Kahanism
Encyclopedia
Kahanism is loosely defined as an nationalist
ideology of dedication and self-sacrifice for Jewish causes, such as physical and spiritual freedom and safety of Jews in Israel and worldwide. The term is derived from the name of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane
(1932–1990), founder of the Jewish Defense League
in USA and the Kach
party in Israel
. Based on fundamentalist Jewish beliefs
, it influenced all types of Jews, from non-observant to Orthodox
and Ultraorthodox
; it has also drawn strong criticism and hostility from the Jewish establishment.
The Jewish Defense League was formed in 1968 to combat anti-Semitism in the United States and to fight for freedom of the Soviet Jews. Not all Kahane supporters were Zionists or even Jewish. However, the term Kahanism was coined later, reflecting the views Rabbi Kahane expressed while he was active in Israeli political life
. Chief among these is the idea that the State of Israel should defend itself against Arab
and Nazi enemies, and thus should accord full citizenship exclusively to Jews
, and that all gentile
s should be accorded equal rights except voting provided they accept Jewish Religious Law
.
, absent of a voting non-Jewish population and including Israel
, the West Bank
, Gaza Strip
, areas of modern-day Egypt
, Jordan
, Lebanon
, Syria
and even Iraq
should be created.
According to Kahane, the term "Kahanism" is used primarily by those ignorant of Torah Judaism
to discredit his ideology, which he asserted to be rooted in Halakha
and the same as Torah Judaism. "Meir Kahane did not hate the Arabs – he just loved the Jews", said his widow Libby in her November 20, 2010 TV interview.
", and forbids their participating in the Israeli government. The Kach
party was banned from running for the Knesset
in 1988, while the existence of the two Kahanist movements formed following Kahane's assassination in 1990 were proclaimed illegal terrorist organizations in 1994 and the groups subsequently officially disbanded. Activities by followers with militant Kahanist beliefs continue to the present today, however, as seen below. In 2001, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
described the official Kahanist website, which was kahane.org at the time, as a hate site espousing racist views in which 'Arabs generally and Palestinians in particular are vilified.'
, a religious violence
expert identified several of these as acts of religious terrorism, and wrote: "In the world view of Amir, Goldstein, and many of their colleagues, their people are caught up in a war with cultural, political, and military dimensions. In talking with Israel's religious activists, it became clear to me that what they were defending was not only the political entity of the state of Israel, but a vision of Jewish society that had ancient roots.".
, supporter of Kach
, shot and killed 29 Muslim worshipers, and wounded another 150, at the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
in Hebron
, in 1994. This was described as a case of Jewish religious terrorism by Mark Juergensmeyer
.
Goldstein was a medical doctor who grew up in Brooklyn and was educated at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. He resettled to the Kiryat Arba
settlement in the West Bank
, and was politically active for years – he saw Rabbi Meir Kahane
as a hero, and had been Kahane's campaign manager when he ran for the Israeli parliament through Kahane's Kach party. When Goldstein was threatened with court-martial
for refusing to treat non-Jewish soldiers in the Israeli Defence Force, he declared: "I am not willing to treat any non-Jew. I recognize as legitimate only two religious authorities: Maimonides
and Kahane
."
Goldstein was denounced "with shocked horror" by Orthodox Judaism, and most in Israel denounced Goldstein as insane. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
condemned the attack, describing Goldstein as a "degenerate murderer", "a shame on Zionism and an embarrassment to Judaism". At the same time, Goldstein's actions were praised by the some extremist settlers; Yochay Ron said that he "felt good" when he heard the news, and stated that Jews were "at war with the Arabs" and "all Arabs who live here are a danger to us... they threaten the very existence of the Jewish community on the West Bank." Goldstein and other religious settlers at Beit Hadassah (both Kahanist and Gush Emunim
) believe that the biblical lands on the West Bank are sacred, that Jews are required by God to occupy them, and that the presence of Muslims desecrates the holy land. After this attack, members of the Kach Party praised Goldstein's actions, and in the ensuing political turmoil, the Knesset banned Kach in Israel. The Shamgar Commission in Israel concluded that Baruch Goldstein acted alone.
in order to rebuild the Temple Mount
site. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Mark Juergensmeyer
identified him as a Jewish religious terrorist, writing that he "yearned for a Jewish society in Israel. He hoped for the restoration of the ancient temple in Jerusalem, the exclusive right of Jews to settle on the West Bank of the Jordan River, and the creation of a state based on biblical law." Lerner had previously served a three year sentence for heading a group that plotted to overthrow the government and establish a state based upon religious law.
", http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2801.htm#kach.
The Israeli group Yesh Din
, founded in 2005 http://www.yesh-din.org, has published a report documenting extensive settler violence against Palestinians http://www.yesh-din.org/site/index.php?page=report&lang=en. Their website includes testimony of a deadly drive-by shooting of a Palestinian factory owner in the West Bank on August 6, 2006 http://www.yesh-din.org/site/index.php?page=testimonies&id=28&lang=en. Yesh Din does not name settlers suspected of committing these assaults. This attack is consistent with the description of "Jewish terror cells" in a 2003 Foreign Broadcast Information Service report http://dc.indymedia.org/usermedia/application/4/kah03-14.pdf, part of the unclassified administrative record submitted by the US Department of State as a basis of its classification of Kach, Kahane Chai and their aliases as foreign terrorist organizations:
In 2002, a Kahanist group known as "Revenge of the Toddlers" claimed responsibility for a bombing attack at Tzur Baher, an East Jerusalem secondary school for Arab boys, that wounded seven. The group also claimed credit for the 2003 bombing of a Palestinian school in Jaba that injured 20 and was thought to be linked to the 2002 Zil Elementary school bombing.
, an AWOL Israel Defense Forces
soldier, killed four Israeli Arab citizens and wounded several others when he opened fire on a bus in the northern Israeli town of Shfaram. Natan-Zada had recently moved to the settlement of Tapuach, site of a Kahanist yeshiva.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080401350_2.html Zada was handcuffed by the Israeli police who arrived to the scene but then lynched by the mob.
, former Kach leader in Hebron is the head of the Chayil Party
.
Former Kahane Chai leaders in Kfar Tapuach are today split between the factions of Mike Guzovsky
and David HaIvri.
are largely inactive, with the bulk of their supporters immigrating to Israel over the years. Kahane Net, the Jewish Defense League
and B'nai Elim (formed by former JDL activists) are occasionally associated with Kahanism. Kahane Net was formed out of the remnants of "The Kahane Movement" of Mike Guzofsky, chiefly for legal defense fundraising purposes. The latter was formed by former Kahane Chai leadership after its disbanding. Mike Guzofsky, former administrator of Kahane.org, was listed as "Director of Israeli Affairs" by B'nai Elim.
Less than a month after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the redesignation of Kach and Kahane Chai as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Kahane Net sent out a fundraising appeal, crossing out with a black marker the URL www.kahane.org printed on the envelope. The web site at this URL, subsequently shut down, was the first to be listed as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" by the US Department of State and the US Treasury Department. The appeal cited the Kahane Chai Legal Defense Fund, a special fund licensed by the Treasury Department specifically for their legal appeal, and administered by Kach and Kahane Chai counsel Kenneth Klein, in a call for donations for "other legal battles." The letter emphasizes that
, including James David Manning
, have also endorsed aspects of Kahane's ideology.
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
ideology of dedication and self-sacrifice for Jewish causes, such as physical and spiritual freedom and safety of Jews in Israel and worldwide. The term is derived from the name of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane
Meir Kahane
Martin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
(1932–1990), founder of the Jewish Defense League
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
in USA and the Kach
Kach and Kahane Chai
Kach was a far-right political party in Israel. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s, and following his Jewish nationalist ideology , the party entered the Knesset in 1984 after several electoral failures...
party in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Based on fundamentalist Jewish beliefs
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, it influenced all types of Jews, from non-observant to Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
and Ultraorthodox
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
; it has also drawn strong criticism and hostility from the Jewish establishment.
The Jewish Defense League was formed in 1968 to combat anti-Semitism in the United States and to fight for freedom of the Soviet Jews. Not all Kahane supporters were Zionists or even Jewish. However, the term Kahanism was coined later, reflecting the views Rabbi Kahane expressed while he was active in Israeli political life
Politics of Israel
The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Knesset. The Judiciary is independent of the executive...
. Chief among these is the idea that the State of Israel should defend itself against Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
and Nazi enemies, and thus should accord full citizenship exclusively to Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and that all gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
s should be accorded equal rights except voting provided they accept Jewish Religious Law
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
.
Premises
The central claim of Kahanism is that the vast majority of the Arabs of Israel are now, and will continue to be, enemies of Jews and Israel itself, and that a Jewish theocratic state, governed by HalakhaHalakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
, absent of a voting non-Jewish population and including Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
, areas of modern-day Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, 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....
and even Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
should be created.
According to Kahane, the term "Kahanism" is used primarily by those ignorant of Torah Judaism
Torah Judaism
Torah Judaism is an English term applied to a number of Orthodox Jewish groups to describe their Judaism as being based on an adherence to the laws of the Torah's mitzvot as expounded in Orthodox Halakha...
to discredit his ideology, which he asserted to be rooted in Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
and the same as Torah Judaism. "Meir Kahane did not hate the Arabs – he just loved the Jews", said his widow Libby in her November 20, 2010 TV interview.
Outlawed
Since 1985, the State of Israel has outlawed political parties espousing Kahane's ideology as being "racistRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
", and forbids their participating in the Israeli government. The Kach
Kach
Kach is town and union council of the Ziarat District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is located at 30°26'2N 67°19'27E and has an altitude of 2020m ....
party was banned from running for 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 1988, while the existence of the two Kahanist movements formed following Kahane's assassination in 1990 were proclaimed illegal terrorist organizations in 1994 and the groups subsequently officially disbanded. Activities by followers with militant Kahanist beliefs continue to the present today, however, as seen below. In 2001, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948...
described the official Kahanist website, which was kahane.org at the time, as a hate site espousing racist views in which 'Arabs generally and Palestinians in particular are vilified.'
Kahanist groups
- Kach and Kahane ChaiKach and Kahane ChaiKach was a far-right political party in Israel. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s, and following his Jewish nationalist ideology , the party entered the Knesset in 1984 after several electoral failures...
, the now defunct political parties/movements of the Kahane followers based in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
with supporters in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- Jewish Defense LeagueJewish Defense LeagueThe Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
, American militant-activist group founded by Meir Kahane in 1968
- Terror Neged Terror, an Israeli militant group founded by Kach members and followers of Kahane
Kahanist violence in Israel and the West Bank
Mark JuergensmeyerMark Juergensmeyer
thumb | right | 150px | Mark Juergensmeyer Mark Juergensmeyer is an American scholar and writer best known for his studies of religious violence and...
, a religious violence
Religious violence
Religious violence is a term that covers all phenomena where religion, in any of its forms, is either the subject or object of violent behaviour. Religious violence is, specifically, violence that is motivated by or in reaction to religious precepts, texts or doctrines...
expert identified several of these as acts of religious terrorism, and wrote: "In the world view of Amir, Goldstein, and many of their colleagues, their people are caught up in a war with cultural, political, and military dimensions. In talking with Israel's religious activists, it became clear to me that what they were defending was not only the political entity of the state of Israel, but a vision of Jewish society that had ancient roots.".
Baruch Goldstein
The deadliest Jewish terrorist attack was when Dr. Baruch GoldsteinBaruch Goldstein
Baruch Kopel Goldstein was an American-born Jewish Israeli physician and mass murderer who perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in the city of Hebron, killing 29 Palestinian Muslim worshipers and wounding another 125....
, supporter of Kach
Kach
Kach is town and union council of the Ziarat District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is located at 30°26'2N 67°19'27E and has an altitude of 2020m ....
, shot and killed 29 Muslim worshipers, and wounded another 150, at the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred when Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli settler and member of the far-right Israeli Kach movement, opened fire on unarmed Palestinian Muslims praying inside the Ibrahim Mosque at the Cave of the Patriarchs site in Hebron in the...
in Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, in 1994. This was described as a case of Jewish religious terrorism by Mark Juergensmeyer
Mark Juergensmeyer
thumb | right | 150px | Mark Juergensmeyer Mark Juergensmeyer is an American scholar and writer best known for his studies of religious violence and...
.
Goldstein was a medical doctor who grew up in Brooklyn and was educated at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. He resettled to the Kiryat Arba
Kiryat Arba
Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba , lit. "Town of the Four," is an Israeli settlement in the Judean Mountains region of the West Bank on the edge of Hebron. Its settlers consist of a mix of Russian immigrants, American immigrants, and native-born Israelis numbering close to 10,000...
settlement in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, and was politically active for years – he saw Rabbi Meir Kahane
Meir Kahane
Martin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
as a hero, and had been Kahane's campaign manager when he ran for the Israeli parliament through Kahane's Kach party. When Goldstein was threatened with court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
for refusing to treat non-Jewish soldiers in the Israeli Defence Force, he declared: "I am not willing to treat any non-Jew. I recognize as legitimate only two religious authorities: Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
and Kahane
Meir Kahane
Martin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
."
Goldstein was denounced "with shocked horror" by Orthodox Judaism, and most in Israel denounced Goldstein as insane. Israeli Prime 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....
condemned the attack, describing Goldstein as a "degenerate murderer", "a shame on Zionism and an embarrassment to Judaism". At the same time, Goldstein's actions were praised by the some extremist settlers; Yochay Ron said that he "felt good" when he heard the news, and stated that Jews were "at war with the Arabs" and "all Arabs who live here are a danger to us... they threaten the very existence of the Jewish community on the West Bank." Goldstein and other religious settlers at Beit Hadassah (both Kahanist and Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim was an Israeli messianic and political movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank. While not formally established as an organization until 1974 in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, Gush Emunim sprang out of the conquests of the Six-Day War in 1967, encouraging...
) believe that the biblical lands on the West Bank are sacred, that Jews are required by God to occupy them, and that the presence of Muslims desecrates the holy land. After this attack, members of the Kach Party praised Goldstein's actions, and in the ensuing political turmoil, the Knesset banned Kach in Israel. The Shamgar Commission in Israel concluded that Baruch Goldstein acted alone.
Yoel Lerner
In October 1982 Yoel Lerner, a member of Meir Kahane's Kach, attempted to blow up the Dome of the RockDome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...
in order to rebuild the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
site. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Mark Juergensmeyer
Mark Juergensmeyer
thumb | right | 150px | Mark Juergensmeyer Mark Juergensmeyer is an American scholar and writer best known for his studies of religious violence and...
identified him as a Jewish religious terrorist, writing that he "yearned for a Jewish society in Israel. He hoped for the restoration of the ancient temple in Jerusalem, the exclusive right of Jews to settle on the West Bank of the Jordan River, and the creation of a state based on biblical law." Lerner had previously served a three year sentence for heading a group that plotted to overthrow the government and establish a state based upon religious law.
Suspected Kahanist violence
Roadside shootings, stabbings and grenade attacks against Palestinians have been carried out in Jerusalem and the West Bank by individuals or groups suspected of having ties to the former Kach group. Aliases such as "The Committee for the Safety of the Roads" http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3500, "The Sword of David" and "The Repression of Traitors" have been used. The US government claims that these are all aliases of "KachKach
Kach is town and union council of the Ziarat District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is located at 30°26'2N 67°19'27E and has an altitude of 2020m ....
", http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2801.htm#kach.
The Israeli group Yesh Din
Yesh Din
Yesh Din is an Israeli human rights group providing legal assistance to citizens of the Palestinian territories. Its name comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning “there is law”...
, founded in 2005 http://www.yesh-din.org, has published a report documenting extensive settler violence against Palestinians http://www.yesh-din.org/site/index.php?page=report&lang=en. Their website includes testimony of a deadly drive-by shooting of a Palestinian factory owner in the West Bank on August 6, 2006 http://www.yesh-din.org/site/index.php?page=testimonies&id=28&lang=en. Yesh Din does not name settlers suspected of committing these assaults. This attack is consistent with the description of "Jewish terror cells" in a 2003 Foreign Broadcast Information Service report http://dc.indymedia.org/usermedia/application/4/kah03-14.pdf, part of the unclassified administrative record submitted by the US Department of State as a basis of its classification of Kach, Kahane Chai and their aliases as foreign terrorist organizations:
It is thought that there are at least three Jewish terror cells currently active. Their operations are divided into two main areas: the first is the most lethal and involves shooting attacks. Eight Palestinians have been killed and many others injured in such attacks.
The second front, the “less successful,” has tried over the last two years to put together explosive devices and set them off in the heart of the Palestinian populace.
In 2002, a Kahanist group known as "Revenge of the Toddlers" claimed responsibility for a bombing attack at Tzur Baher, an East Jerusalem secondary school for Arab boys, that wounded seven. The group also claimed credit for the 2003 bombing of a Palestinian school in Jaba that injured 20 and was thought to be linked to the 2002 Zil Elementary school bombing.
Eden Natan-Zada
On August 4, 2005, Eden Natan-ZadaEden Natan-Zada
Eden Natan-Zada was an Israeli terrorist who was born to a Jewish family that immigrated to Israel from Iran. He was an AWOL Israeli soldier who opened fire in a bus in Shefa-Amr in northern Israel on 4 August 2005, killing four Arab citizens of Israel and wounding twelve others. He was restrained,...
, an AWOL 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...
soldier, killed four Israeli Arab citizens and wounded several others when he opened fire on a bus in the northern Israeli town of Shfaram. Natan-Zada had recently moved to the settlement of Tapuach, site of a Kahanist yeshiva.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080401350_2.html Zada was handcuffed by the Israeli police who arrived to the scene but then lynched by the mob.
Israel today
Baruch MarzelBaruch Marzel
Baruch Meir Marzel is an Israeli politician. Marzel, an American-born Orthodox Jew, lives in the Jewish community of Hebron in Tel Rumeida with his wife and nine children. He is the leader of the Religious Zionism-orientated Jewish National Front party...
, former Kach leader in Hebron is the head of the Chayil Party
Chayil Party
The Jewish National Front , commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym, Hayil , is a far-right political party in Israel.-History:The party was founded in January 2004 by Baruch Marzel...
.
Former Kahane Chai leaders in Kfar Tapuach are today split between the factions of Mike Guzovsky
Mike Guzovsky
Mike Guzovsky, also known as Mike Guzofsky and Yekutiel Ben-Ya'acov, is an American-Israeli follower of the late Meir Kahane. According to the British Government, Guzovsky is a Jewish militant. He is a contact on Kahane.org, which is on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of terrorist organizations...
and David HaIvri.
USA
Kahanist groups and organizations in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
are largely inactive, with the bulk of their supporters immigrating to Israel over the years. Kahane Net, the Jewish Defense League
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
and B'nai Elim (formed by former JDL activists) are occasionally associated with Kahanism. Kahane Net was formed out of the remnants of "The Kahane Movement" of Mike Guzofsky, chiefly for legal defense fundraising purposes. The latter was formed by former Kahane Chai leadership after its disbanding. Mike Guzofsky, former administrator of Kahane.org, was listed as "Director of Israeli Affairs" by B'nai Elim.
Less than a month after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the redesignation of Kach and Kahane Chai as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Kahane Net sent out a fundraising appeal, crossing out with a black marker the URL www.kahane.org printed on the envelope. The web site at this URL, subsequently shut down, was the first to be listed as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" by the US Department of State and the US Treasury Department. The appeal cited the Kahane Chai Legal Defense Fund, a special fund licensed by the Treasury Department specifically for their legal appeal, and administered by Kach and Kahane Chai counsel Kenneth Klein, in a call for donations for "other legal battles." The letter emphasizes that
"All money collected for this purpose will be forwarded to the appropriate parties with no expenses deducted," and instructs donors to "simply include a separate piece of paper indicating the purpose of your donation so that it will be designated appropriately."
Christian Kahanism
Some Christian ZionistsChristian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, the nineteenth century movement for the Restoration of the Jews...
, including James David Manning
James David Manning
James David Manning is chief pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church on 123rd Street in New York City. Manning grew up in Red Springs, North Carolina, born to an African American family, and has been at ATLAH since 1981. ATLAH stands for All The Land Anointed Holy, which is Manning's name...
, have also endorsed aspects of Kahane's ideology.
See also
- Kach and Kahane ChaiKach and Kahane ChaiKach was a far-right political party in Israel. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s, and following his Jewish nationalist ideology , the party entered the Knesset in 1984 after several electoral failures...
- Meir KahaneMeir KahaneMartin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
- Religious ZionismReligious ZionismReligious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
- Revisionist ZionismRevisionist ZionismRevisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
- ZionismZionismZionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...