Flippant response to Ben-Gvir’s vile idea a grave concern

It is election time in Israel and, as much as there is a hidden wish that the political debate will not drag the entire country through the mud, there is always Itamar Ben-Gvir and his ilk to ensure that it becomes a race to the bottom.

He has seen homicide levels rise manyfold during his tenure as minister of national security, particularly among Palestinian citizens of Israel. Yet he seems to regard some of his main achievements as preventing Palestinian prisoners from baking their own pitta bread, suggesting that prisons be encircled by crocodiles, staging provocations on the Temple Mount, harassing Marwan Barghouti while making an uninvited visit to his prison cell, and humiliating activists on the Gaza flotilla.

This is an impressive list of achievements, which suggests that Ben-Gvir’s next role should be minister of provocations and empty stunts. But apparently that is not enough when a general election is at the gate. This senior member of a government that failed its people on Oct. 7, 2023, and has done so ever since, instead of hanging his head in shame with the rest of the government, feels a need for yet another political gimmick, possibly one even more disturbing than those that came before.

Rest assured, Ben-Gvir is never short of vile ideas. This time, under the title “Disengagement 710” — a reference to both Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza and the Hamas-led attack in 2023 — he is suggesting the establishment of a dedicated government ministry for the “voluntary emigration” of the people of Gaza.

He suggested the establishment of a government ministry for the ‘voluntary emigration’ of the people of Gaza
Yossi Mekelberg

And who would bet that, if this, heaven forbid, proved to be a great success, the generous offer would not be extended to Palestinians in the West Bank or even the Palestinians citizens of Israel? Game, set and match: the displacement of all Palestinians between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, alongside the complete annexation of the West Bank and Gaza, all supposedly carried out with the free will of the Palestinians. How many of us are naive enough to believe that the “voluntary” aspect of this migration is not a euphemism for making life for the people of Gaza even more hellish so that they “choose” to leave or, more cynically, be forcibly displaced?

It might be easy to dismiss Ben-Gvir’s wheeze as a mere election campaign stunt that will never happen. But considering what has happened over the four years since he assumed a senior position in government, his words must be taken seriously. Once a figure from the very margins of Israeli politics and society, regarded as little more than a thuggish disciple of Meir Kahane, he has, due to a set of unfortunate circumstances, become a major political figure with immense influence.

What should be a cause for grave concern is that the public is no longer shocked when a minister is so flippant about the fate of more than 2 million people. The Palestinian people have demonstrated, throughout the decades since the 1948 Nakba, their attachment to the land. The notion of “sumoud,” meaning steadfast endurance, transcends generations and the suffering of those living under occupation.

Despite the unbearable conditions in the Gaza Strip before the recent war and the diabolical conditions since it began, there is no real desire among the majority of Palestinians in Gaza to leave. This is their land and Ben-Gvir knows it, just as Israeli Jews have no desire to leave their country.

One can only hope that, after the Oct. 27 election, no government will even contemplate such ideas
Yossi Mekelberg

To understand his true intentions, we should consider the language Ben-Gvir used when he introduced this reprehensible idea. He said: “Instead of illusions of peace now, we need actions of emigration now; instead of (Gazans) digging tunnels, it’s time to pack suitcases.”

This was followed by his justification of former minister Rehavam Ze’evi, nicknamed “Gandhi,” who had been explicit in advocating the transfer of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. This idea is nothing other than ethnic cleansing.

Yes, Ben-Gvir “offers” an “absorption package” that would provide “assistance with travel, initial housing, vocational training, employment and support for up to 24 months,” as well as payments to host countries based on the number of Gazans they take in. But what if they refuse to accept it? He is delusional if he believes that he can bribe more than 2 million people to leave their homeland and persuade countries to receive them. Or he is cynically pretending to be generous while knowing that, if Palestinians refuse his generosity, he will resort to other means to displace them.

One can only hope that, after the Oct. 27 election, no government will even contemplate such ideas. Yet the fact that there has been no real outrage across the country, while Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party continues to perform strongly in opinion polls, suggests to me that he is either not being taken seriously, which would be dangerous in itself, or that a large part of Israeli society has become desensitized to some of the vilest ideas.

And he is not alone in advocating such ideas. As part of his election campaign, Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed that Israel is still working on plans to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claiming that depopulating Gaza is the only solution. This comes from a politician with aspirations to one day replace Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.

Ben-Gvir’s appetite is also continuing to grow and he has already published his list of demands for joining a coalition government. He is now demanding the defense minister post in the next government — a position that in Israel is second only to the prime minister in terms of political importance. In addition, he is demanding that another member of his party become justice minister. This is still only a remote possibility but strange things have happened in Israeli politics over the last few years. The entire political system has been geared toward preserving Netanyahu’s premiership and helping him derail his corruption trial.

Among the lasting damage this government has left is the legitimization of Kahanist supporters, their political successors and their revolting ideology. Forty years ago, Kahane was a lone member of the Knesset, whom much of the political establishment despised and ostracized. Today, his political heirs are at the heart of the Israeli government and other centers of power.

The sooner these poisonous people are banished from the country’s politics — and with them notions such as “voluntary migration” — the sooner Israeli society can begin to heal and look for paths toward peace, with the Palestinians and the rest of the region alike.