Ben Gvir’s Political Commercial Raises Double Standards

Peloni: In the wake of the recent Hamas funded flotilla which was intercepted by Israeli forces, the govt and world leaders have taken to condemning the actions of Min. Ben Gvir for his activist like attempt to chastise the pro-Hamas beligerants while being processed in Israel.

It is truly amazing how little it takes for an Israeli to presumably step out of line before being universally condemned as if he had actually executed the terror sponsoring activists which sailed with impunity on a Hamas financed flotilla to invade his country.  Many are arguing that this event has created an international incident, but the reality is if such an event took place in any other nation, this footage wouldn’t be newsworthy or even noteworthy.  Hence, ignoring the international angst which came from what was honestly was far less of a chastising than these melancholy marauders deserved, we should note the real importance of this event, which I would argue was far more political in nature than geopolitical.

As Smotrich previously noted it is not relevant how the Left splits up its votes, it is highly relevant to him and all the Right wing parties as to how the Right might split its own votes. As the mood of the country has shifted rightward, it makes such hawkish photo ops as the one below quite relevant.  Sensing an opportunity, Ben Gvir opted for this photo op, which he himself proudly posted on his twitter account just in case the news feeds reacted with the disdain which this event would have garnered in any country but Israel.  This resulting cost free political commercial is just the first page in the coming election play book to vie for the sentiments of an electorate which has no sympathy for these terror stoking snowflake warriors, and Bibi and the rest of the Right are already brooding over Ben Gvir having stolen a political march, so to speak, as the election season begins to unfold.

Notably, the concern over Israel’s electorate moving further from the likes of the Two State Solutionists like Lapid is likely piquing the interest among the American Peace Processors as they are likely about to press for a new bout of Peace Processing in the coming months which will of course come at the expense of Israel’s geography, security, and sovereignty.

Min. Ben Gvir welcoming pro-Hamas activists whose flotilla expenditure was financed by Hamas. Screengrab via X

Avi Abelow | Meta | May 20, 2026

Let’s now deal with the latest “scandal of the day” that has much of the Jewish world in an uproar, once again attacking our own instead of focusing on the real enemies, and their supporters, threatening the Jewish people all over the world.

Israel recently intercepted an illegal Gaza flotilla during wartime, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the detained international “activists”, people Prime Minister Netanyahu himself described as Hamas supporters aiding an enemy at war with Israel.

The reaction from Western governments, media outlets, Jewish organizational leaders, and even Israel’s own leadership, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, was immediate outrage directed at Ben-Gvir. To many people, based on how the story has been framed and how we Western-educated Jews have been conditioned to think about what it means to be “good Jews,” that outrage may sound reasonable at first.

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But that is not the real scandal. The real scandal is the dangerous double standard imposed on the Jewish state and the Jewish people, the expectation that Israel must defend itself by moral and strategic rules that no other nation on earth would ever accept for itself when confronting our jihadi enemies and their supporters, openly committed to its destruction.

This may be difficult for some people to internalize at first, but the real problem fueling rising Jew-hatred is not Ben-Gvir’s actions. The real problem is the instinctive backlash against Ben-Gvir who refuses to submit to the double standards imposed on the Jewish state and the Jewish people. Stick with me as I explain.

And no, this is not one of those situations where people argue that it is “better to be smart than right.” The problem is that constantly surrendering to these double standards has not made Jews safer, respected, or more accepted. It has only emboldened the growing hatred against us.

The international outrage over the treatment of the Gaza flotilla activists says far more about the moral confusion of the West, and of parts of Israel’s own leadership class, than it does about Minister Ben-Gvir.

Let’s begin with the obvious fact that too many people refuse to state clearly:

These were not innocent tourists on a Mediterranean cruise.

These were terror-supporting activists entering Israeli water territory illegally, while openly siding with an enemy entity that carried out the October 7 massacre and still openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Prime Minister Netanyahu himself referred to them as provocative Hamas terror supporters who must be deported.

That matters.

Because once we acknowledge reality honestly, the entire discussion changes.

Imagine for one moment that during an active war, activists from around the world attempted to illegally breach the territorial waters of the United States to assist or politically strengthen an enemy organization responsible for massacring American civilians.

Would America respond politely for the cameras? Or would American forces use overwhelming force, even for the cameras, against activists illegally aiding an enemy entity during wartime?

And forget America for a moment. What would Britain, France, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia do in a similar situation?

The truth is obvious. Neither Western nor Arab countries would tolerate activists illegally assisting enemy forces during a war. Some governments would even respond far more aggressively than Israel did.

Any sovereign nation would detain them aggressively, interrogate them, publicly humiliate the attempt, and make sure the world see so that others would be deterred from trying again.

And this is not even primarily about deterrence or frightening other jihad supporters. It is about sending a clear message to the world: this is how a sovereign nation treats people who illegally trespass into its territory to aid and support a jihadist enemy during wartime.

That is what real countries do when dealing with enemies and their accomplices during wartime.

Yet when Israel acts like a normal sovereign nation, suddenly the rules change.

Suddenly, the world expects the Jewish state to operate according to standards no other country on earth would ever accept for itself. Israel is expected to handle supporters of jihad and genocide with endless restraint and “good optics,” as if constantly appeasing those applying the double standard will somehow reduce the growing Jew-hatred, stop the diplomatic attacks that hurt our diplomatic efforts to protect ourselves, or satisfy those determined to demonize us anyway.

And even worse, many Jewish leaders immediately internalize those accusations and join the condemnation.

That is precisely what happened here.

Instead of standing behind Israel’s sovereign right to act like a normal sovereign nation against jihad-supporting trespassers during wartime, major Jewish organizations, media figures, politicians, and even Israel’s Prime Minister rushed to criticize Ben-Gvir for the optics.

The discussion quickly became:

“How did this look?”

“Was it too humiliating?”

“Will this hurt Israel’s image?”

“Will this harm our diplomatic efforts as we are at war, together with the US, against Iran?

But almost nobody asked the far more important question:

Why are we silent as the world once again applies a completely different moral standard to the Jewish state?

That double standard is not a side issue.

It is THE issue.

Forget about properly protecting ourselves; Israel cannot properly serve as the frontline defender of Western civilization against the growing red-green jihadi alliance threatening the free world if we are too afraid to openly and confidently demonstrate how sovereign nations must deal with people aiding and supporting genocidal jihadi enemies.

Why is the reaction against Ben-Gvir the problem and not Ben-Gvir’s actions? Because Jew-hatred in the modern world increasingly operates through this exact mechanism: demanding that Jews and the Jewish state behave in ways no other people or nation would ever be expected to behave.

When Jews defend themselves forcefully, they are condemned.

When Jews enforce sovereignty, they are accused of extremism.

When Jews project strength, they are told to apologize.

And tragically, too many Jewish leaders still instinctively seek validation from the very people imposing those standards upon us.

That weakness does not reduce antisemitism.

It fuels it.

When Israel’s own Prime Minister and Foreign Minister distance themselves from Ben-Gvir instead of confidently defending Israel’s actions, they unintentionally reinforce the global narrative that Israel, and too many Jews, believe it acted improperly.

But what exactly was the terrible crime here?

That anti-Israel activists who illegally entered Israel’s territorial waters in support of a genocidal enemy were handcuffed, detained, mocked, and deported?

Most countries would have treated them far more harshly.

The truth is that Ben-Gvir understood something many establishment figures still do not understand:

Public deterrence matters.

The world should see that supporting jihadist enemies against the Jewish state carries consequences.

Because survival against this red-green jihadi evil requires clarity, strength, and deterrence, not endless apologizing to hostile international audiences.

And this is where a major generational shift is taking place inside Israel itself.

More and more Israelis, especially younger Israelis who grew up amid terrorism, rocket fire, knife attacks, intifadas, and now October 7, no longer believe that acting like a diplomatic doormat will earn us respect.

They understand something that previous generations, and many within our current military, intelligence, political, cultural leadership struggle to accept:

The world ultimately respects nations that respect themselves.

The nations constantly lecturing Israel about “human rights” routinely use overwhelming force when their own security is threatened.

Only the Jewish state is expected to fight enemies while simultaneously protecting the emotional comfort of the people supporting those enemies.

That expectation is not moral, it is deeply immoral, and endangers our lives.

And more and more Israelis are finally rejecting it, furious that many within our own Jewish/Israeli leadership still feel compelled to bend the knee to these destructive double standards.

This is why Israel’s future is actually very bright.

A new generation of proud Jews is emerging in our ancestral homeland, Jews who no longer define themselves primarily through victimhood, exile mentality, or the desperate need for international approval.

They understand that the Jewish nation, back as sovereign in our indigenous ancestral homeland, Israel, is not supposed to behave like a frightened minority begging for acceptance.

We are a sovereign nation back home after 2,000 years of exile.

And as the frontline state confronting evil jihadi barbarism, Israel has a responsibility not only to defend itself, but to model moral clarity for the whole freedom-loving world.

That means standing unapologetically against those who support genocidal jihadi terror organizations.

That means rejecting double standards.

This means reclaiming our role as the Jewish nation, sovereign once again, where we are meant to be, in God’s holy land. A nation entrusted not only to survive, but to proudly spread Torah, goodness, morality, and godliness to humanity, while simultaneously removing the forces of evil from within God’s Biblical borders.

And that means finally understanding that the Jewish people will earn lasting respect not by apologizing for our strength, but by using it confidently, morally, and unapologetically in defense of civilization itself.

Stand strong for Israel and the Jewish people as we overcome both the external enemies threatening us and the internal challenges weakening us from within. Yes, we still face difficult battles and frustrating moments along the way, but our future is bright because the younger generation of Israelis increasingly understands with far greater clarity what must be done to secure our future, restore our purpose, and strengthen our Jewish destiny in our ancestral homeland.

I know some people will still respond to this post attacking Ben-Gvir, but even if one dislikes Ben-Gvir and what he did, this issue is ultimately not about Ben-Gvir. My aim is simply to help people better understand the deeper reality behind the issue, that much of the Jewish/Israel media ignores, and the challenges Israel and the Jewish people are actually dealing with today.

Am Yisrael!!!

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