Israel's Human Wrecking Ball

Israeli forces intercepted a protest flotilla headed to Gaza and brought participants to an Israeli port. Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video showing detainees being taunted with nationalist slogans while handcuffed prisoners were forced to kneel. An activist shouted “Free Palestine!” and was pushed to the ground by security personnel. Ben-Gvir framed the incident as how supporters of terror are received. The incident is presented as confirming long-held suspicions that Ben-Gvir’s actions provide propaganda for Israel’s enemies, supporting arguments that Israel is aggressive and cruel in its fight against Hamas and Hezbollah. The flotilla is described as aiming to provoke Israeli authorities and document their response, with Ben-Gvir’s posting fulfilling that expectation. Netanyahu’s reaction is characterized as restrained, and his earlier criticism of Ben-Gvir is contrasted with later appointment to the cabinet.

"The short clip shows the far-right politician taunting the detainees with nationalist slogans as the handcuffed prisoners are forced to kneel. One activist shouts "Free Palestine!" and is pushed to the ground by security personnel. "This is how we receive supporters of terror," Ben-Gvir posted."

"The latest provocation by Ben-Gvir proved something that many Israelis have suspected for years: Ben-Gvir is not merely a nightmare for Israeli liberals, but the fulfillment of the fantasies of Israel's enemies. He provides them with precisely the ammunition they need to argue, time and again, that Israel, in its fight against Hamas and Hezbollah, is the aggressor, and a cruel one at that."

"The flotilla activists did not actually plan to "break the siege" of Gaza, as they claimed. They wanted to provoke Israeli authorities and document their reaction. In their wildest fantasies, they could not have imagined that the Israeli official in charge of the country's police would fulfill their hopes by posting videos humiliating and taunting them."

"In February 2021, on the eve of parliamentary elections, Netanyahu declared that Itamar Ben-Gvir "is unfit" to serve as a minister in the government, adding "his positions are not mine." Netanyahu lost that election, and Naftali Bennett became prime minister. But after Netanyahu won the next election, in November 2022, his views on Ben-Gvir suddenly evolved, and he appointed this previously unfit man to his cabinet."

Read at The Atlantic