Is There a Reason to Fear Ben Gvir?

The US pressure campaign against Netanyahu to keep Ben Gvir out of the cabinet failed. It came from all corners — Democratic senators, Biden administration officials, and Conservative and Reform Jewish groups.

It was an exercise in futility to begin with. Netanyahu could not avoid giving cabinet posts to Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — the leaders of the second-largest party in his ruling coalition. Shas and UTJ received their fair share, too, for sticking with Netanyahu through thick and thin.

The level and tone of the outside interference were inept and inappropriate, coming from the same people who applauded the diversity of the previous government for including Arab and far-left parties. But it’s not unprecedented, and the new government and its supporters in Israel and the diaspora must prepare for the second wave, and for how the government will react to a cacophony of criticism.

Let’s turn the clock back some 25 years, when a much younger and more combative Netanyahu first became Israel’s prime minister.