
Leaked recordings from a meeting of the Otzma Yehudit party were broadcast on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) on Sunday morning, revealing party members' views on the controversial issue of expelling the families of convicted terrorists from the country.
Listening to the recording, one hears party head MK Itamar Ben-Gvir urging caution when drafting legislation on this issue, as it could potentially lead to harm being done to Jews. Ben-Gvir also contradicted fellow party member MK Almog Cohen, who pushed to have legislation expelling terrorists' families advanced as quickly as possible. "What will happen if tomorrow, someone, a relative, comes along and praises Dr. [Baruch] Goldstein?" Ben-Gvir countered. "So then we'll have to throw him out of the country too?"
Ben-Gvir did not rule out advancing legislation to penalize the families of terrorists, but stressed the need to take the often far-reaching and sometimes unexpected consequences of new laws into account.
He also noted that his party does not lack for proposals for new legislation. "We have plenty of ideas to put forward, including many that we did not discuss during our [electoral] campaign," Ben-Gvir told his fellow party members. "This include some of our flagship issues such as providing immunity [from prosecution] for combat soldiers, which is something we are still negotiating [with Likud]. If this does not progress with broad government agreement, then we will guide you on what to present [instead for legislation].
Ben-Gvir also discussed the impact of the media, telling Otzma Yehudit members: "Present ideas for new legislation that will appeal to the media. We must ensure that they're coherent and well thought-through, as well as being ideas that speak to people. That means that you have to get out to places where people notice and have an impact. This is really important."