Polling ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election indicates that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party could capture between seven and 10 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. That result could make a future coalition headed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party dependent on Ben-Gvir’s backing and strengthen his hand in seeking senior ministerial positions.
Ben-Gvir’s ascent reflects a wider shift in politics across Europe and the West. Parties and figures including Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s National Rally in France, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, Australia’s One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, Italy’s Matteo Salvini and Alice Weidel of Germany’s AfD have all expanded their influence at the expense of traditional conservative parties.
As Israel’s national security minister, the polarizing Ben-Gvir oversees the portfolio responsible for domestic security. His ministry supervises the Israel Police, the Israel Prison Service and civilian firearms licensing.
“I always say that Minister Ben-Gvir, if he were in America, he would just be called a Texan,” Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron and the No. 12 candidate on the Otzma Yehudit list, told News Outlet.
Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a session at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before it dissolves ahead of the 2026 Israeli elections, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
In a video interview with News Outlet, Fleisher said Ben-Gvir represents a platform centered on law and order, including the death penalty for murderers, stricter prison conditions for jihadists and broader gun rights for Jewish Israelis seeking to defend themselves. “That’s what Itamar Ben-Gvir stands for,” he said.
Fleisher also linked Islamist extremism and unrest in parts of Europe to large-scale immigration, arguing that Israelis are determined to prevent similar developments at home.
“There is a jihadist takeover that has come in through immigration, and now the streets of Paris are burning, and the people of Belgium and the U.K. want their countries back,” Fleisher said. “In Israel, we don’t want to see Tel Aviv burning.” He said those concerns have encouraged politicians to support candidates associated in the United States with “law-and-order” and “tough-on-crime” policies.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visits the Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, during Jerusalem’s Day, in Jerusalem’s Old City May 26, 2025. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
Former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon argued that Ben-Gvir had failed to use his position to change direction, despite entering public life without military service and having a criminal conviction. Instead, Ayalon said, the minister’s tenure has harmed Israel, including its diplomatic standing abroad.
“Ben-Gvir spoke in a way that turned the entire world against Israel, portraying it as a racist country by making statements that made Israel a pariah state,” Ayalon said.
“I always say that Minister Ben-Gvir, if he were in America, he would just be called a Texan…Meaning law and order, the death penalty for murderers.
Fleisher offered a sharply different assessment. He credited Ben-Gvir with targeting protection rackets in southern Israel and said the minister had made substantial progress toward what he described as greater equality for Jews at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest site.
“Minister Ben-Gvir was an activist from a very young age. He saw the dangers and evils of the Oslo process with the Palestinians and tried to stop it. He was arrested and stopped many times because of that, and he faced the court many times,” Fleisher said. He recalled that then-Chief Justice Aharon Barak once asked Ben-Gvir, “Why don’t you go study to be a lawyer?”
Leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders speaks to the press after a meeting with Speaker of the House at the House of Representatives in The Hague, on November 24, 2023. After his shock election win, far-right Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders on Friday kicked off the formal process of building a government coalition, battling to convince reluctant rivals to serve under him as premier. (Sem van der Wal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
“Ben-Gvir spoke in a way that turned the entire world against Israel, portraying it as a racist country by making statements that made Israel a pariah state.”
Ben-Gvir studied law before becoming involved in public and political affairs. He entered the Knesset for the first time in 2021 and, after the 2022 election, was appointed national security minister by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Critics have condemned Ben-Gvir’s combative style and what they regard as his disregard for political convention. Ayalon, who previously served as deputy foreign minister, likewise gave him a negative assessment as national security minister in an interview with News Outlet.
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Security attempted to prevent Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir from holding up signs reading “Shame’ during a session at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), which had convened to vote on the country’s next government under Naftali Bennett, who became Israel’s new Prime Minister by leading a fragile coalition of eight parties. Jun. 13, 2021 (Ilia Yefimovich/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
“During his tenure, Israel has become less secure internally because crime is rising,” Ayalon said. He added that many young voters had believed Ben-Gvir would restore government authority and improve security in areas such as the Negev and Galilee, where he said law enforcement was severely lacking.
In 2007, Ben-Gvir was convicted of supporting a terrorist organization and inciting racism.
His campaign told News Outlet that the conviction stemmed from displaying a sticker of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose Kach party was outlawed in 1994, and reflected his support for a Jewish nationalist movement.
“As a young man, Minister Ben-Gvir was an intense Jewish nationalist. He has said many times, publicly, that he has matured since then and moved on from those positions.”
A demonstrator holds a sign with an image of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the words “The Bedouins against the murder, You failed” as members of Israel’s Arab minority protest, calling on the Israeli government to protect Arab communities of the Negev desert from crime and killings from within the community through effective law and order, outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, January 11, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
Recent posts on Ben-Gvir’s social media accounts, along with statements issued through Netanyahu’s and Likud’s official channels, have raised questions about whether the two remain fully aligned.
On Oct. 15, Ben-Gvir shared a Hebrew-language media report quoting Netanyahu as saying that he would not serve again as national security minister. In response, Ben-Gvir wrote: “Dear Prime Minister, only the people will decide. Ben Gvir is strong, Israel is strong!”
Last Wednesday, Netanyahu’s Likud party appeared to reverse course, posting a message on its official WhatsApp channel stating: “Ben-Gvir is a senior minister in our government, and he will remain so in the next government — provided that the bloc consisting of the Left and Arab parties does not win.”
Despite the public statements, Ayalon said Netanyahu could opt not to include Ben-Gvir in the next government, even if it meant forming an alliance with opposition parties such as Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar.
“Netanyahu is brilliant. He kept Ben-Gvir because it suited him. If he could, he would get rid of him in a minute. Bibi is capable of changing his mind on a dime,” Ayalon said.
Election banners with images of Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Likud party, in Sderot, near Israel’s border with Gaza, in southern Israel, Oct.18, 2026. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
Fleisher credited Ben-Gvir with tripling the number of personal firearms and firearms licenses issued to Israelis over four years, establishing 1,000 rapid-response teams, overhauling the prison system and demolishing 9,000 illegally built homes, particularly in the Negev.
In March, the Knesset approved a death-penalty law sponsored by Otzma Yehudit and other lawmakers, a measure Ben-Gvir has strongly championed.
“No more hotel-like conditions in our prisons. You’ll know you are being punished for your crime, and these simple policies ultimately deter jihadism,” Fleisher told News Outlet.
“They understand that he represents a full-throated pushback against the jihadist takeover of our land. Ben-Gvir also represents a strong Jewish identity, strong policies and strong laws to ensure that we don’t lose control of our country,” he said.
The latest polls show Netanyahu’s bloc slightly behind the opposition, led by Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot, but neither side has a clear path to the 61 seats needed for a governing majority.
