Jewish Power party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks following the announcement of exit polls in Israel’s general election, at his party headquarters in Jerusalem November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

The US State Department, the European Union, and American Jewish groups have condemned recent comments made by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said his rights to freedom of movement outweighed those of Arabs.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) on Friday called Ben-Gvir’s comment “unacceptable” in a statement posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. 

“Of course safety is vital, but Minister Ben-Gvir’s use of this divisive language does nothing but fan the flames of tension and hatred,” the AJC wrote.

In a rare example of the US criticizing an Israeli official by name, the State Department on Thursday night said that it “strongly condemn[s] Minister Ben-Gvir’s inflammatory comments on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank.”

A State Department spokesperson went on to denounce “racist rhetoric” but stopped short of outright calling Ben-Gvir’s remarks racist.

“We condemn all racist rhetoric; as such messages are particularly damaging when amplified by those in leadership positions and are incongruent with advancing respect for human rights for all,” the spokesperson said.

The European Union on Friday issued a similar statement, saying that it “strongly condemned” Ben-Gvir’s remarks and that the “values of democracy and respect for human rights stand central to the EU-Israel partnership,” as well as to the Palestinians.

Ben-Gvir, a political firebrand and leader of Israel’s far-right Jewish Power party, suggested in an interview on Israeli TV on Wednesday that Jewish freedom of movement in the West Bank should be privileged over Arab freedom of movement.

“My right, my wife’s, my children’s, to roam the roads of [the West Bank] are more important than the right of movement of the Arabs,” Ben-Gvir said before turning to Arab-Israeli journalist Mohammad Magadli. “Sorry, Mohammad, but this is the reality, that’s the truth. My right for life comes before their right to movement.”

The comment came after additional security checkpoints were placed in the West Bank following a series of murders of Israeli civilians by Palestinian terrorists.

In separate statements, Ben-Gvir and the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued the comments in question were twisted and taken out of context, emphasizing the portion of Ben-Gvir’s remarks saying the right to life trumped Arab freedom of movement.

“The Israeli radical Left selectively cut a section out of my statement, purposefully misquoted even that, and removed the context in order to slander me as if I had made a racist declaration that Jews deserve more civil rights than Arabs,” Ben-Gvir posted on X. “This is exactly how the Left continues to fan the flames of incitement in the world against the Israeli government.  Because of their cynical strategy, we are now witness to a surge of Israel haters attacking me and the State of Israel.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that Israel would maintain its security policies “while affording freedom of movement for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

On Friday, Ben-Gvir doubled down on his comments, saying he didn’t want to apologize or retract what he said.

“The right of Jews to live and not be murdered in terror attacks prevails over the right of Arabs in Judea and Samaria to travel on the roads without security restrictions,” the minister said. “That is why checkpoints should be placed on roads where jihadists terrorize and shoot at Jews on a daily basis.”

Critics of Israel have seized on Ben-Gvir’s comment as evidence of supposed “apartheid” policies against Arabs and Palestinians.

“This is an open admission of the discriminatory logic that underlies Israel’s apartheid,” Human Rights Watch posted.

Ben-Gvir’s comments have also drawn the ire of American supporters of of the Jewish state, such as Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), which supports pro-Israel Democrats.

“DMFI warned long ago that Itamar Ben-Gvir should have no place in the Knesset [Israeli Parliament] and no place in Israel’s government,” the group’s leaders said in a statement on Thursday. “His latest racist statement is the most recent evidence that Ben-Gvir should not be part of Israel’s government or parliament. Israel will be stronger without him in a position of authority.”

Ben-Gvir has consistently been one of the most controversial members of the Netanyahu government for taking positions and making statements that US officials have said could potentially incite violence.

In November the State Department condemned Ben-Gvir’s decision to attend a memorial service for Meir Kahane, the far right Israeli-American parliamentarian who was assassinated in 1990 and founded the political party Kach. The party and its splinter organization, Kahane Chai, were jointly designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department from 1997 until last year.

Former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, who last month was named the Biden administration’s senior adviser for regional integration in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told The Algemeiner in November before he rejoined the US government that Biden administration officials were unlikely to work with Ben-Gvir or similarly far right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.