Ben Gvir. Cartoon of 22/06/2026 in CTXT
Translation of the cartoon: ‘Spot the zero differences’
On 18 May, the genocidal state of Israel again raided all the ships of the new flotilla to Gaza, as it did on 30 April, and arrested more than 400 activists of 45 nationalities, including 44 Spaniards.
And the sequence was repeated, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares summoned Israeli Chargé d'Affaires Dana Erlich for the traditional reprimand for"monstrous, undignified and inhumane" treatment of activists by the Israeli army, after the world was shown a video released by Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's National Security Minister, in which he is shown mocking the detained activists and humiliating them. Other countries such as Belgium, Canada, France and Italy joined in the complaints and called for sanctions. Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Ben Gvir of behaving"like a true Nazi".
Other countries criticised the sinister character's actions, but in the end it was business as usual, a parade of statements and posturing. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was "deeply appalled" by the video. Greece's foreign ministry wrote in a statement that the Israeli minister's conduct "is unacceptable and absolutely condemnable".
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told reporters: "What we have seen, including the video shared by Itamar Ben Gvir, is deeply disturbing and absolutely unacceptable". Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the images "are shocking and unacceptable". His French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, said he had summoned Israel's ambassador to "express outrage and get explanations, whatever one thinks of this flotilla". Ireland's foreign minister, Helen McEntee, also said she was "appalled and outraged by the video".
Ben Gvir is the leader of the political party Otsmah Yehudit (Jewish Power). A far-right formation created in 2012, it is a supporter of Kahanism, a Jewish Zionist political ideology, based on the tenets of Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defence League and the Kach party in Israel. Kahane advocated the position that the majority of Arabs living in Israel were enemies of the Jews and of Israel itself, and believed in the creation of a theocratic Jewish state, where non-Jews (goyim) would not have the right to vote. The Kach party has been banned by the Israeli government and has been labelled a foreign terrorist organisation by the US State Department.
Ben Gvir, who grew up in an Israeli settler settlement in the West Bank, was rejected by the Israeli army when the now minister was 18 because of his extremist views. So we can conclude that evil is in his genes. Gvir is a criminal who has been convicted eight times for anti-Arab racism and supporting Jewish terrorist organisations.
Not only does he prove it with his statements, he enjoys spreading hatred in the most miserable and despicable ways possible. He has staged a number of hateful theatrics such as walking around with a gallows pin in his lapel and toasting with champagne and a noose in his hand to celebrate the passing of the death penalty law for Palestinians. He also displayed a cake with a noose on it that his wife gave him for his birthday.
Isaac Herzog, Israel's "no-nonsense" president, criticised the "brutal acts" against the detainees and claimed that the violent settlers are "a lawless mob". How could it be that even the genocidal Netanyahu joined in the criticism, claiming that the treatment of the abductees"does not correspond to Israel's values". Bibi is a master of black humour. It should be remembered that Ben Gvir and Netanyahu do not belong to the same party and with elections coming up in the autumn of this year, both are already campaigning.
But the icing on the cake of hypocrisy came when Netanyahu summoned the Spanish chargé d'affaires to clarify what happened in Bilbao upon the arrival of the Flotilla activists and the Ertzaintza charged at them. Shortly afterwards, warning of his historic killer instinct, he "ordered" the forced displacement of the 200,000 inhabitants of Tyre in Lebanon and continued bombing in the south of the country, despite the ceasefire.
Just over 72 hours later, the release of the hostages began. The accounts of some of the flotilla members, published in a Global Sumun communiqué, gave a good account of the savagery of their torturers.
History repeats itself
Attacks on activists are nothing new, at least in the last few kidnappings they have had the deference not to kill them.
In 2010, at least nine people were killed by Israeli commandos who attacked a convoy of six boats carrying hundreds of activists and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip at dawn. On that occasion, the Israeli army confessed to the crime at the mouth and the images were broadcast on Al Jazeera and almost all international media.
Members of the humanitarian convoy claimed that Israeli soldiers boarded their boats from helicopters and fired shots to suppress the crew, despite their display of white flags.
Israel's version was that the commandos fired after being attacked with firearms and sharp weapons. An Israeli army spokesman said at least four soldiers were injured in the operation, one of them shot. According to flotilla spokesmen, the attack left 30 activists wounded, but according to the BBC, an Israeli television station reported the death toll as high as 15.
