Israeli minister’s son sparks friction with tweet insulting Biden

National Security Minister chides his son for mocking Biden’s ‘cognitive decline.’

By World Israel News Staff

A senior Israeli government minister apologized Monday evening, after his son mocked President Joe Biden’s mental condition, days after an interview with the minister was published in which he castigated Biden and appeared to express support for former President Donald Trump.

Shuvael Ben-Gvir, the son of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), tweeted a photograph of President Joe Biden Tuesday, writing: “In these difficult times it is important to raise awareness regarding Alzheimer’s, a degenerative condition of the brain that is the most common cause of cognitive decline and dementia among the elderly.”

“A serious illness, it harms a person’s abilities and functioning.”

The tweet quickly drew criticism, including from Minister Ben-Gvir himself, who chided his son Tuesday for the post.

“Shuvael is my son, whom I love so dearly. But last night he made a serious mistake with a tweet which I must condemn completely.”

“The United States of America is our great friend and President Biden is a friend of Israel. Even if I have a disagreement with his conduct, there is no room, God forbid, for a disparaging style. Respecting others is so fundamental, that’s how I educated my children. I apologize for my son’s words.”

Following the uproar, Shuvael erased the tweet and issued an apology, writing: “Mr. President, sorry!”

The tweet comes just days after The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Ben-Gvir in which the minister slammed Biden’s handling of the Gaza war and appeared to express support for Trump.

“Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with giving humanitarian aid and fuel [to Gaza], which goes to Hamas,” Ben-Gvir said.

“If Trump was in power, the U.S. conduct would be completely different.”

Last week, it was revealed that the Biden administration had considered imposing sanctions on Ben-Gvir and another senior Israeli minister, but later decided to limit the sanctions to four Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria accused of violence against Palestinians.