as the minister walked through the market, greeting shoppers and stallholders begging for selfies. Ben-Gvir has his sights set on being Israel\u2019s next minister of defense, a huge promotion from his current role managing internal security.<\/p>\n
At several of the stalls, the controversial minister stopped to embrace vendors. At a pickle stand, he sampled olives. At a candy store, the owner joyously threw handfuls of small candies over the passing group. And at a juice stand, Ben-Gvir and his entourage were treated to complimentary cups of lemonade.<\/p>\n
The minister, elated by the welcome, smiled and waved at passersby, grabbing phones to take selfies, and even chatting with excited fans on video calls.<\/p>\n
Beyond the celebration in Ramla, however, Ben-Gvir has been condemned in Israel and beyond for calling for the expulsion of Gazans and using dehumanizing language about Palestinians. A disciple of Jewish extremist Meir Kahane, he for years kept a photo of Baruch Goldstein, who mowed down Palestinian worshippers at a Hebron mosque, in his living room. <\/p>\n
It is not only his rhetoric and symbolic gestures that have drawn polarizing admiration and anger. During his four years as national security minister, Ben-Gvir has actively downgraded conditions in Israeli jails, pushed through a law establishing a death penalty for Palestinian terrorists and has led the police during the proliferation of settler violence against West Bank villagers. <\/p>\n
These measures have earned opprobrium abroad, but they appear to be winning votes. His supporters are ever more impressed with how he puts his words, and paperwork, into action \u2013 and shares it proudly on TikTok.<\/p>\n
Polls published this week show that even as Netanyahu and his coalition partners are losing votes to the opposition bloc led by former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, Ben-Gvir is getting more. Otzma Yehudit, translated as \u201cJewish Power,\u201d is predicted to increase from its current six seats to as many as nine. <\/p>\n
On the ground, in the marketplace in Ramla, Ben-Gvir\u2019s visit drew extreme reactions ranging from sheer joy to pure anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Ben-Gvir,\u201d gushed Hodaya Nabara, 52, who seconds before snapped a selfie with the politician. \u201cHe does what he says he will do.\u201d <\/p>\n
A resident of southern Israel, Nabara said she was most impressed by how he had ordered the demolition of illegally built homes, in some cases whole villages, built by the burgeoning Israeli Bedouin population, in the Negev region where there is little oversight of construction, and where Bedouin say the government neglects their needs. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey need to know there is a red line and they can\u2019t do whatever they want,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But as the entourage passed by Michal Sharabi, the 53-year-old began hurling insults at him and shaking. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t stand him at all, because of him there is no peace in this country,\u201d she told JTA after calming down. \u201cHe is a lowlife, and the people going with him don\u2019t believe in themselves. Is he not embarrassed to come to this city, where Jews and Arabs live together \u2026 It\u2019s a chutzpah. I\u2019m furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a nearby grocery store, a mixed group of Arabs and Jews frowned at the unfolding spectacle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t like being defined as Arabs or Jews; we are \u2018Ramlaim\u2019 (residents of Ramla),\u201d insisted Uri, who said he was Jewish but declined to give his full name. \u201cWe are all neighbors here, and he is making people fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
His friend, Hamudi Abu Ghanam, said Arab residents of the city like him were impacted by the events of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched deadly raids inside Israel, just like the Jews, and many came to help out but that Ben-Gvir still incited against them.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is racist,\u201d he said. \u201cSince Oct. 7, we are all against Hamas, and instead of saying thank you, he comes and destroys people\u2019s homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben-Gvir\u2019s stop in Ramla struck a particular nerve because the city, which is about 78% Jewish and 22% Arab, was a central point of tension in 1948 when Israel was created. For Arabs, the evidence of the Nakba, which Palestinians call the \u201ccatastrophe\u201d of Israel\u2019s creation that displaced the local Palestinian Arab population during its war of independence, is all around in ruins. <\/p>\n
At one point on his jaunt through the market, two Arab girls donning traditional hijab headcoverings hovered nearby, but they quickly made a U-turn when they realized who was at the center of the commotion.<\/p>\n
Some Jewish onlookers pointed to his theatrics as reasons they were unimpressed by him. Benny Muhtar, 68, a Jewish resident of Ramla, told JTA he thought Ben-Gvir was full of \u201chot air\u201d \u2013 a populist with no substantial policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the young men surrounding him; they are making a lot of noise like this is a serious campaign \u2026 that is what is making the people look up and take notice, but none of it is real, and he is doing a lot of damage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Others enjoyed the spectacle but, with less than two weeks to go until casting their vote, were still unsure whom they would choose. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s done a lot of really good things,\u201d said Edna Mahbesh, 65, who was handing out the free lemonade. \u201cI really hope he is successful in the election.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she was not sure if she would actually vote for him. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll decide that next week,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Arbel Flehandler, 19, a first-time voter, stood on the side, watching in awe as the politician passed by.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is really good and does a lot of good things,\u201d he said. \u201cI am definitely going to vote for a right-wing party, but not sure if I will vote for him or not. This is my first time, and I am still thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zehava Perets, 80, said the reactions to Ben-Gvir showed just how polarized Israel is right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is such a shame there are so many divisions,\u201d she said. \u201cI really don\u2019t know who I will vote for \u2026 There are a few good people in each bloc, but it is impossible to get them to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liron Lavie, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, said the extreme reactions for and against Ben-Gvir \u201cspeaks to how politics works these days\u201d \u2013 as politicians \u201cconnect with the electorate through emotional reaction and a sense of pride or fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said Ben-Gvir should be viewed as part of the \u201clarger global trend where far-right parties are getting stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lavie assessed that Otzma Yehudit benefited from the growing appeal of providing simple solutions and simple messaging \u2013 and that Ben-Gvir was especially effective on social media platforms such as TikTok.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, people prefer simple messages,\u201d said Lavie.<\/p>\n
She also said that Ben-Gvir, despite being in the government on Oct. 7, had successfully distanced himself from that fact and positioned himself as a strong alternative to Netanyahu on the right.<\/p>\n
\u201cLikud and Netanyahu are losing ground,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are being criticized about how they managed the situation, either from the center and left or from the right, allowing voters to go to Ben-Gvir, who was able to position himself as an [alternative] to Netanyahu from the right.\u201d <\/p>\n