Sharp Criticism from Salzburg's IKG President Rosen Calls for the Dismissal of Israeli Security Minister Ben-Gvir
Criticism is mounting significantly following controversial statements by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. The Jewish community in Austria is also speaking out. Elie Rosen, president of the Jewish Community of Salzburg, Styria, and Carinthia, has spoken out strongly and is calling for decisive political action.
Tensions within the Israeli governing coalition and strong reactions from abroad. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons; IDF Spokesperson's Unit, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
Elie Rosen, president of the Jewish Community of Salzburg, Styria, and Carinthia, has strongly condemned remarks made by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. In a podcast, Ben-Gvir had called for the targeted killing of dozens of people in the Gaza Strip every night. Rosen subsequently described the far-right minister as “a disgrace to the entire Jewish people and a disgrace to the State of Israel” and called for his immediate dismissal from the Israeli government.
The sharp reaction was triggered by Ben-Gvir’s appearance on the first episode of the podcast “October 8,” hosted by Rom Braslavski, a former hostage in Gaza. In it, Ben-Gvir advocated for the targeted killing of “30 to 40” people in Gaza every night. According to the minister, this should explicitly not be limited to individuals who pose an immediate threat. He claimed there are people there who do not deserve to live and are “not even human.”
Furthermore, in the podcast, Ben-Gvir once again advocated for the establishment of Israeli settlements throughout the Gaza Strip, as well as for the emigration or expulsion of the Palestinian population to the greatest extent possible. In doing so, he emphasized that he takes an explicitly different stance on this issue than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Threat to Israel’s International Standing and Jewish Communities
IKG President Rosen issued an urgent warning about the consequences of this policy. Ben-Gvir, he said, was once again revealing a contemptuous attitude toward humanity and posed a threat to Israel’s internal security as well as to the country’s diplomatic relations.
“It is also the Jewish communities outside Israel that have to pay a tangible and high price for this radicalism,” Rosen emphasized. Ben-Gvir’s continued presence in the government, he said, is pushing the State of Israel further into isolation day by day and harming Israel’s pluralistic society as well as Jews worldwide.
Background in Israel
Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right party Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish Strength”), has served as Minister of National Security since late 2022. Although he does not head the military and thus cannot order direct airstrikes or military operations in the Gaza Strip, the national police and the Israeli prison system fall under his authority.
His radical statements and political stance regularly provoke international outrage. In the past, similar statements by Ben-Gvir and other far-right government officials have been cited by plaintiffs—including before the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ)—as evidence of genocidal intent. Israel has consistently and firmly rejected allegations of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Ben-Gvir has also faced criticism for deliberately cutting food rations for Palestinian prisoners. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that prisoners under his authority were being denied the constitutionally mandated minimum subsistence level of food.
Israelite Cultural Community for the Federal States of Salzburg, Styria, and Carinthia