Itamar Ben-Gvir: NY Synagogues refuse to host extremist Israeli minister, amid protests against US trip

The Park East and Safra Sephardic Synagogues in New York refused to host Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during his trip to the US city, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Ben-Gvir reportedly requested an event be planned for him at one of the synagogue’s halls, only for it to be declined by local people.

According to the newspaper, one Jewish community member said that the extremist minister was "facing difficulties finding a synagogue to host him," despite some of the synagogues' "pro-Israel stances".

Both synagogues have reportedly welcomed released captives formerly held by Hamas and Israeli elected officials in the past.

Additionally, Ben-Gvir’s scheduled appearance on Thursday at the Young Israel of Woodmere Synagogue was also cancelled following public outcry, Israel media said.

Members of the Jewish community and the synagogue itself in Long Island reportedly took to social media to criticise the initial invitation, The Jerusalem Post said.

The synagogue reportedly let members know that Ben-Gvir’s event, where he was due to speak on Saturday, was cancelled by email.

Ben-Gvir's controversial trip has been met by intense backlash from in the US, with pro-Palestinian activists denouncing his presence in the country.

US Representative Jerry Nadler spoke at a rally in New York protesting the visit. Nadler called the extremist politician a "racist, terrorist and Jewish supremacist bent on enacting Meir Kahane’s vision".

Kahane was an ultra-nationalist ordained Orthodox rabbi and politician who was arrested over 60 times in Israel for hate-crime related incidents, including planning to carry out an armed attack against Palestinians in 1980.

Ben-Gvir is the leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party whose ideology was founded on Kahane’s views.

Nadler, in a post on X, said Ben-Gvir has "prevented hostages from coming home and pushed for an unending war in Gaza," where over 51,400 have been killed by Israel in 18 months of military onslaught.

He also called him the "inciter-in-chief" of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, which has witnessed a dramatic uptick in such attacks over the past 18 months in parallel with Israel’s war in Gaza.

In another video shared online, Ben-Gvir was heckled by a pro-Palestinian protester mid-speech in Manhattan on Thursday, who told him to "Get the f*** out of New York. We know who you are. We know how this will end. You will be remembered as a Nazi, and Palestine will be free".

The heckler was then manhandled by security guards, who physically forced him out of the event right after.

"Palestine will be free," he continued to shout as he was being pulled away.

In response to the heckler, Ben-Gvir could be seen smirking in the video shared online.

During the speech, Ben-Gvir reportedly spoke of US President Donald Trump’s plan to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, and expressed hope that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will follow through with the proposal.

"It's correct, it's real, it's moral, and it's the solution. I recognise the Prime Minister's openness regarding the idea of voluntary emigration, I do everything I can for it to happen, not tomorrow, but yesterday," he said.

The event reportedly only drew 25 attendees, while hundreds of protesters gathered outside against his presence.

Also on Thursday, hundreds of pro-Palestine activists took the streets of Brooklyn, as Ben-Gvir was being hosted by the Lubavitch Hasidic sect’s world headquarters in the area.

At least six people were arrested by the NYPD during the protest, while some of the demonstrators were assaulted by counter-protesters according to Nerdeen Kiswani, the co-founder of pro-Palestinian organisation Within Our Lifetime.

The National Security minister is on his first US visit, which drew immediate backlash from pro-Palestinian groups, due to his hardline stance on the war in Gaza, his advocacy for increased illegal settlement in the West Bank and his racist views on Palestinians.

On Wednesday, Ben-Gvir’s trip prompted hundreds of demonstrators to gather in new Haven, Connecticut, after he was invited to speak at the prestigious Yale University.

Protesters hurled water bottles at the far-right minister, who gave a speech at Shabtai, a private Jewish society at Yale that’s not officially affiliated with the university.

Demonstrators had gathered around Yale’s building while chanting "Free Palestine,” "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free: and "Yale, your hands are red".