U2 frontman Bono attacked National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in a new Rolling Stone interview, comparing his rhetoric to that of Heinrich Himmler, a senior Nazi official and architect of the Holocaust. Ben-Gvir dismissed the remarks and hit back at the musician, calling him a “terror supporter.”
In the interview, Bono referenced comments Ben-Gvir made in August on a podcast with Rom Braslavsky, who returned from Hamas captivity. In that conversation, the minister said there are residents of Gaza who “don’t deserve to live” and that “they’re not even human.”
Bono said he “stood with Israel and still stands with it,” alongside his support for the ‘Palestinian’ people and the establishment of a ‘Palestinian’ state. According to him, “there’s all this semantic argument about genocide,” and then criticized the fact that Ben-Gvir continues to serve in the government. “But here’s a man, a minister in the government, and he’s not arrested,” he said, adding in reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “And Netanyahu says, ‘I need him to keep my majority.'”
Later in the interview, Bono spoke about his connection to Judaism and the Jews who have accompanied him throughout his life, saying many of them influenced his worldview. About Ben-Gvir, he said he “casts a shadow over Judaism,” adding: “It’s just disgusting.”
There is no limit to the hypocrisy of the world’s supporters of terrorism. Bono did not compare the Hamas murderers to Himmler – only those who defend the Jews from the next massacre.
I have news for him: the Jews are done apologizing for their right to live. We can do without…
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 29, 2026
Shortly after the interview was published, Ben-Gvir responded on his X account. “There is no limit to the hypocrisy of the world’s supporters of terrorism. Bono did not compare the Hamas murderers to Himmler – only those who defend the Jews from the next massacre,” he wrote. He continued: “I have news for him: the Jews are done apologizing for their right to live. We can do without your sympathy for dead Jews; we prefer to remain alive and face your criticism.”
This isn’t the first time Bono has criticized Ben-Gvir and Israel’s government. Earlier this year, he also publicly addressed Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and, in an op-ed, called for the release of jihadi murderer Marwan Barghouti. In that piece, he wrote about Ben-Gvir that “what he really wants is to execute the peace process.”