Israeli minister Ben-Gvir boasts noose-decorated cake on his birthday

Israel’s so-called security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake depicting a hanging noose and a Hebrew phrase reading “Dreams sometimes come true,” in reference to the passage of a controversial death penalty for Palestinian abductees.

Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, celebrated his birthday at a venue in the agricultural community of Emunim, near Ashdod in the southern flank of the Israeli-occupied territories, on Saturday night. On the guest list were fellow senior politicians, far-right activists, and members of the police’s General Command Staff.

A photo posted on Instagram by the far-right minister showed that he had been presented with a large three-tier cake, topped with a golden noose — a reference to the controversial law mandating the death penalty for Palestinian abductees, which has long been championed by Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party and which was passed by the Knesset in March.

The bottom layer of the cake featured two guns pointing at a map of the Israeli-occupied lands, with Gaza and the West Bank included, representing his divisive firearm policies, which have been greatly loosened during his tenure.

Footage from the ceremony showed that Ben-Gvir’s wife, Ayala, presented him with another, smaller birthday cake, also decorated with a large picture of a noose.

The text around the noose read: “Congratulations to Minister Ben-Gvir. Sometimes dreams come true.”

Among the far-right figures were Yoav Eliasi, the rapper known as “The Shadow” who received an honorary police rank in 2024, communications minister Shlomo Karhi, and Bentzi Gopstein, the acolyte of late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane who runs a group opposing intermarriage.

Also in attendance were the regime’s minister for military affairs, Israel Katz, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, education minister Yoav Kisch, and energy minister Eli Cohen.

Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled, commander of the police’s al-Quds District, was also reportedly in attendance, along with Southern District police chief Haim Bublil; Israel Prison Service central district commander, Sagi Shlomi; prison service’s southern district commander Yuval Erlich, and the commander of the prison service’s northern district, Shmuel Lavi.

After Ben-Gvir invited senior officers of the Israel Police to his birthday party, former prime minister Naftali Bennett repeated his vow to fire anyone who takes advantage of their public position for political benefit if he wins the upcoming election.

Israeli bill to allow execution of Palestinian prisoners by hanging: Report

Israeli authorities involved in enforcing death sentences against Palestinian prisoners would be granted full criminal immunity.

Bennett, who is running in this autumn’s election to unseat the current cabinet, including Ben-Gvir, echoed those concerns in a post on the social media platform X that included an apparent copy of the invitation.

He lambasted Levy’s decision to let senior police officers attend and reiterated his vow to dismiss public servants who politicize their roles.

That drew a one-line retort from Ben-Gvir, who posted, “Naftali has no friends, and also no work relationships — send him a cake from the party.”

Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz, a former high-ranking police investigator, likewise called the decision to grant officers permission to participate in the celebration a “grave incident in the moral and ethical sense.”

Ben-Gvir has faced scrutiny over reports of undue influence over the police, including in petitions at the so-called High Court of Justice calling for him to be dismissed. The invitations to the force’s commanders — whom Police Commissioner Danny Levy allowed to attend — raised further concern about the pressure Ben-Gvir places on law enforcement, which critics have warned is liable to undermine police independence.

Back in late March, the Israeli Knesset passed a law to execute Palestinian abductees.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the decision, calling it a blatant violation of international law and a serious blow to human rights and humanitarian principles.

In a statement released on April 1, the ministry vehemently censured the resolution of the Knesset to execute Palestinian abductees, describing it as a violation of basic moral norms and the fundamental principles of human rights and international humanitarian law, especially the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and considering it a deadly blow to the system of international law, particularly human rights and humanitarian law.

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