JERUSALEM — Billionaire American investor Bill Ackman on Sunday (October 25) said that Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich should not serve in Israel's next government, saying the two far-right politicians had caused enormous damage to the country's reputation, Reuters reported. Ackman wrote on X that, from the perspective of someone who had an understanding of how Israel was perceived in the United States, "Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have caused Israel enormous reputational damage with their statements and actions."
Source: Reuters, Oct 25
The public intervention by the prominent hedge fund manager, who is Jewish, comes just two days before Israel's general election, in which polls show a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition, Reuters said. The founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, who praised Netanyahu last week, said a government without the two ministers would send a message that Israel was "turning a new page". "This will allow Israel to rebuild lost credibility, increase the opportunity for an expansion of the Abraham Accords, and enjoy a better relationship with Democrats and Republicans and Americans at large," he said. Representatives for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters added.
Source: Reuters, Oct 25
Both ministers have faced sanctions
As ministers in Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have overseen policies widely perceived as discriminatory against Israel's minority Arab population and Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, Reuters reported. Several countries, including Britain, Canada and Australia, have imposed sanctions on the two ministers over accusations that they have incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The Abraham Accords Ackman cited are the 2020 agreement, mediated by President Donald Trump's first administration, under which Israel established relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain; it later re-established official ties with Morocco.
Source: Reuters, Oct 25
Analyst: message reflects talk of a unity government
Ackman, who was visiting Israel last week and who supported Donald Trump's candidacy for president in 2024, praised Netanyahu at a Tel Aviv conference on Thursday, saying he had done a good job protecting and defending Israel since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack; Trump last week publicly endorsed Netanyahu for prime minister, Reuters said. Nimrod Goren, president of the Israeli think tank Mitvim, told Reuters Ackman's statement appeared to reflect a desire among Trump's circles for Netanyahu to drop his far-right allies after the vote to form a 'unity government' with opposition parties. However, Gadi Eisenkot, the leading challenger to Netanyahu, and other opposition party leaders have ruled out forming a government with Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Reuters added. Thousands of Israelis also rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for an independent inquiry into the October 7 attack, in which around 1,200 people were killed.
Source: Reuters, Oct 25