FREE PRESS
The Reputational Arson of Itamar Ben-Gvir
Amit Segal
May 21, 2026

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is a reputational arsonist. Yesterday’s fire set by him involved the minister visiting an Ashdod detention center holding the latest batch of Gaza flotilla activists. In a video posted on social media by Ben-Gvir himself, he paraded around bound and bowed detainees, waved the Israeli flag, and blasted the national anthem—shouting “Welcome to Israel” in Hebrew. It immediately caught the attention of Israel’s enemies, as well as friends and even those at the top of the government. On social media at least, the response was almost entirely negative, with rebukes from the foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, and even Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who described the treatment of the activists as “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.” First, some caveats. Are the participants in this flotilla criminals in the eyes of Israeli law and determined enemies of the state? Yes. Were some of the activists associated with ISIS? According to my sources, yes. Should we shed a single tear for them? Absolutely not. READ MORE