{"id":3093,"date":"2025-05-06T20:36:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transitophile.com\/chango\/?p=3093"},"modified":"2025-05-06T20:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:36:15","slug":"ben-gvir-comes-to-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transitophile.com\/chango\/ben-gvir-comes-to-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben-Gvir comes to Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read last week that four members of Congress met Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir in his recent visit to the United States.<\/p>\n

I wonder what verb I should choose. ‘Met’ is safe. Dare I write ‘welcomed’ or ‘greeted?’ The four congressmembers posted no encomia to Ben-Gvir on their house.gov web sites, but photos of their encounters are online. A Forward<\/em> article<\/a> shows Ohio congressman Jim Jordan offering a manly handshake, shirt sleeve rolled up to expose sinewy forearm, fitting for a former NCAA wrestling champion. Another<\/a> shows Brian Mast accepting a menorah.<\/p>\n

Have a look. Note the congressmens’ expressions. Those look like ‘welcomes,’ don’t they?<\/p>\n

I mentioned Ben-Gvir in my United States of Israel post<\/a>. His U.S. visit was controversial. Last November, eighty-eight members of Congress asked Biden to sanction<\/a> Ben-Gvir and fellow far-right Israel minister Bezalel Smotrich under Executive Order 14115, which would have barred him from entering the U.S. Angry protest groups met his appearances in New Haven<\/a>, Brooklyn<\/a> and at the Capitol<\/a>. Videos<\/a> of Ben-Gvir’s clashes with Capitol protesters are online.<\/p>\n

Transitophile is not a political blog — in fact, barely qualifies these days as any kind of blog, given the infrequency of my updates. Still, I think I can provide some perspective on Ben-Gvir’s congressional reception that I haven’t yet read elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Until 2020, Ben-Gvir decorated his living room<\/a> with a photo of Brooklyn-born zionist extremist Baruch Goldstein<\/a>, who slaughtered twenty-nine Palestinians<\/a> praying at a Hebron mosque. I feel safe in categorizing the murders as race-based; Wikipedia lists Goldstein in that unenviable category<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The United States has also produced racist mass murderers. In 2019, Patrick Crusius drove six hundred miles to murder twenty-three Latinos<\/a> at an El Paso Walmart. In 2022, Payton Gendron killed ten African-American shoppers<\/a> at a Buffalo supermarket. I scratch the recent surface.<\/p>\n

The closest U.S. equivalent of Ben-Gvir’s Ministry of National Security<\/a> in Israel likely would be the Department of Homeland Security<\/a>, now led by Kristi Noem. I am not an admirer of Ms. Noem, but am confident that she hasn’t decorated her living room with photos of a racist American rampage killer. It wouldn’t shock me, however, if an elected official of a small town in the U.S. hinterlands were to do so.<\/p>\n

A few questions:<\/p>\n

(\u2666<\/span>)\u00a0How would you feel about a EU leader who would be photographed accepting a gift from or shaking the hand of a visiting U.S. politician who had adorned his home with a photo of Patrick Crusius or Payton Gendron? Would you feel pleased by such a photo? Offended? Deeply offended? Would you regard that EU leader as just, wise, mature, a good candidate to help steer the Ship of State? Or would you think that the attainment of leadership by such a person augured nothing good for the European Union?<\/p>\n

(\u2666<\/span>)\u00a0How would your opinion of the United States change if the U.S. had stooped low enough to appoint a Department of Homeland Security secretary who would decorate her or his private residence with a photo of a mass murderer?<\/p>\n

(\u2666<\/span>)\u00a0What do you think Ben-Gvir’s status as Minister of National Security says about Israel’s current leadership?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read last week that four members of Congress met Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir in his recent visit to the United States. I wonder what verb I should choose. ‘Met’ is safe. Dare I write ‘welcomed’ or ‘greeted?’ The four congressmembers posted no encomia to Ben-Gvir on their house.gov web sites, but photos of… <\/p>\n

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