Ben-Gvir Clarifies Controversial Statement about the Joint (JDC)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir decided recently to cancel an Israel Police funded program with the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

Media in Israel reported that Ben-Gvir considered the JDC a "leftist organization" and that is the reason why he decided to shut down their program which works to reduce violence in Arab Israeli towns.

Ben-Gvir’s office contacted JewishPress.com to clarify that he never made any such claim or statement against the Joint, nor was that the reason the program was cancelled.

However, Ben-Gvir's office told JewishPress.com, “The Joint’s illustrious efforts for over a century for both Israel and the Jewish people has never been in question. The issue is one of proper bookkeeping. Programs with the police are required to file reports every half-year. This program simply hasn’t submitted the required paperwork for the past year-and-a-half. If they were to do so, the program would be evaluated on its merits."

When asked where the report originated from, Ben-Gvir's office said that a reporter from Israel's channel 11 claims he spoke with an unnamed source in Ben-Gvir's office, and the other news outlets then parroted the claim without checking if it was true. The office told JewishPress.com that "no such source was identified and if such a person exists, he certainly was not speaking in the name of the minister, nor repeating anything the minister said."