European governments are finally being forced to condemn Israel as its crimes have become impossible to ignore. But they are scapegoating National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rather than confronting the system he represents.
The brutal treatment of activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla for Gaza by Israeli forces during their detention in international waters last week triggered a wave of international condemnation, including from many European and other Western countries.
Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Poland, and Greece summoned Israeli ambassadors or envoys to condemn the treatment of activists detained during the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla. The UK said it was “appalled” by the images of the activists’ detentions. These reactions, however, centered around one figure: Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had posted a video of himself overseeing and encouraging the mistreatment of the activists.
The focus on Ben-Gvir was so singular that France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, included in his condemnation post on X a claim that other Israeli officials had rejected Ben-Gvir’s actions.
That much is true: across the Israeli political spectrum, Ben-Gvir became the convenient scapegoat to draw attention away from the entirety of Israeli politics, which differs very little from Ben-Gvir when it comes to the treatment of Palestinians. But the outrage in Israel wasn’t at the treatment itself, but rather the fact that Ben-Gvir revealed it to the world, causing an international embarrassment. The difference is that Ben-Gvir doesn’t care about the PR problem he’s created, while other Israeli officials do. (more...)
Europe’s new strategy to hide the rot in Israeli society is to scapegoat Itamar Ben-Gvir
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