The United States expressed concern Thursday after far-Right Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir attended a memorial for an extremist rabbi assassinated in 1990.
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"Celebrating the legacy of a terrorist organization is abhorrent," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said of the event honoring Meir Kahane. "We urge all parties to maintain calm, exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that only serve to exacerbate tensions and that includes in Jerusalem."
Ben-Gvir has long admired Kahane whose anti-Arab ideology banned him from parliament and whose party was listed by the United States as a terrorist group. He was assassinated by an Arab assailant in New York 32 years ago.
The prospect of Ben-Gvir's appointment to a key position in the new government has worried the Biden administration, which issued a stinging rebuke of his appearance at Kahane's memorial.
Ben-Gvir, whose ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit ("Jewish Power") party emerged as the second biggest group in Netanyahu's bloc and the third largest in the country, praised Kahane in his speech at the memorial in Jerusalem.
"I think that the main characteristic of Kahane was love. Love of Israel without compromise and without any other considerations," he said.
At the same time, Ben-Gvir has sought to portray himself as more of a moderate since entering politics, saying on Thursday that it's "no secret that today I am not Rabbi Kahane."
But the audience was not having it on Thursday. The crowd booed as Ben-Gvir told them he does "not support the expulsion of all Arabs."
"I will not enact laws for separate beaches for Jews and Arabs," he said. "Although, it is certain that we will act and do everything to expel terrorists from the country for the sake of the Jewish character of Israel, for the settlements and its Jewish identity."
Even as Ben-Gvir has been careful to publicly distance himself from Kahane's most extreme beliefs, he has called for the deportation of Arab lawmakers, the death sentence for convicted terrorists and greater immunity for Israeli security forces battling Palestinian militants. Israeli commentators on Thursday argued that his very attendance at Kahane's memorial subverts his attempts at moderation.
President Isaac Herzog held consultations with party leaders this week and is expected to grant Netanyahu the mandate to form a coalition in the coming days. Netanyahu's alliance with ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalist parties would put him at the helm of the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
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