I love Eretz Yisroel with every fiber of my being. I daven for its safety, rejoice in its nissim, and cry over its tzaros. I am mechanech my children from the youngest age to say, “V’sechezena eineinu b’shuvcha l’Tzion b’rachamim.” In our shuls, our yeshivos, our homes — there is nothing more precious than the kedusha of Eretz HaKodesh and the situation of our brothers and sisters living there.
And that’s exactly why I have no patience — not an ounce — for the chaos that Itamar Ben Gvir brought to our streets this week.
He came to America under the banner of an “official visit.” To meet with who? Nobody. There were no real meetings scheduled. Not in Crown Heights. Not at Essen. Not at Shaarei Zion. Not at the Young Israel of Woodmere. Not anywhere. He popped his head into a few places for a few minutes — long enough to get a few photo ops — and that was it.
But the protests? The chillul Hashem? The danger? Oh, that he stirred up plenty of.
Instead of making a kiddush Hashem, instead of building bridges, instead of strengthening our communities — he lit a match and threw it into a tinderbox. Protestors and Hamas sympathizers were riled up and came out in droves, furious and violent. Our neighborhoods, our communities — not his — were left to deal with the consequences.
When he walked twenty blocks down Wall Street, letting the mob scream and curse at him, what was the point? He could’ve gotten into a car. He could’ve kept a low profile. Instead, he chose the route of chaos, just to stay relevant, just to get his name into the headlines. This isn’t leadership. This is selfishness — and it’s dangerous.
We should never, ever cower in the face of Hamas sympathizers. We stand tall and proud as Yidden, and we will defend our neighborhoods. But we don’t need Ben Gvir to teach us how to stand strong. We’ve been standing strong in America for decades, long before he figured out how to make a media circus out of Jewish pain.
We love Eretz Yisroel with every drop of our blood. We stand with the IDF and we stand with every Jew in danger. But we do not stand with a rabble-rouser who nearly toppled the Netanyahu government a few months ago just so he could stay in the news as the official “flamethrower.”
Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit was not a show of strength. It was a reckless, selfish act that endangered our kehillos for no reason other than his own ego.
We should continue to stand proudly as Torah Yidden, as ohavei Yisroel, as lovers of Eretz Yisroel — but we must do it with seichel, with achrayus, and with true pride. Not with matches and gasoline.
Avrohom J – Flatbush, Brooklyn
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21 Responses
Thank you. Your point is spot on. You are one hundred percent right. We need more people to speak our against Ben Gvir and to do so more forcefully. We expect Muslim religious leaders to condemn chants of death to the Jews and we should expect no less from our community leaders when mobs in Crown Heights chant maves l’aravim.
Totally agree. Ben Gvir’s policies and actions have been controversial, even among Israelis. Some critics argue that his approach to security and law enforcement could lead to further polarization and instability.
Please explain what type of Zionist you are. Why is this long rant anyone’s business. If you want to join Ben do so .if you don’t want to don’t. Just don’t tell others what to do.
Umm – how did he walk 20 blocks down Wall Street? The entire street is only about five blocks long!
an Israeli Yid
Best… he endangers lives in Israel with his provocative (and likely forbidden) visits to ghe Temple Mount. He does the same with his pronouncements. And now he comes here to further his foolhardy Messianism.
Wow, the conservatives sure are getting better at writing like us!
Out of curiosity, do you love Tefillin or Sukkah or Krias Shema biZman with the same love? If not, you just might be making an idol out of E”Y.
“Instead of making a kiddush Hashem, instead of building bridges, instead of strengthening our communities — he lit a match and threw it into a tinderbox.”
This is the Modus Operandi of Zionism. Being all macho and tough regardless of consequences, especially when the wicked Zionists can then propagandize those consequences as a rallying cry for Zionism. This particular Zionist has been condemned as a rodef in the past, so this isn’t all that new for him – other than the venue.
Zionism is the opposite of Judaism. Therefore, Zionists, particularly politically powerful ones, are damaging to Jews.
It’s funny how people who don’t live in Israel are so sure of themselves. Ben Gvir tells it like it is and puts the safety of Jews first. He’s controversial only because of that fact. He’s more popular in Israel than ever, also because of that fact. He’s honest and straightforward and doesn’t play politics with our lives. He does what’s right . The Left hates him for all those reasons. As “Frum” people, you should appreciate that about him.
I never know we had so many anti semitic hamas-nikim literally in our back yard.
Thank you Ben Gvir. Thank you for bringing to our awareness the danger that lies within our midst. We cannot sit back and assume we are well protected when such blood thirsty thugs live among us. Hashem Yerachem Aleinu
Good for all of you. You can’t have the cake and eat it. You love Israel, enjoy Ben Gvir.
The Medinah is treif, the IDF are committing, heinous acts against our holy Torah and so on. So now you woke up saying that you like Israel, but you don’t like when a blood stained provocative person as Ben Gvir comes to America and stirs up trouble. Wow, who put some common sense into the brains of Zionists here in America??
Well, guess what? The entire state of Israel
(not EY) is a calamity to every authentic Jew. He is just a horrific product of Zionism.
A Rasha like him should be turned away by every sane Jew.
Chabad created an atrocity of a chilul Hashem. Their own Rebbi the holy מהרש״ב was the biggest anti-Zionist of his times. They pick and choose their teachings. A shande!
T
Where were you last two years and more where Hamas and the secular liberal Jews have been protesting against Israel. You think it started now when Ben Gevir showed up. Don’t distort the facts. I was in crown heights and Ben Gevir didn’t just poke his head in for a picture. He spoke in private meetings as well as at the 770 shul. Outside there were a few dozen Arabs as well as liberal Jews and some NK s protesting. But the first time ever they got a good beating as hundreds of young chabadniks charged and crushed them. I was proud what they did to these Jew haters. They showed that our communities will not stand like sheep. I got back reports in Israel how many Chareidim are switching their votes to Ben Gevir from Shas and Agudah. The future looks good. Ben Gevir may be our next prime minister. He will bring the death penalty to terrorist. He has stopped all the luxury treatments that Arab terrorists have in prison. The Arab prisoners themselves have complained.
He does the same thing in Israel too. Run to take pictures near the Temple mount risking his soul just to piss off the Arabs and perhaps get someone killed. He didn’t go to pray or because he felt strong connection to the beis hamikdash. That’s what he is a troublemaker. Unfortunately the Jews here fed right into it and gave him the show
To so called Miriam commentator.
Your name is not Miriam.
Your probably a Neturei karta who makes a chillul H everytime you appear with Hamas protesters. If after Oct 7 where they killed so many you go out protesting with these animals. Then you turn the tables and accuse Ben Gevir of being bad. He is the one who defends Israel and if he was in charge not one Israeli soldier would be killed. He just would cut off all the food and fuel and internet to Gaza. And he would give terrorists the death penalty. All the other Knesset members are cowards. Let’s hope Ben Gevir becomes next prime minister. He would make Israel a Torah state in every way. There would be no more public schools. Every kid will be in a yeshiva. There would be no more gay parades or pork shops. That’s why many shas and Agudah voters are switching to Ben Gevir. All the other parties are fake. The proof is that they supported Oslo and a thousand Jews were blown up and killed in exchange for shas getting a billion shekels from Clinton. Blood money.
We religious Jews support Ben Gevir. In every orthodox Jewish community he was welcomed. He was here just for a week and managed to get around from crown heights to Flatbush to Boro park to Florida to manhattan to Long Island to Maro logo to manhattan. He will be next Israeli prime minister.
Heimisha guy:
In the view of Judaism, as opposed to its polar opposite of Zionism, Miriam happens to be right. Invoking “NK” is a straw-man. And a pathetic one at that, too.
Zionism has caused cataclysmic suffering to the Jewish people (including both the Holocaust and 10/7).
And since Chazal tell us that kol haPosel biMumo posel, it would seem that you’re not a “heimisha guy” but rather a “Religious Zionist”.
Heimish
Ben Gvir is a a רשע ! He doesnt protect Israel, many slaughtered Jews are a result from his provocations. Entering the Har Habayis for no reason under the sun just to provoke Muslim hatred deems him a a true רודף.
No Im not NK. I dont sympathize w their causes.
I stand proudly as an American anti Zionist Jew and daven Hashem shld rid the world from such רשעים.
HaKatan, If you say Judaism is the opposite of Zionism, you must have a very different and misguided definition of Judaism. What might that be?
Just to clear all the confusion here “Zionism is the antithesis of Judaism.”
Hakaran didnt say it. He’s repeating it
HERZL and his cohorts said it. Why defend them?
Miriam, name us ONE jew, just one, who was slaughtered because of Ben Gvir