One of Israel's most extremist politicians, known for his inflammatory anti-Arab speeches and stunts, is attracting new supporters from a previously untapped demographic — young ultra-Orthodox Jews, one of the fastest-growing segments of the country's population.
Itamar Ben-Gvir's sharp rise in popularity in the last three years has transformed him from a fringe provocateur to a central player in Tuesday's parliament election.
Polls indicate his Religious Zionism party could emerge as the third-largest and help return former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to power.
His appeal is a reflection of the ongoing right-ward shift of the Israeli electorate over the years, with Ben-Gvir and his party also attracting voters who previously supported other right-wing parties.
This shift is particularly noticeable among Israel's 1.3 million ultra-Orthodox Jews who make up 13 per cent of the population.
The community, known in Hebrew as Haredim, is growing at a breakneck rate, with an average birth rate more than twice the national average.
Children make up half of their population, and young adults between 18-35 another quarter. Ben-Gvir's appeal among young Haredim reflects a shift in the political preferences of a community that cleaves to a strict adherence to religious tradition. For decades, the ultra-Orthodox largely voted for two Haredi political parties — United Torah Judaism and Shas.
Those parties promoted the community's interests in exchange for supporting coalition governments with a range of ideological flavours — though the Haredim had a preference for centre-right factions that tended to be more culturally conservative. But several prominent rabbis who served as spiritual leaders for these parties have died in recent years.
Analysts say younger and middle-aged Haredim are growing disillusioned with the old guard.
“The majority of relatively younger ultra-Orthodox — under the age of 50 — have turned right-wing, and sometimes staunchly right-wing, something that in the past didn't exist,” said Moshe Hellinger, a political scientist at Israel's Bar Ilan University.
The Haredi political leadership lacks a strong, charismatic leader “and this vacuum allows (voters) to go in different directions,” Hellinger said. Into that void steps Ben-Gvir. Voting records from predominantly Haredi communities indicate that since Ben-Gvir entered politics in 2019, support for him in those areas has increased over Israel's four successive elections — though he still lagged behind the established ultra-Orthodox parties.
