Kahanism
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Kahanism is a term used in Israeli political parlance to refer, specifically, to the ideology of Rabbi Meir Kahane, and, more generally, to other right-wing Religious Zionist movements or groups that share a belief in the fundamental tenets of that ideology, chief among them being the idea that the State of Israel should be governed theocratically, should accord full citizenship exclusively to Jews, and that all gentiles should be either deported or allowed to remain as resident aliens with full economic and personal rights, but no political rights.[citation needed]
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[edit] Premises
The central claim of Kahanism is that all Arab Muslims are, and will continue to be, enemies of Jews, and that a Jewish religious state, governed by halachic law, absent of a voting Arab Muslim population and that includes Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip and also possibly areas of modern-day Jordan and Lebanon, should be created. The Kahanist movement proper also argues that such a state should be ruled according to Jewish theocratic law known as Halakha, but the term "Kahanist" is sometimes used loosely as a term of opprobrium for any Zionist group which seeks a Greater Israel.[citation needed]
[edit] Outlawed
Since 1985, the State of Israel has outlawed political parties espousing Kahane's ideology as being racist, 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 [1] were proclaimed illegal terrorist organizations in 1994 and the groups subsequently officially disbanded. Activities by followers with militant Kahanist beliefs continue to the present day, however, as seen below. The official Kahanist website (kahane.org) has been designated as a hate site espousing racist views in which 'Arabs generally and Palestinians in particular are vilified.'[1]
[edit] Alleged Kahanist actions in Israel and the West Bank
[edit] Baruch Goldstein
The deadliest attack was when Dr. Baruch Goldstein, affiliated with Kach through the JDL, killed 29 Arabs at the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in Hebron, in 1994. After this attack, members of Kach 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.
[edit] 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" [2], "The Sword of David" and "The Repression of Traitors" have been used. The US government claims that these are all aliases of "Kach", [3].
The Israeli group Yesh Din, founded in 2005[4], has published a report documenting extensive settler violence against Palestinians [5]. Their website includes testimony of a deadly drive-by shooting of a Palestinian factory owner in the West Bank on August 6, 2006 [6]. 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 [7], 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."
[edit] Eden Natan-Zada
On August 4, 2005, Eden Natan-Zada, 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.[8]
[edit] Asher Weissgan
On August 17, 2005, Asher Weissgan, 38, a settler who drove Palestinian workers for a living, stole a soldier's gun and shot to death four Palestinian workers near the settlement of Shiloh in the West Bank. A Ha'aretz analysis writes that "The new murderer is another of the wild grapes produced by Israel's extreme right. Under the circumstances, it is almost impossible not to generalize. It cannot be forgotten that the murderer of a prime minister also came from those extremist circles. From there sprang the AWOL soldier, Eden Natan Zada, who murdered four people he encountered on a bus in Shfaram... Baruch Goldstein, who killed dozens of worshipers in a mosque in Hevron, also came from these groups."[9] Weissgan committed suicide in Ayalon Prison on December 22 2006.[10]
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[edit] Kahanism in Israel Today
Former Kach leaders in Hebron today run the Hilltop Youth, particularly Noam Federman and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Noam Federman and his Hilltop Youth are affiliated with a group called "HaYamin HaAmiti", Hebrew for "the real Right Wing". "HaYamin HaAmiti" is the Israeli branch of the Jewish Task Force[citation needed]. Baruch Marzel, another 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 Guzofsky and David HaIvri. Guzofsky runs the Jewish Legion, the Voice of Judea media, and Referendums For Israel. HaIvri runs Revava and an online bookstore called HaMeir - A Light Unto The Nations.
[edit] Kahanism in the USA
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Kahanist groups in the United States include Kahane Net which runs the Kahane.org Website, the Jewish Defense League, B'nai Elim, and the Jewish Task Force. Kahane Net was formed out of the remnants of "the Kahane Movement" of Mike Guzofsky. The latter was formed by former Kahane Chai leadership after its disbanding.[citation needed]
Bnai Elim, the Jewish Task Force, the Jewish Defense League and the Kahane.org website claim to be separate organizations, though Michael (Yekutiel) Guzofsky, administrator of kahane.org, is listed as "Director of Israeli Affairs" by B'nai Elim[11].
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 magic marker the name "www.kahane.org," which was and is still listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US Department of State and the Treasury Department. [12][13]
The appeal[14] 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."
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Terror Label No Hindrance To Anti-Arab Jewish Group New York Times, 19 December 2000
[edit] Kahanist and Kahane related websites
- Official Kahane Site Named as an example of a racist hate site by the UNHCR
- Kahane Net Site
- B'nai Elim
- Bnai Elim Florida
- Jewish Defense League
- HaMeir L'David
- Jewish Task Forcear:كهونية
de:Kahanismus
Categories: Articles needing additional references from March 2007 | Discrimination | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | Jews and Judaism in Israel | Kahanism | Orthodox Judaism | Organizations designated as terrorist
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