Israel
Netanyahu calls in police chief who refused Ben-Gvir's election meeting
By Jewish Life Staff, . Jewish Life.
Police Commissioner Danny Levy refused last Thursday to attend a meeting with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on how police would handle Election Day. Days later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped in directly, summoning Levy on Saturday to cover the same ground himself, Haaretz reported.
Haaretz described the prime minister's meeting with Levy as unusual.
The Ben-Gvir factor
Ben-Gvir leads Otzma Yehudit, a far-right party, and holds the national security portfolio, which gives him formal authority over the police. His Thursday meeting on election readiness was the one Levy chose not to attend.
The snub and Netanyahu's subsequent intervention come at a politically charged moment. JTA, whose report was carried by The Forward, reported that Netanyahu and most of his coalition partners are losing support ahead of Israel's first election since the October 7, 2023 attacks, while Ben-Gvir's party is moving in the opposite direction, rising in the polls.
What the reports leave open
Neither report described what was said at Saturday's meeting between Netanyahu and Levy, or whether any agreement on election-day policing was reached. The reports did not say why Levy declined Ben-Gvir's original meeting. The situation was still developing at the time of publication.
Sources
1. Netanyahu summons police chief who snubbed meeting on election readiness with far-right minister Ben-Gvir, haaretz.com
2. As Netanyahu loses support before election, Ben-Gvir rises in polls, forward.com