Yoaz Hendel attacks Ben Gvir: 'Otzma Yehudit has become Jewish weakness'

By103FMJULY 20, 2026 20:24National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has failed to restore governance and is contributing to the growth of “Arab autonomy” in the Negev and Galilee, while the next government must exclude ultra-Orthodox and Arab parties, Reservists Party chairman Cmdr. (res.) Yoaz Hendel said in an interview with 103FM on Thursday.“This is Jewish weakness," Hendel said. "I think that Ben-Gvir, over the past three years, has damaged the governance of the State of Israel.” “Setting aside the fact that he did not serve in the army, and setting aside the fact that he says, ‘I love soldiers,’ but harms us when he encourages draft dodging," he continued. "In the end, he had one mission: to restore governance to the State of Israel. That is why he was elected, that is what he talked about, that is where he got his TikTok videos from. Every time he says ‘governance,’ there is less governance in the State of Israel.”Hendel warned that the consequences of Ben-Gvir’s tenure could be severe.“One of my biggest fears, maybe the biggest threat, is not the northern border and Gaza. My biggest fear is that the State of Israel will break up into ‘Arab autonomies’ in the Negev and the Galilee where there is no law and order, and ultra-Orthodox shtetls where ‘we are the rule of the infidels,’" said Hendel. "We brought the Jews out of exile, but not the exile out of the Jews.”National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)“Ben-Gvir, with his own hands and through his actions, is nurturing the Arab autonomies," Hendel continued. "He is nurturing this. He has a total inability to produce results. I think he did good things in the prisons, but when it comes to governance, we are in a much worse situation. Under the cover of the war, we were supposed to have much fewer weapons in the Arab sector and much more control.”Although Hendel did not rule out joining a coalition with Otzma Yehudit and Ben-Gvir, he sharply criticized the ministry's performance and Ben-Gvir’s abilities.Hendel addresses enlistment issueLater, Hendel addressed the enlistment issue and expressed his appreciation for those serving in the military.“I love this people, this country. I am coming to this election campaign from reserve duty, from a place that is a nature reserve, a place with the best people in the State of Israel. I see the citizens who contribute,” said Hendel.“That is why I say that none of these crazy laws, which in my opinion are an insane failure of vision, should pass while the state encourages draft evasion and people like me, at draft-exemption age, have to do reserve duty again and again because there is no other choice," he added. "We are proud to serve the state, proud to defend it, because there is no other choice.”Hendel also criticized elected officials for avoiding blame and refusing to take responsibility.“This method of always saying, ‘Ah, they are not okay,’ leads nowhere. Anyone who wants to look for those responsible should come to me," emphasized Hendel. "I am responsible for everything. I am willing to take responsibility for everything. I understand that in politics you do not say, ‘I am responsible.’”“Those words do not exist, and because I was in politics three times, and for four years a civilian, those words are very significant to me," he noted. "Therefore, because I have been responsible since October 7, I am fighting to defend the home, and I am entering political life again, which I cannot express how much I think is miserable and tainted by bad feelings and bad people.""I am doing it because of hope and because I believe we need to bring a new generation of leaders, people who were there on October 7 and have since been carrying the state on their shoulders,” Hendel added.Turning to politics, Hendel discussed the political support he believes the Reservists Party can mobilize and outlined his vision for the next government.“Our voter base is 300,000 people like me, people on the right who look at this government, which supports draft evasion and does not decide on the battlefield,” he said.'We will not sit with ultra-Orthodox or Arab parties'“In the government, they say that even if they call themselves right-wing, it is not right-wing and it is not even Zionist. It is sitting with non-Zionist parties and passing non-Zionist laws. We will not sit with ultra-Orthodox or Arab parties, not because we are against the populations, but because we simply understand that when you sit with non-Zionist parties, you cannot make Zionist decisions.”Hendel added that he did not believe any coalition working with non-Zionist parties could achieve the results he intended.“We must not allow 61 seats, with Bibi and the ultra-Orthodox once again taking over all the important assets of this country, and there must also not be a government with Arab parties. It will not work, just won’t work.“I saw Mansour Abbas in the first operation in which he was part of the coalition, and he simply froze his participation. We understand that tectonic changes are needed in the State of Israel. Hili, I, and the rest of the group made a decision that we do not talk about people, but about principles. Our red line is first of all a Zionist government. That leaves the mathematics of politics, 90 seats from which the government has to be assembled.”Follow us on Google