The J Street organization on Wednesday called on the Biden administration to avoid meetings with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and even re-examine providing him with a visa for entry to the United States.
The call follows Smotrich’s remarks that he wished the Arab village of Huwara would be “wiped out.”
“Especially as the Israeli official who just assumed primary authority over the occupied West Bank, Smotrich”s comments are an unconscionable threat of further violence against a Palestinian community that just suffered a deadly pogrom at the hands of Israeli settlers. Smotrich”s half-hearted attempt to walk back his remarks does not undo the damage of this incitement,” J Street said in a statement.
“The Biden administration should not only condemn Smotrich”s threats and incitement, but also ensure that no US government officials will legitimize his extremism by meeting with him, either in the United States or elsewhere. They should make clear that Smotrich”s comments and actions are immensely damaging to the US-Israel relationship. Additionally, the administration should make clear that comments promoting grave violations of human rights, such as those made by Smotrich, are grounds for re-examination of a visa for entry to the United States,” it added.
Another organization, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), called on the US State Department to issue a visa ban on Smotrich following his statements.
Smotrich is expected to visit the US next week and address a meeting of the Israel Bonds organization. Israeli officials told Axios on Wednesday Smotrich hasn’t asked for any meetings with the Biden administration, and two US officials told the site that even if he asked for meetings with Biden officials, he likely wouldn’t get them.
Smotrich”s comments came during a financial conference hosted by The Marker business daily. He was asked why he had liked “liked” a tweet by Samaria Regional Council deputy mayor Davidi Ben Zion calling “to wipe out the village of Huwara today.”
Smotrich replied, “Because I think the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it.”
“God forbid, the job shouldn”t be done by private citizens,” he added, condemning the riots by Jews in Huwara. “We shouldn”t be dragged into anarchy in which civilians take the law into their own hands.”
He later published a clarification in which he said, “Once again the media is taking a quote of mine and trying to create a distorted interpretation of it. If they had played my entire remarks, you would have heard that I was talking about how Huwara is a hostile village that has become a terrorist outpost from which terrorist operations are launched every day, of rock throwing and shooting against Jews, but it is forbidden in any way to take the law into one’s own hands.”
“I said that I support a disproportionate response by the IDF and the security forces to every act of terrorism. For every rock – the closing of shops at the scene, for every firebomb – the arrests and deportation of the families of the terrorists, for every nest of terror – a closure and the collection of a painful price until the terrorists and their supporters realize that the blood of our children is not cheap and that terrorism is not profitable. This is the way to deal with terrorism and, God forbid, to prevent the next victims,” said Smotrich.

Later on Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called Smotrich’s comments “irresponsible, repugnant. and disgusting.”
“Just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amounts to incitement to violence,” Price said, adding, “We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials to publicly and clearly reject and disavow these comments.”