President Isaac Herzog 'appreciates me very much,' Ben-Gvir says after Herzog speaks to protesters

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in a post to X (formerly Twitter), that President Isaac Herzog appreciates his work. This occurred following Herzog's statements to demonstrators outside of the President's Residence in Jerusalem, where he called for Kahanism to be removed from the government. 

Herzog, responding to protesters, said, "Kahanism should certainly be removed. Kahanism should be removed from the government."

He also said that the president's role was not to intervene in public political discussions but that protesters had a "legitimate struggle" to demonstrate. 

Ben-Gvir, in his post to X, wrote, "When Bougie [Isaac] Herzog ran for president, he met with me several times to get my support. He, of course, also said everything he needed to get my support."

In his comments, Ben-Gvir noted that Herzog is allegedly satisfied by Otzma Yehudit MKs despite political disagreements. 

כשבוז׳י הרצוג התמודד לנשיאות הוא נפגש איתי מספר פעמים כדי לקבל את תמיכתי. הוא כמובן גם אמר את כל מה שהיה צריך כדי לקבל את תמיכתי.אמנם הבהרתי לו אז, שאצביע למרים פרץ, אולם מאז נפגשנו מספר פעמים, כשתמיד הוא החמיא כמה שרי עוצמה יהודית מוכשרים, כמה הוא מרוצה מחברי הכנסת שלנו, ואיך…

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) August 17, 2024

"I did make it clear to him at the time that I would vote for Miriam Peretz, but since then, we have met several times, when he always complimented how talented Otzma Yehudit ministers are, how satisfied he is with our Knesset members, and how even though there are disagreements, he personally appreciates me very much."

"It was amusing to hear the honorable president bow down to a handful of anarchists who are trying to run the country and divide the people."

Ben-Gvir criticizes protesters, calling them 'anarchists'

"This, of course, joins the "badge of honor" he gave the anarchists and refuseniks who harmed the IDF and led to the October 7 disaster."

"Perhaps it would be better for Bougie to act like he did in his police investigations and just shut up - hypocrisy is a disgusting thing."

However, Ben-Gvir criticized Herzog regarding previous statements. In recent days, Herzog stated that Kahanism needs to be removed from the government after being confronted by anti-Netanyahu protesters demonstrating outside the President's Residence. 

Ben-Gvir has been generally tied to Meir Kahane and his eponymous ideology, Kahanism. Kahane's party, Kach (power), was banned in 1994 under Israel's anti-terrorism laws after one of its members, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Muslim worshippers in the Cave of Patriarchs in Hebron. 

Yuval Barnea contributed to this report.