Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman Says Ben-Gvir and Smotrich Should Not Serve in Israel's Next Government, Citing Enormous Reputational Damage
NEW YORK — Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said on Sunday that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich should not serve in Israel's next government, writing on X that the two far-right politicians had caused enormous damage to the country's reputation, according to Reuters.
"Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have caused Israel enormous reputational damage with their statements and actions," Ackman wrote, from the perspective of someone who understands how Israel is perceived in the United States. A government without the two ministers, he said, would send a message that Israel was "turning a new page": "This will allow Israel to rebuild lost credibility, increase the opportunity for an expansion of the Abraham Accords, and enjoy a better relationship with Democrats and Republicans and Americans at large." Representatives for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The intervention came two days before Israel's general election, in which polls show a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition. Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party is projected to win around 10 parliamentary seats, up from six, while Smotrich's Religious Zionism is projected to win eight, up from seven. As ministers in Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, the two have overseen policies widely perceived as discriminatory against Israel's Arab minority and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and several countries, including Britain, Canada and Australia, have imposed sanctions on them over accusations of inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, visited Israel last week and praised Netanyahu at a Tel Aviv conference on Thursday, saying he had done a good job protecting and defending Israel since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack; Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman own 5% of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Ackman supported Donald Trump's candidacy in 2024, and Trump last week publicly endorsed Netanyahu for prime minister. Nimrod Goren, president of the Israeli think tank Mitvim, told Reuters Ackman's statement appeared to reflect a desire among Trump's circles for Netanyahu to drop his far-right allies after the vote and form a unity government with opposition parties, although leading challenger Gadi Eisenkot and other opposition leaders have ruled out forming a government with Netanyahu.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：对冲基金经理 Bill Ackman 2016年在美国国会参议院听证会上（资料照片，本图为裁切版）。美国参议院民主党人（Senate Democrats）摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。/ Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman at a U.S. Senate hearing in 2016 (file photo, cropped). Photo by Senate Democrats, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
