Posted on 10/02/22
| News Source: i24
Menendez reportedly specifically mentioned Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir while speaking to Netanyahu
United States Senator Robert Menendez, who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, reportedly warned Israel's Opposition Head Benjamin Netanyahu last month that the inclusion of far-right lawmakers in a future government would harm ties between the countries.
This comes after Netanyahu reunited the head of the far-right Jewish Power faction Itamar Ben-Gvir with the leader of the Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich, in the hopes of them helping him build a right-wing coalition.
Menendez met with Netanyahu on September 5, with the senator reportedly raising his concerns about the opposition leader's partnership with the far-right parties. He specifically mentioned Ben-Gvir, according to an Axios report citing unnamed sources.
The US Senator allegedly told Netanyahu he had "serious concerns" over a partnership with “extremist and polarizing individuals like Ben-Gvir," who is likely to become a minister if Netanyahu can form a government following the November 1 elections.