By SCM Foreign Desk
JERUSALEM — ISRAEL’S firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has dramatically axed a planned trip to the United States after Washington slapped him with humiliating security conditions.
The far-right politician chose to pull the plug on his travel arrangements altogether after learning that American embassy officials were demanding his fingerprints and intended to formally interrogate him over his extensive history of criminal convictions.
Israeli media outlets reported that the unexpected snub sent shockwaves through Jerusalem, serving as a clear, calculated signal from the White House that Washington is thoroughly unwilling to extend ordinary diplomatic courtesies to the controversial minister.
According to insiders, Ben-Gvir had been quietly scheduling a journey across the Atlantic to attend the wedding of a close associate. He had also intended to squeeze in a highly secretive, undisclosed diplomatic meeting while on American soil.
But his grand plans collapsed at the final hurdle when US visa administrators refused to treat him like a normal government minister.
As an active cabinet member holding a diplomatic passport, Ben-Gvir would typically expect a streamlined process, bypassing rigorous screening.
Instead, US officials insisted on subjecting him to the standard, intrusive biometric and background checks usually reserved for ordinary citizens with a chequered past.
Faced with massive embarrassment at home, Ben-Gvir’s office immediately went into damage control.
In a statement responding to Israeli broadcasters, the minister’s aides claimed he had “voluntarily” given up his diplomatic passport privileges.
They argued that because the primary objective of the trip was personal—attending a wedding—he preferred to apply for a standard tourist visa so as not to “exploit his status.”
However, critics were quick to spot gaping holes in the official narrative.
The defense completely failed to explain why Ben-Gvir decided to call off the entire trip rather than simply hand over his fingerprints.
Furthermore, his office falsely claimed that all Israelis are now subjected to fingerprinting, ignoring the fact that Israel recently joined the US Visa Waiver Program (ESTA), allowing standard citizens to travel seamlessly—provided they do not hold a criminal record.
Local commentators also noted that Ben-Gvir had previously used the trip as a legal excuse back home, asking an Israeli court to delay an ongoing civil hearing because his US visit was of “grave diplomatic importance.”
The United States’ unusually frosty reception stems directly from Ben-Gvir’s deeply toxic legal history, which has long made him a pariah in Western diplomatic circles.
Long before he was handed control of Israel’s police force by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir was a notorious radical activist. He has amassed more than a dozen criminal convictions on his record.
Ben-Gvir’s Rap Sheet Includes:
Incitement to racism
* Supporting a designated terrorist organization (the outlawed extremist group Kach)
* Propagandizing for a terrorist group
* Participation in riots and illegal gatherings
* Intentional property damage
In his youth, he was famously caught on camera holding a stolen Cadillac emblem from Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car, chillingly declaring: “We got to his car, and we’ll get to him too.” Weeks later, Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing extremist.
Washington’s firm stance highlights the tightrope the Biden administration is walking regarding Israel’s current coalition government. While the US continues to support Israel militarily, it has routinely condemned Ben-Gvir’s incendiary rhetoric and hardline policies regarding the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
By demanding his fingerprints and forcing him to answer for his old terror-linked convictions, the US State Department successfully kept a highly volatile political figure off American soil without having to issue an explosive, overt ban.
