Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman, billionaire investor and director of hedge fund Pershing Square, warned in a Sunday post on X that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have caused Israel "enormous reputational damage."
- • Ackman argued that a government without the two ministers would signal a new beginning, help restore credibility, improve relations with both US parties, and increase prospects for expanding the Abraham Accords.
- • The Jerusalem Post editorial frames Ackman's warning as credible because he has praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership since October 7 and has defended Israel publicly.
- • The editorial cites US Ambassador Mike Huckabee's September criticism of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as a parallel example of pro-Israel voices demanding accountability.
- • The editorial concedes that removing the two ministers would not automatically restore Israel's standing, resolve Palestinian disputes, or secure new normalization agreements.
Summary
The Jerusalem Post published an editorial on October 26, 2026 urging the Israeli government to take seriously a warning from Bill Ackman, a Jewish-American billionaire investor and director of the New York hedge fund Pershing Square. In a post on X/Twitter on Sunday, Ackman said that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have caused Israel "enormous reputational damage," with their statements and actions presented internationally as expressing the will of all Israelis. He stated that Israelis must decide who becomes prime minister.
Ackman argued that a government without the two ministers would signal a new beginning, help restore credibility, improve relations with both Democrats and Republicans, and increase the prospects of expanding the Abraham Accords, the agreements that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states. According to the editorial, Ackman has praised Netanyahu's leadership since October 7 while identifying the two ministers as a serious liability, so his criticism cannot credibly be dismissed as hostility toward the government.
The editorial draws a parallel with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a longstanding Israel supporter appointed by President Donald Trump. Huckabee told The Jerusalem Post in September: "I wish that they understood the damage they're doing to the country they claim to love because it is not helpful." He was referring to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which he said was damaging Israel's reputation, including among Republicans, and argued that condemning Palestinian violence while refusing to condemn Israeli violence would be hypocritical. The editorial notes that Huckabee's criticism of specific conduct is not an endorsement of Ackman's coalition proposal.
The editorial also acknowledges limits to Ackman's prescription. Removing two ministers would not automatically restore Israel's standing, resolve disagreements over the Palestinians, or secure additional normalization agreements, and those outcomes require policy, diplomacy, and decisions by other governments. The piece concludes that the test for any coalition is whether it can protect the country while governing responsibly at home and maintaining credibility abroad, and that the choice of leadership rests with Israeli voters and whoever forms the next government.
Ackman argued that a government without the two ministers would signal a new beginning, help restore credibility, improve relations with both Democrats and Republicans, and increase the prospects of expanding the Abraham Accords, the agreements that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states. According to the editorial, Ackman has praised Netanyahu's leadership since October 7 while identifying the two ministers as a serious liability, so his criticism cannot credibly be dismissed as hostility toward the government.
The editorial draws a parallel with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a longstanding Israel supporter appointed by President Donald Trump. Huckabee told The Jerusalem Post in September: "I wish that they understood the damage they're doing to the country they claim to love because it is not helpful." He was referring to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which he said was damaging Israel's reputation, including among Republicans, and argued that condemning Palestinian violence while refusing to condemn Israeli violence would be hypocritical. The editorial notes that Huckabee's criticism of specific conduct is not an endorsement of Ackman's coalition proposal.
The editorial also acknowledges limits to Ackman's prescription. Removing two ministers would not automatically restore Israel's standing, resolve disagreements over the Palestinians, or secure additional normalization agreements, and those outcomes require policy, diplomacy, and decisions by other governments. The piece concludes that the test for any coalition is whether it can protect the country while governing responsibly at home and maintaining credibility abroad, and that the choice of leadership rests with Israeli voters and whoever forms the next government.
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