Two Jewish organizations have officially announced they’ll be hosting events with Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during his upcoming visit to the United States—his first since taking on the role.
Ben-Gvir’s appointment to Israel’s cabinet in 2022 sparked backlash from the Biden administration, which reportedly considered barring him from entering the U.S., while numerous American Jewish groups denounced his political stance. His Jewish Power party has drawn controversy for its hardline views, including support for removing “disloyal” Palestinians, pushing for the annexation of the West Bank, and escalating the conflict in Gaza.
This week, many mainstream Jewish groups said they had not been informed of Ben-Gvir’s trip or had no intention of engaging with him. Organizations once linked to his visit have distanced themselves from arranging it.
Despite the silence from larger institutions, Shabtai, a Jewish student society at Yale University founded in part by Senator Cory Booker, has scheduled two events featuring Ben-Gvir—one on the Yale campus on April 23 and another the following day in Manhattan. These talks coincide with Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Shabtai confirmed that the Yale event will include students and faculty, while the Manhattan gathering is expected to draw guests like “federal judges, bankers, Columbia/NYU professors, and NYC notables that care about Israel,” according to the group’s director. The focus of the second event will be “securing Israel post-October 7th.”
Later that same day, Chabad of Hebron is hosting a fundraiser in Brooklyn featuring Ben-Gvir. Bais Shmuel Chabad in Crown Heights is promoting a $36-a-ticket event offering attendees an “open panel discussion” with Ben-Gvir, advertising a chance to hear insider perspectives on “the fight for Jewish sovereignty over all the Land of Israel.”
Before the public announcement, a Chabad representative told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) that the wider Chabad movement, which operates with local autonomy, had no knowledge of any plans involving Ben-Gvir.
Rabbi Shmully Hecht, a founder of Shabtai and its current rabbinic advisor, expressed pride in welcoming Ben-Gvir.
“Shabtai believes in free discourse and hosts speakers with a variety of views on American politics, business, ethics, religion, literature, the arts and more. We promote Judaism and free speech. It’s Talmudic,” he wrote to JTA.
Hecht, who also established Yale’s Chabad center, voiced open admiration for the minister. “I admire Ben-Gvir,” he stated, comparing him favorably to Senators Booker and Blumenthal. “Itamar promotes what he believes is best for his people that democratically elected him.”
Hecht praised Meir Kahane as well, the radical rabbi whom Ben-Gvir often cites as an inspiration. “Ben-Gvir, like Meir Kahane, warned Israelis, the Jewish people, and the West of the dangers of Radical Islam and the Jihadists,” Hecht wrote. “Sadly they have been rejected by naïve liberals who delusionally presume Westerners can make peace with the likes of ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian Mullahs. Oct 7th must be the last war of Israel. Only bold, resolute leaders like Ben Gvir can assure same.”
Although the Biden administration sanctioned settler groups tied to Ben-Gvir’s ideological platform, President Trump has revoked those restrictions and voiced support for some of Ben-Gvir’s stances on Gaza, potentially paving the way for a more favorable reception during the trip. One person reportedly accompanying Ben-Gvir is Akiva Hacohen, a U.S.-born settler convicted in 2013 of relaying Israeli military intel to defend unauthorized outposts.
To critics of Ben-Gvir, his itinerary highlights a concerning shift in the mainstreaming of far-right rhetoric.
“Mobilizing against Ben-Gvir is mobilizing against extremism,” said Offir Gutelzon, a leader of UnXeptable, an activist group of Israelis living in the U.S. The organization is preparing a protest near the Upper East Side event on Thursday.
In a statement, the group said, “As Israelis in America and as American Jews, we believe this visit requires a clear, clarion call: Itamar Ben-Gvir is not welcome in our community.
“He is not welcome in our country. He does not represent us as Jews or as Israelis. We steadfastly oppose his dark vision for Judaism, Israel and for the Middle East.”
The open letter has been endorsed by progressive Jewish organizations and activists, including the Union for Reform Judaism, J Street, the New York Jewish Agenda, We Are All Hostages, and multiple families of Israeli hostages.
According to Israeli media, Ben-Gvir’s visit will include stops in Miami, New York City, and Washington, D.C. A meeting once expected to take place with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has since been removed from the agenda, Haaretz reported. Homeland Security did not respond to JTA’s inquiry.
Apart from the few confirmed appearances, details on the rest of the trip remain limited. Most prominent Jewish institutions said they had not been contacted or had no plans to meet with Ben-Gvir.
Spokespeople for the ADL, AJC, Jewish Federations of North America, and the Conference of Presidents all said they would not be engaging with Ben-Gvir. Three of them noted they hadn’t even received a request for a meeting.
In contrast, two years ago, some of these groups privately met with Bezalel Smotrich, another right-wing Israeli minister, during his trip to the U.S.—a meeting that caused friction with other Jewish groups once it became public. Smotrich made another visit recently to confer with Trump’s Treasury secretary.
The only confirmed events feature organizations known for giving a platform to politically charged figures.
Shabtai, founded in the 1990s and previously called the Chai Society and Eliezer, has hosted an eclectic mix of voices—from Israeli Supreme Court justices and far-right MK Simcha Rothman to Anthony Scaramucci and anti-Zionist blogger Philip Weiss. Even Senator Booker himself spoke there in 2022. Shabtai drew attention in the 2024 GOP primary when one of its past members, Vivek Ramaswamy, ran for president with a proposal to cut U.S. aid to Israel.
Hecht, who collaborated closely with Booker in Shabtai’s early days, did not receive a response from the senator’s office when reaching out about Ben-Gvir’s planned appearance. Booker has previously criticized Netanyahu’s coalition—Ben-Gvir included—as “ultra-right-wing.”
Other participants in the Brooklyn fundraiser include Yishai Fleisher, an Israeli podcaster and proponent of Jewish aliyah, and Rabbi Danny Cohen, who heads Chabad of Hebron.
Some in the Chabad community voiced concern over the event.
“I was very disappointed in this community specifically,” said Tzofiah Frieden, a Crown Heights-based Chabad artist and progressive voice on social media. She told JTA that the gathering contradicted what she viewed as the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who avoided political entanglement. Hosting Ben-Gvir, she added, was “against the values of what we should be promoting as Chabad.”
Frieden noted that Crown Heights has been trending more politically conservative in recent years. She suspects many residents support a one-state solution with Jewish majority rule but might not fully grasp Ben-Gvir’s background or ideology.
“A lot of the very frum people who live in Crown Heights are not super politically aware,” she said. “From what they’re aware of, he wants a united Israel, he wants a one-state solution. And I don’t know that they would be aware of the history of Kahanism.”
Meanwhile, Betar US—a controversial youth movement known for provoking confrontation both in person and online—posted and then deleted a tweet announcing it would be welcoming Ben-Gvir to the U.S. and hosting events for him in New York, Washington, and Miami.
In that tweet, Betar said it would “warmly welcome a leader of the Israeli government Itamar Ben Gvir on his first trip to the US next week,” and expressed its intention to “host events warmly in DC, NY and Miami.”
Betar, which has also called for mass Jewish immigration to Israel and urged banning progressive Jews from entering the country, immediately came under fire from Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres, who is considering a gubernatorial run.
“There is no universe in which I would ever grant an audience to an extremist like Ben Gvir or any organization like yours that embraces his extremism,” Torres responded. “If you had done your homework, you would [have] known that I have nothing but contempt for [Ben-]Gvir.”
Initially, Betar claimed it was co-hosting the visit with the Zionist Organization of America. But when asked, ZOA President Mort Klein denied giving his approval to host Ben-Gvir, though he did not clarify his personal opinion.
Soon after, Betar deleted the tweet and appeared to retract its original claim. When contacted again, the group didn’t confirm any events of their own with the minister.
“Betar US supports all israeli government ministers at this time as they travel,” a representative said. “We are pleased the mainstream Zionist and Jewish community will welcome the minister to America during his visit.”
{Matzav.com}
