Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir published a special column in Yisrael Hayom on Monday in which he tried to reassure the left-wing sector that he isn’t the racist provocative politician that the media is making him out to be and he has no goals of turning Israel into a “halachic state.”

Ben-Gvir began the column, entitled My Brothers On The Left, This Isn’t The End Of Your Country, by writing: “My friends on the left, we’re brothers! Yes, despite the controversy, despite four election cycles that led to polarized discourse and deepened division, despite the demonization and hatred – we’re brothers!”

“The country isn’t ruined for you. You and we together are the State and we have no intention of changing that.”

“I hear about the fear of ‘religious coercion,’ and I ask myself – who will be coerced? My brother Shai who doesn’t wear a kippah, or Tzvika Fogel and Almog Cohen, ‘secular’ candidates that I insisted on bringing with me to Otzma Yehudit?”

“I hear about the fear of ‘thought police’ or banning [pride] demonstrations, and I remind you that the ones who fought more than all the ‘civil rights’ organizations for freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate were us!”

“What saddened me the most was hearing a journalist ask if and when I’ll be in an influential position, will the pride parade be secured – are you normal? Do I want a heinous murder of a girl attending the parade? Of course not. And even if I’m not enthusiastic about the parade, I’ll make sure that the lives of the marchers are protected at all costs.”

“I hear all those that remind me of the symbol of prime minister Yitzchak Rabin (27 years ago!) and the photo of Baruch Goldstein, but I remind you of the path I’ve gone through since then and the change: I matured, became more moderate and reached an understanding that life is more complex.”

“Today, I don’t view all the people of the left as one entity. I definitely differentiate between [Jewish Joint List MK] Ofer Cassif and the Zionist leftists who love Israel.”

“Don’t make a mistake, we’ll make sure that a nationalist right-wing government is established here, a government that will restore personal security to the streets, governance to the Negev and the Galil, and will hold its head high and not bow down in the face of threats. I don’t mean to apologize and grovel about who I am but I just think that if you get to know me, you will change your mind about me and my positions. Too many Israelis have feared enemies at home and abroad for too many days in too many places. No more.”

“The reality in which Jews everywhere are fleeing from mobs rioting in the heart of Jerusalem is a defeatist diasporic reality. Mothers in Be’er Sheva shouldn’t have to fear for the safety of their teenage daughters in the mall or on the street; a soldier who goes on leave in Akko shouldn’t have to take off his uniform when he walks home. The startup and cyber nation has lost its deterrence at home. Running away, bowing down and apologizing have become the norm – that’s what the elections were about and we won the elections on this issue.”

“The Jewish identity of all of us isn’t sectarian or political, it is the rock of our existence and the breath of our souls. We suffered and were persecuted in exile and we united – and precisely here in the country we founded – there’s been a retreat from our beating heart, the Jewish heart. Reconnecting can’t be accomplished by force – any such connection is doomed to failure – but there is room for renewed acquaintance, a refreshing of memory, of bringing hearts and heritage closer together.”

“And there are many of you who feel frustration, which at times leads to fear and can manifest itself in hatred. But these are feelings that originate from distance, from lack of familiarity. If you let us get closer, if you listen to the content of our words, you will find that we are brothers. You will find that we agree on 90% of issues, that the positions we bring and the actions we promote are for you as much as they are for us.”

“The ax wielded against a mother in Haifa or the knife pulled against a young man in Ashkelon aren’t electoral considerations. Likewise, our national security, which we need so much, is not sectoral or political. Personal security is necessary for all of us – in the left-wing kibbutzim and in the peripheral towns, on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv and Rager Boulevard in Be’er Sheva. The governance we lost in the Negev and the Galil must be returned to all of us – to those who voted for Religious Zionism-Otzma Yehudit and those who voted for Labor and Meretz.”

“And yes, the Arab citizens of Israel are also entitled to protection and a sense of security. The crime problem in the sector has intensified into an immediate danger. We must not accept the horrifying daily reality in which innocent people are murdered in broad daylight or under the cover of darkness – without it becoming part of the public agenda and without being required to provide protection and security to Israel’s Arab citizens as well. The truth must be told even if it’s painful – the peace of mind and indifference that the State of Israel exhibits towards the epidemic of murder and crime in the Arab sector is immoral, unacceptable, and hurts us all.”

In the coming days, b’ezrat Hashem, a nationalist government will be established here. There will be more disputes, there is still a lot to fight about. The 10% that separates us from each other can fill Shabbat and Chag newspaper editions and supplements. But there is nothing to fear and no one to hate – we are brothers.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)