Force will be under Ben Gvir’s command
Hundreds rally against proposed national guard.
After a heated discussion at their weekly cabinet meeting, ministers voted in favour of forming a national guard under the command of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, along with a major budget cut across all ministries to fund it.
The controversial force is expected to comprise 2000 service members who will be tasked with tackling “nationalist crime” and terrorism, and “restoring governance where needed”.
A timeline for the creation of such a force is unclear, though it is likely to take months. A committee will also decide whether, as Ben Gvir has sought, it will report directly to the far-right minister.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Ben Gvir last week that he would bring the issue to a vote at the next cabinet meeting, in exchange for the far-right minister remaining in the government despite his strong opposition to Netanyahu’s pause of judicial overhaul legislation to allow for dialogue with the opposition.
According to Hebrew media reports, several ministers in the cabinet expressed opposition to the 1.5 per cent cut in the budgets of all ministries, which would hand Ben Gvir’s ministry around NIS 1 billion ($410 million). They said it was irresponsible and would draw public criticism, but nevertheless voted in favour.
Finance Ministry officials have said they can find alternative funding solutions within several months to avoid the sweeping cuts, criticising Ben Gvir for demanding the money immediately, the Ynet news site reported.
The proposed establishment of a new National Guard prompted hundreds of left-wing activists across Tel Aviv to rally against it. A number of central roads in Tel Aviv were temporarily closed off due to the protest, which was held under the banner, “No to Ben Gvir’s militia.”
The Standing Together social justice group, which led the protest along with other organisations, said similar rallies were held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Rehovot and Holon.
Images from the demonstration in Tel Aviv showed numerous Palestinian and Pride flags sprinkled among the Israeli flags that predominated the event. Protesters also carried signs with slogans such as “There is no democracy with occupation” and posters denouncing Ben Gvir.
Addressing the protest, the head of the predominantly Arab Hadash-Ta’al political faction likened the national guard to the “brownshirts” of the Nazi paramilitary.
“Or the yellow shirts,” MK Ayman Odeh said in reference to the colour included in the logo of several Israeli nationalist groups, including the Jewish supremacist Kach movement that Ben Gvir was active in as a teen.
Kach was founded by the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who Ben Gvir and other members of his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party have described themselves as disciples of.
Ben Gvir has recently sought to distance himself from some of Kahane’s more extreme positions, but spoke at a memorial event for him in November.
“We won’t allow you to form fascist militias in the service of Kahanism,” Odeh said at the protest.
Times of Israel
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