Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said on X that Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich should not serve in Israel's next government, citing "enormous reputational damage" to Israel.
- • The intervention came two days before Israel's general election, where polls show a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition.
- • Ackman argued that excluding the two far-right ministers would signal Israel was "turning a new page" and could support an expansion of the Abraham Accords.
- • Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party is projected to win about 10 seats (up from 6) and Smotrich's Religious Zionism about 8 (up from 7).
- • Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman reportedly own 5 per cent of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and he backed Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
Summary
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said on Sunday that far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich should not serve in Israel's next government, arguing that the two had caused Israel "enormous reputational damage with their statements and actions." Writing on X, Ackman, who is Jewish and a supporter of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, framed his view from the perspective of someone attentive to how Israel is perceived in the United States.
The intervention comes two days before Israel's general election, in which polls show a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition. Ackman said a government without the two ministers would signal that Israel was "turning a new page," allowing it to rebuild credibility, expand the Abraham Accords, and improve relations with Democrats, Republicans and Americans broadly. The Abraham Accords, mediated during Trump's first administration in 2020, saw Israel establish relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and later Morocco.
Ackman, who visited Israel last week and praised Netanyahu at a Tel Aviv conference on Thursday for protecting Israel since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, along with his wife Neri Oxman owns 5 per cent of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, according to the report. Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu for prime minister last week. Representatives for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, ministers in Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, have overseen policies widely viewed as discriminatory against Israel's Arab minority and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Britain, Canada and Australia have imposed sanctions on the two ministers over accusations that they incited violence against Palestinians. Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party is projected to win around 10 seats, up from 6, while Smotrich's Religious Zionism is projected at 8, up from 7.
Nimrod Goren, president of the think tank Mitvim, said Ackman's statement appeared to reflect a desire within Trump's circles for Netanyahu to drop his far-right allies and form a 'unity government' with opposition parties after the vote. However, Gadi Eisenkot, the leading challenger to Netanyahu, and other opposition leaders have ruled out forming a government with Netanyahu. Separately, thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for an independent inquiry into the Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 people.
The intervention comes two days before Israel's general election, in which polls show a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition. Ackman said a government without the two ministers would signal that Israel was "turning a new page," allowing it to rebuild credibility, expand the Abraham Accords, and improve relations with Democrats, Republicans and Americans broadly. The Abraham Accords, mediated during Trump's first administration in 2020, saw Israel establish relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and later Morocco.
Ackman, who visited Israel last week and praised Netanyahu at a Tel Aviv conference on Thursday for protecting Israel since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, along with his wife Neri Oxman owns 5 per cent of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, according to the report. Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu for prime minister last week. Representatives for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, ministers in Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, have overseen policies widely viewed as discriminatory against Israel's Arab minority and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Britain, Canada and Australia have imposed sanctions on the two ministers over accusations that they incited violence against Palestinians. Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party is projected to win around 10 seats, up from 6, while Smotrich's Religious Zionism is projected at 8, up from 7.
Nimrod Goren, president of the think tank Mitvim, said Ackman's statement appeared to reflect a desire within Trump's circles for Netanyahu to drop his far-right allies and form a 'unity government' with opposition parties after the vote. However, Gadi Eisenkot, the leading challenger to Netanyahu, and other opposition leaders have ruled out forming a government with Netanyahu. Separately, thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for an independent inquiry into the Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 people.
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