Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir apologized on Tuesday after his son mocked US President Joe Biden on social network X by suggesting he had Alzheimer’s disease, France Presse reported.

Minister of National Security of Israel Itamar Ben-GvirPhoto: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP/Profimedia

“Shuwael is my son and I love him, but last night he made a grave mistake by writing a tweet that I deeply disapprove of. The United States is our greatest friend, and President Biden is Israel’s friend,” Itamar Ben Gvir also wrote on the X platform.

There is no place for “humiliating” statements, he added.

Shavuel Ben Gvir, 18, posted a photo of Biden, 81, on Monday night, saying it was “important to raise awareness” of Alzheimer’s disease, “which is the most common cause of cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly.”

The post was later removed and, like his father, Shavuel Ben Gvir apologized on his account, where he has about 2,800 followers.

The age of 81-year-old Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election to a second term, has been the subject of ironies in the past, and he has made some mistakes that have fueled them.

The latest such incident came over the weekend, when he told a crowd at an e-rally in Las Vegas that in 2020 he would “meet” the “Mitterand of Germany, sorry, France,” as former French President Francois Mitterrand died in 1996.

Itamar Ben Gvir is a minister in the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history. The leader of the “Jewish Power” party, he himself is used to making scandalous and sometimes mocking statements.

He recently attacked the Biden administration, arguing that its support for humanitarian aid in Gaza benefits the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Last summer, Ben Gvir said that “President Biden needs to get used to the fact that Israel is no longer another star on the American flag,” after Joe Biden called “very extremist members” of the Israeli government “part of the problem” for Israel.

The United States remains the main diplomatic and military ally of Israel, which is waging a war in Gaza after Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7.