Effi Eitam
Encyclopedia
Efraim "Effi" Eitam is an Israel
i politician. A former leader of the National Religious Party
, he later led a breakaway faction, Ahi, which merged into Likud
in 2009. He served as a member of the Knesset between 2003 and 2009.
Israeli, he was born in kibbutz Ein Gev and received a secular education. When he was old enough, Eitam joined the Israeli Defense Forces. Eitam has M.A. in Political Science and in International Relations
. He is also a former student of the Mercaz HaRav
yeshiva and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
. He is married and has eight children and lives in the Israeli settlement
and moshav
of Nov in the Golan Heights.
(reserves) in the Israel Defense Forces
, and is considered a war hero by the State of Israel, having earned Israel's Medal of Distinguished Service
in the Yom Kippur War
for acting with his sergeant to stop Syria
n tank
s from penetrating the Golan Heights's Nafah, using 3 Bazooka
bombs and heavy machine gun
and later rescued the wounded from Nafah. He also participated in Operation Entebbe
, in which he commanded the Sayeret
Golani
. He also commanded an infantry battalion
in Operation Litani
, and an officers' school battalion during the 1982 Lebanon War
. During the first Intifada
he commanded the Givati Brigade
. In 1988, Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin
ordered the Israeli Army to beat Palestinian rioters. Eitam was heard over a radio telling his troops to beat and break the bones of a 21-year-old Palestinian prisoner named Ayyad Aqel. They beat him to death. An Israeli Army court martial convicted four of his soldiers, who testified against him. The Advocate General severely reprimanded Eitam and recommended that he never be promoted. He quit the Army in December 2000.
. Despite not being a member of the Knesset, he was appointed a Minister without Portfolio
on 8 April 2002, serving until 18 September that year, when he became Minister of National Infrastructure
.
In 2002, Eitam called for Yasser Arafat to be killed. Of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, then being investigated by Israel, he said, "Take him out to an orchard and shoot him in the head." He was first elected to the Knesset
in January 2003, and was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction
in March 2003.
quit the government to protest the disengagement plan
. However, the National Religious Party refused to leave the coalition. Eventually, Eitam and Levi left the NRP too and formed the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party, later renamed Ahi, which would later join the National Union
- a Knesset list of right-wing parties.
In a harsh speech delivered on 11 January 2005, Eitam called Sharon "refuser of democracy" ("סרבן דמוקרטיה") and attacked him for refusing to conduct a national poll on the plan. Eitam claimed Sharon was promoting the disengagement plan by threatening and firing objectors and by making corrupt deals. Eitam also claimed that the left was running an incitement campaign against the settlers, which include provocations and calls to spill their blood, in order to delegitimize that right-wing campaign against the disengagement plan. Despite the harsh criticism, Eitam denounced military refusal and violence. He concluded that in the end of struggle "If you don't listen to the call to bring back the decision to the healthy and strong people, we shall send you home, and it will be painful and shameful, that will erase the achievements of your manhood."
In March 2005, after the Israeli Southern Command
issued a decree forbidding relocation to the Gaza Strip, Eitam announced his intention to go and live in Gush Katif
in order to reinforce the settlers and help prevent their eviction. Eventually, over Passover
, Eitam moved to Netzer Hazani
. Left-wing members of the Knesset denounced Eitam's move but the speaker of the house, Reuven Rivlin
, said that the move fell under the immunity members of the Knesset have. After the evactuation of Netzer Hazani
, Eitam moved to Netzarim
and accompanied them during their evacuation.
Because of his objection to military refusal and violence, Eitam used as a negotiator between the opposers to the plan and Israeli security forces
. He arranged a massive weapons recall in all the settlement due to be removed, in order to prevent any chance of bullets being fired by accident or the heat of the moment. He declared that the settlers would not use violence against Israeli security officers. Eitam also insisted that the removal forces would be unarmed. He explained his actions:
In July 2005 Eitam initiated a "struggle treaty" and got members of the Knesset and rabbis to sign it. The treaty set the rules of struggle against the disengagement [plan] and the red lines. The treaty declared on rejection of any kind of violence.
In addition, it was decided that the protest will be done unarmed, in order to prevent blood spilling or use of firearms. The treaty was distributed in thousands of copies to the ten of thousands participants of the "joining march" to Kfar Maimon
.
On 25 August 2005, Eitam was quoted as explaining that the reason there was no violence was not the security forces but the settlers' own restraint and decision not to use violence. Eitam rebuked those who said that the settlers didn't use violence because they were afraid from the multitude of officers and said "We were not afraid from the multitude of cops and horses, it is ridiculous to think that our people, with swift boys, war-though men and its wives and men are scorned by mortar shells, explosive charges and graves, will be afraid of physical confrontation with the cops. This shallow and evil claim miss the main thing, and therefore so dangerous.
Prior to the 2009 elections
Ahi merged into Likud
allowing Eitam to pass his election financing to the party. Eitam decided to not run in this election.
. The protest became violent, and Eitam, who was one of three Israeli nationalist MKs amongst the crowds, was knocked down. Eitam was hospitalized with minor injuries and later commented that the police should not have followed a direct order from a temporary prime minister, Ehud Olmert
, who asked them to use "violence" against fellow Israelis".
After being re-elected on the joint National Union-National Religious Party list, Eitam caused controversy during a memorial ceremony for a fallen Israeli soldier on 10 September 2006, saying "we'll have to expel the overwhelming majority of West Bank Arabs from here and remove Israeli Arabs from political system," and "We have raised a fifth column, a group of traitors." Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz
warned Eitam at the time that criminal charges could be brought against him, if he repeated those statements.
. An interview that may have provoked these accusations was one in which he was quoted as saying "I have a dream to lead the entire Israeli people. I think it is my destiny". Eitam has responded to this with, "I came to lead, not to do petty politics."
Maariv
's chief editor Amnon Dankner
wrote on Effi Eitam:
Eitam has called Israeli Arabs a "cancer": "[T]he Israeli Arabs are in large measure the ticking bomb beneath the whole democratic Israeli order inside the [1967] Green Line. Even today, in the Galilee and the Negev, a de facto autonomy of theirs is being created, which could in practice turn Israel into the bubble of Metropolitan Tel Aviv .… Therefore, I say that the State of Israel today faces an existential threat that is characterized by being an elusive threat, and elusive threats by their nature resemble cancer. Cancer is a type of illness in which most of the people who die from it die because they were diagnosed too late. By the time you grasp the size of the threat, it is already too late to deal with it.". Commenting on this, the veteran Israeli journalist, Akiva Eldar, wrote in Haaretz
, "The fact that the Nazis were especially fond of this [cancer] metaphor is probably not lost on the general." In 2004, Eitam called the Palestinians "dark forces" and said "We will have to kill them all"
In 2002, the Israeli Army used Nidal Abu Muihsein as a human shield, causing his death; Eitam called this “very moral.” In October 2005, Eitam opposed a Supreme Court of Israel
ruling that banned the IDF from using Palestinians as human shields, stating that "Supreme court judges demonstrated today that their pity for the cruel will prove cruel to the merciful and will expose Israeli soldiers to more danger". In November 2006, he called for an expulsion of most Palestinians from the West Bank: "Expel most of the Judea and Samaria Arabs from here. We cannot be with all these Arabs and we cannot give up the land." In March 2008, he called for the expulsion of Israeli Arab members of the Knesset, "One day we will expel you to Gaza from this house and from the national home of the Jewish people."
Eitam has called on the U.S. Government to take an offensive against Iran and has stated that Israel is well-prepared to take on Iran alone, saying, "a Nuclear Iran is not an option for Israel." In December 2008, Eitam and Ahi were on the verge of joining the Likud
as a coeffiecient party, with the option of being a senior cabinet member http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129010. In 2009-2010, he has been visiting a series of US campuses as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
's "Special Emissary" to the "Caravan for Democracy" program of the Jewish National Fund
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician. A former leader of the National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
, he later led a breakaway faction, Ahi, which merged into Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
in 2009. He served as a member of the Knesset between 2003 and 2009.
Biography
A HardalHardal
Chardal ; Hebrew: חרד"ל, acronym for חרדי לאומי, Charedi Le-umi, lit. "Nationalist Charedi", Plural: Chardalim refers to the Ultra-Orthodox Jews who support the ideology of Religious Zionism...
Israeli, he was born in kibbutz Ein Gev and received a secular education. When he was old enough, Eitam joined the Israeli Defense Forces. Eitam has M.A. in Political Science and in International Relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
. He is also a former student of the Mercaz HaRav
Mercaz haRav
Mercaz HaRav , more properly, Mercaz HaRav Kook ), is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. It has become synonymous with his teachings....
yeshiva and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
. He is married and has eight children and lives in the Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
and moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
of Nov in the Golan Heights.
Military career
Eitam is a Brigadier GeneralAluf
Aluf is the term used for General and Admiral in the Israel Defense Forces . In addition to the Aluf rank itself, there are four other ranks which are derivatives of the word...
(reserves) in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, and is considered a war hero by the State of Israel, having earned Israel's Medal of Distinguished Service
Medal of Distinguished Service
The Medal of Distinguished Service is an Israeli military decoration.- Overview :The medal has instituted in 1970 by act of law in the Knesset and could also be awarded also for actions performed before 1970....
in the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
for acting with his sergeant to stop Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s from penetrating the Golan Heights's Nafah, using 3 Bazooka
Bazooka
Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
bombs and heavy machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
and later rescued the wounded from Nafah. He also participated in Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Special Forces of the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and...
, in which he commanded the Sayeret
Sayeret
Sayeret , literally means "reconnaissance unit" in the Israel Defense Forces . In practice, these units specialize in commando and other special forces roles, in addition to reconnaissance...
Golani
Golani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...
. He also commanded an infantry battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
in Operation Litani
Operation Litani
The 1978 South Lebanon conflict was an invasion in Lebanon up to the Litani River carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in 1978. It was a military success for the Israeli Defense Forces, as PLO forces were pushed north of the river...
, and an officers' school battalion during the 1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
. During the first Intifada
First Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
he commanded the Givati Brigade
Givati Brigade
The Givati Brigade is an infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, and serves as its amphibious force. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets...
. In 1988, Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
ordered the Israeli Army to beat Palestinian rioters. Eitam was heard over a radio telling his troops to beat and break the bones of a 21-year-old Palestinian prisoner named Ayyad Aqel. They beat him to death. An Israeli Army court martial convicted four of his soldiers, who testified against him. The Advocate General severely reprimanded Eitam and recommended that he never be promoted. He quit the Army in December 2000.
Political career
After his retirement from military service, Eitam entered politics, joining the National Religious PartyNational Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
. Despite not being a member of the Knesset, he was appointed a Minister without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
on 8 April 2002, serving until 18 September that year, when he became Minister of National Infrastructure
National Infrastructure Minister of Israel
The National Infrastructure Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure. From its establishment in 1977 until 1996, the post was known as the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure . The current minister is Uzi Landau of Yisrael Beiteinu.It succeeded...
.
In 2002, Eitam called for Yasser Arafat to be killed. Of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, then being investigated by Israel, he said, "Take him out to an orchard and shoot him in the head." He was first elected to the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
in January 2003, and was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction
Housing and Construction Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Housing and Construction is a portfolio in the Israeli cabinet. The ministry was created in 1961, and until 1977 it was known as the Ministry of Housing. Construction was also previously part of the Labour and Construction ministry during the provisional government between 1948 and...
in March 2003.
Disengagement plan and NRP split
On 10 June 2004 Eitam and Yitzhak LevyYitzhak Levy
Rabbi Yitzhak Levy is an Israeli rabbi and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party and the Ahi faction of the National Union between 1988 and 2009...
quit the government to protest the disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
. However, the National Religious Party refused to leave the coalition. Eventually, Eitam and Levi left the NRP too and formed the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party, later renamed Ahi, which would later join the National Union
National Union (Israel)
The National Union is an alliance of nationalist political parties in Israel. In the 2009 elections the National Union consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma.-Background:...
- a Knesset list of right-wing parties.
In a harsh speech delivered on 11 January 2005, Eitam called Sharon "refuser of democracy" ("סרבן דמוקרטיה") and attacked him for refusing to conduct a national poll on the plan. Eitam claimed Sharon was promoting the disengagement plan by threatening and firing objectors and by making corrupt deals. Eitam also claimed that the left was running an incitement campaign against the settlers, which include provocations and calls to spill their blood, in order to delegitimize that right-wing campaign against the disengagement plan. Despite the harsh criticism, Eitam denounced military refusal and violence. He concluded that in the end of struggle "If you don't listen to the call to bring back the decision to the healthy and strong people, we shall send you home, and it will be painful and shameful, that will erase the achievements of your manhood."
In March 2005, after the Israeli Southern Command
Israeli Southern Command
The Israeli Southern Command , often abbreviated to Padam is a regional command of the Israel Defense Forces. It is responsible for the Negev, the Arava, and Eilat. It is currently headed by Aluf Tal Russo.-History:...
issued a decree forbidding relocation to the Gaza Strip, Eitam announced his intention to go and live in Gush Katif
Gush Katif
Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. Gush Katif was specifically mentioned by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who fell victim to an assassin in 1995, as essential to Israel's security border. In August 2005, the Israeli army moved the 8,600...
in order to reinforce the settlers and help prevent their eviction. Eventually, over Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, Eitam moved to Netzer Hazani
Netzer Hazani
Netzer Hazani was an Israeli settlement located in the northeast corner of the Gush Katif and evacuated in Israel's disengagement of 2005...
. Left-wing members of the Knesset denounced Eitam's move but the speaker of the house, Reuven Rivlin
Reuven Rivlin
Reuven "Rubi" Rivlin is an Israeli lawyer, politician, currently serving as a speaker of the Knesset. He belongs to conservative Likud. A former Speaker of the Knesset, in 2007 he ran in the election for President as the Likud candidate...
, said that the move fell under the immunity members of the Knesset have. After the evactuation of Netzer Hazani
Netzer Hazani
Netzer Hazani was an Israeli settlement located in the northeast corner of the Gush Katif and evacuated in Israel's disengagement of 2005...
, Eitam moved to Netzarim
Netzarim
Netzarim may refer to:* Netzarim, twigs that shoot off from a branch of a tree * Netzarim , the name of an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip...
and accompanied them during their evacuation.
Because of his objection to military refusal and violence, Eitam used as a negotiator between the opposers to the plan and Israeli security forces
Israeli Security Forces
Security forces in Israel include a variety of organizations, including law enforcement, military, paramilitary, governmental, and intelligence agencies.-Military:...
. He arranged a massive weapons recall in all the settlement due to be removed, in order to prevent any chance of bullets being fired by accident or the heat of the moment. He declared that the settlers would not use violence against Israeli security officers. Eitam also insisted that the removal forces would be unarmed. He explained his actions:
- "It is about the expulsion of thousands of people from their homes. It is important to reach negotiation and discussion, it is important to shape the rules of the struggle in such a way that it will be conducted with determination, and on the other hand won't pull Israel to the abyss from which there is no return. It is not about acceptance with the disengagement [plan] but on the contrary, it is a struggle of multitude of people who will struggle with responsibility."
In July 2005 Eitam initiated a "struggle treaty" and got members of the Knesset and rabbis to sign it. The treaty set the rules of struggle against the disengagement [plan] and the red lines. The treaty declared on rejection of any kind of violence.
- "Our struggle will be innocent of any form of violence. No one shall use physical or verbal violence against Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
soldier, Israeli Police officers and security forces members."
In addition, it was decided that the protest will be done unarmed, in order to prevent blood spilling or use of firearms. The treaty was distributed in thousands of copies to the ten of thousands participants of the "joining march" to Kfar Maimon
Kfar Maimon
Kfar Maimon is a religious moshav in southern Israel. Located near Netivot and covering 5,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council...
.
On 25 August 2005, Eitam was quoted as explaining that the reason there was no violence was not the security forces but the settlers' own restraint and decision not to use violence. Eitam rebuked those who said that the settlers didn't use violence because they were afraid from the multitude of officers and said "We were not afraid from the multitude of cops and horses, it is ridiculous to think that our people, with swift boys, war-though men and its wives and men are scorned by mortar shells, explosive charges and graves, will be afraid of physical confrontation with the cops. This shallow and evil claim miss the main thing, and therefore so dangerous.
Prior to the 2009 elections
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...
Ahi merged into Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
allowing Eitam to pass his election financing to the party. Eitam decided to not run in this election.
Amona
On 2 February 2006 Eitam was injured when Israeli police tried to disperse a protest of thousands of West Bank settlers who were blocking the demolition of nine homes in the Israeli settlement of AmonaAmona
Amona is an Israeli settlement in the central West Bank, on a hill overlooking Ofra. Located within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1997 on a hilltop of privately owned Palestinian land and inhabited by young settlers from Ofra.By late...
. The protest became violent, and Eitam, who was one of three Israeli nationalist MKs amongst the crowds, was knocked down. Eitam was hospitalized with minor injuries and later commented that the police should not have followed a direct order from a temporary prime minister, Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
, who asked them to use "violence" against fellow Israelis".
After being re-elected on the joint National Union-National Religious Party list, Eitam caused controversy during a memorial ceremony for a fallen Israeli soldier on 10 September 2006, saying "we'll have to expel the overwhelming majority of West Bank Arabs from here and remove Israeli Arabs from political system," and "We have raised a fifth column, a group of traitors." Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz is an Israeli jurist, who served as the Israeli Attorney General in the years 2004-2010. Mazuz was born in Djerba, Tunisia, the fourth in a family of nine children of the rabbi of one of the island's Jewish communities...
warned Eitam at the time that criminal charges could be brought against him, if he repeated those statements.
Ideology
The Israeli left wing sees him as a nationalist zealot and some have accused him of being a fanatic or a self-proclaimed MessiahMessiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. An interview that may have provoked these accusations was one in which he was quoted as saying "I have a dream to lead the entire Israeli people. I think it is my destiny". Eitam has responded to this with, "I came to lead, not to do petty politics."
Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...
's chief editor Amnon Dankner
Amnon Dankner
Amnon Dankner is an Israeli newspaper editor and author. He was the editor of the mass-circulation daily Maariv for six years.-Biography:Amnon Dankner was born in Jerusalem. His parents were the owners of Cafe Allenby. The family was secular but he attended a religious school, Ma'aleh, where he...
wrote on Effi Eitam:
- Effi Eitam is one of those figures that the Israeli left has for years been nurturing as its pet-hate. He was swathed in a pall as being responsible for exaggerated beatings during the days of the first Intifada.
- ... he is a land-grabber, "one of ours" – a kibbutznik from Ein Gev turned zealously religious and nationalistic and he is surrounded by an unpleasant aura of irrationality, like one who sees himself in an almost-messianic light.
- Despite all this, it was a fascinating experience to watch him on TV's "New Evening" program two days ago confronting Meretz-YachadMeretz-YachadNew Movement-Meretz , previously known as Meretz, then Yachad, and then Meretz-Yachad is a left-wing, Zionist, social democratic political party in Israel....
MK Avshalom VilanAvshalom VilanAvshalom "Abu" Vilan is an Israeli politician and economist. He served as a Knesset member for Meretz between 1999 and 2009.-Biography:Born in kibbutz Negba in 1951, Vilan served in the IDF as a Master Sergeant in Sayeret Matkal, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit.Vilan studied Economics and...
in a reasonable, measured and humane manner, demonstrating restraint and deep pain, fitting for someone discussing such a painful issue – the lethal attack in RafahRafahRafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
. In contrast, Vilan was hysterical, loud, condescending and irrational.
Eitam has called Israeli Arabs a "cancer": "[T]he Israeli Arabs are in large measure the ticking bomb beneath the whole democratic Israeli order inside the [1967] Green Line. Even today, in the Galilee and the Negev, a de facto autonomy of theirs is being created, which could in practice turn Israel into the bubble of Metropolitan Tel Aviv .… Therefore, I say that the State of Israel today faces an existential threat that is characterized by being an elusive threat, and elusive threats by their nature resemble cancer. Cancer is a type of illness in which most of the people who die from it die because they were diagnosed too late. By the time you grasp the size of the threat, it is already too late to deal with it.". Commenting on this, the veteran Israeli journalist, Akiva Eldar, wrote in Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
, "The fact that the Nazis were especially fond of this [cancer] metaphor is probably not lost on the general." In 2004, Eitam called the Palestinians "dark forces" and said "We will have to kill them all"
In 2002, the Israeli Army used Nidal Abu Muihsein as a human shield, causing his death; Eitam called this “very moral.” In October 2005, Eitam opposed a Supreme Court of Israel
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
ruling that banned the IDF from using Palestinians as human shields, stating that "Supreme court judges demonstrated today that their pity for the cruel will prove cruel to the merciful and will expose Israeli soldiers to more danger". In November 2006, he called for an expulsion of most Palestinians from the West Bank: "Expel most of the Judea and Samaria Arabs from here. We cannot be with all these Arabs and we cannot give up the land." In March 2008, he called for the expulsion of Israeli Arab members of the Knesset, "One day we will expel you to Gaza from this house and from the national home of the Jewish people."
Eitam has called on the U.S. Government to take an offensive against Iran and has stated that Israel is well-prepared to take on Iran alone, saying, "a Nuclear Iran is not an option for Israel." In December 2008, Eitam and Ahi were on the verge of joining the Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
as a coeffiecient party, with the option of being a senior cabinet member http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129010. In 2009-2010, he has been visiting a series of US campuses as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
's "Special Emissary" to the "Caravan for Democracy" program of the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
.