Ben Gvir claims: "If I were defense minister – October 7 would not have happened"

The Otzma Yehudit party launched a new campaign claiming that if Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had served as defense minister, the October 7 massacre would not have occurred. The campaign includes a video and billboards based on a speech Ben Gvir gave in May 2023, in which he called for changing the security concept. Ben Gvir responded to criticism, saying his critics 'know the truth' and that 'they will talk – and we will work'.

The Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, launched a new campaign on Monday under the message: "If Ben Gvir were defense minister – October 7 would not have happened." The campaign includes a video and billboards placed across the country, based on a speech Ben Gvir gave on May 9, 2023, about five months before the October 7 massacre. In the speech, Ben Gvir called for changing the security concept against Israel's enemies, defining it as one that must be "a concept of seeking contact, of defeating the enemy." The campaign's narration claims that Ben Gvir "warned against the concept" and demanded a change in policy, but was not listened to. Following the public uproar caused by the billboards, Ben Gvir issued a response in which he attacked the campaign's critics, including left-wing figures who he said "know the truth inside." He added: "When I demanded targeted assassinations before October 7, those same people said I didn't understand because I wasn't an army general. When I cried out that Israel is captive to a concept and that we must defeat the enemy – they mocked." Ben Gvir concluded: "Even now they will shout and attack. They will talk – and we will work."