Circulating footage of fight between top Israeli politicians is 3 years old and unrelated to Iran conflict
Footage of an encounter between Itamar Ben Gvir and Omer Bar-Lev was widely shared on X, purporting to relate to current tensions in the Israeli establishment over its actions in Iran
CLAIM
Footage showing an argument taking place between current Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir and former Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev as cameras recorded the encounter were widely shared on X, purporting to relate to current tensions in the Israeli establishment. Posts from June 17 and June 18 said the video showed how “Zionists have turned on each other” amid the escalating war with Iran.
BACKGROUND
Israel and Iran have been exchanging fire in the Middle East for close to a week in an escalating conflict that began with a deadly Israeli attack on Iran in the early hours of last Friday, June 13.
In the days that followed, speculation mounted about Israel’s war aims, the scope of Iran’s military capabilities, and whether or not the U.S. would officially join the conflict.
On June 17 and 18, a video was circulating on social media showing Itamar Ben Gvir — a far-right Israeli politician who is the current minister of national security — shouting at Omer Bar-Lev, the former minister of public security.
The video was widely shared on X — examples here, here, and here — and was posted with captions like “BREAKING”, “Interesting development”, and “Zionists have turned on each other. A completely psychopathic group”.
Some versions of the posts had hundreds of thousands of views.
METHOD
Some quick research on these two characters revealed that the video came from an old story, and was unrelated to the current conflict.
A news article in the Times of Israel explained the background of the fracas. “A verbal confrontation occurred on Sunday evening between far-right MK Itamar Ben Gvir and Interior Security Minister Omer Barlev after both arrived at the scene of the terror attack in Hadera that claimed the lives of two Border Police officers,” the news report says.
The article was published on March 28, 2022, and described the incident as having happened on “Sunday evening”, which was the night before the article publication date.
Bar-Lev was a security minister at the time of the confrontation, while Ben Gvir was just a member of the Knesset. Ben Gvir is now a senior figure in Netanyahu’s government.
On the night in question, Ben Gvir had been taking part in a right-wing protest that featured chants like “Death to Arabs”, according to the news reporting from the time.
Israeli broadcaster Kan also reported on the shouting match, posting a news clip on March 27, 2022, with the caption: “Public Security Minister Bar-Lev began delivering a statement on the Hadera attack, but MK Ben-Gvir interrupted him.”
The quotes in the video were too misrepresented in the recent shares of this clip. The Times of Israel news report from 2022 gives details on what was said in the footage: “Ben Gvir shouted at the minister: ‘Stop it! You should be ashamed! You’re the worst minister… They took the most leftist person they could find and made him public security minister!’
“Barlev replied: ‘No, I’m not ashamed. You should be ashamed! You’re nothing!’ as the verbal conflict escalated, with security forced to physically separate the two politicians.”
Although the verification of this video would have required minimal research, the misinformation was still widely shared in a bid to show cracks in the Israeli establishment amid its new war with Iran. As we have previously reported, this story has become a hotbed of misinformation, with every clip on social media requiring close inspection.
RATING
The video is over three years old and is unrelated to the current conflict between Israel and Iran.
SOURCES
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Itamar Ben Gvir to Amir Bar-Lev: “Why did you provoke Iran?” [Accessed 18 Jun. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: BREAKING: Amir Bar-Lev to Itamar Ben Gvir:“Why did you provoke Iran?” [Accessed 18 Jun. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: THIS IS GOLD [Accessed 18 Jun. 2025].
Timesofisrael.com. (2022). Far-right MK clashes with police minister at scene of Hadera shooting. [online] [Accessed 18 Jun. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Public Security Minister Bar-Lev began delivering a statement on the Hadera attack, but MK Ben-Gvir interrupted him [Accessed 18 Jun. 2025].