Israeli President Caught on Hot Mic Saying ‘Entire World Worried’ About Netanyahu Ally

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog was caught on tape Wednesday warning the “entire world is worried” about firebrand rightwing lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir, who is likely to become a minister in the incoming government.

The president was speaking to members of the Shas party as part of a series of consultations that he is holding with all party representatives to hear their recommendations about who should be tasked with forming the next government.

Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who helms the largest party in the Knesset, will likely receive the most recommendations, having earned 64 seats in last week’s national election.

The meetings are partly broadcast live, but the audio was still operating during the closed part of the meeting with Shas.

“There is one issue I haven’t spoken about, because I don’t want to offend anyone – you will have a problem with the Temple Mount, this is a critical issue … the whole world is worried,” he said towards the end of the meeting.

The president added, “This really is off the record, I don’t wish to make any trouble.”

Herzog also said he had spoken with Ben-Gvir himself about the matter. His office later doubled down, releasing a statement saying that he had “expressed these issues with Ben-Gvir openly and honestly.”

Ben-Gvir, whose rightwing Otzma Yehudit party earned 14 seats on the joint slate with the Religious Zionism party, has demanded the public security portfolio, which oversees Israel Police.

This is significant because it would put him in the position of controlling law enforcement on the Temple Mount, which has seen waves of Palestinian violence at what they see as a threat to the status quo.

Ben-Gvir has been vocal about overturning the status quo and allowing Jews to pray at the flashpoint site, currently forbidden under rules of the Jordanian Islamic Waqf which administers the site.

Jordan’s King Abdullah warned Herzog earlier in the week about making any changes to the status quo on Temple Mount, and raised his concerns about Ben Gvir.

Ben-Gvir responded to Herzog’s statement, saying: “President Herzog and I have had several fruitful conversations over the past several weeks. The President told me more than once that my popularity rested on the public’s intimate familiarity with my views and that he is sure that once I speak with others around the world they will come to realize I am not against all the Arabs. Following these talks I have engaged in discussion with foreign diplomats and I will endeavor to clarify Otzma Yehudit’s views around the world.”

Progressive Jewish groups around the world have also sounded alarm bells about Ben-Gvir’s inclusion in the government.