Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he wants Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of the extreme-right Kahanist Otzma Yehudit party, to be a part of his coalition after the March 23 election, but said he “is not fit” to be a member of his cabinet.
In an interview with Channel 12, Netanyahu said that Ben Gvir would not be given a position of influence, including being a minister or heading a Knesset committee.
Asked repeatedly why Ben Gvir cannot be a cabinet member if he is good enough to be a part of his coalition, Netanyahu refused to answer. Asked if he believes Ben Gvir, who has called for the expulsion of “disloyal” Arab Israelis, is racist, Netanyahu said: “His positions are not mine.”
He added, “Arab doctors and nurses, Israeli citizens, took care of my parents and my wife’s parents. I won’t forget that… It’s fantastic. We’re changing Israeli society,” he said, claiming recent greater funding and security for Arab Israelis.
“I really respect Netanyahu, but on this, he is mistaken. I don’t plan to be a scarecrow in the Knesset. I want to be in a position of influence,” he told Army Radio on Sunday.
He also slightly distanced himself from his mentor, the late racist rabbi Meir Kahane. Kahane’s Kach party was banned from the Knesset in the 1980s — the first instance in Israel of a party being banned for racism.
“But I am not Rav Kahane word for word, I don’t support a law for separate beaches (for Jews and Arabs) and I don’t support including all the Arabs (in the emigration plan),” he said. “I take many good things from Rav Kahane, but I’m not there. I try and forge my own way for the Land of Israel.”
