Gush Emunim

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Gush Emunim ( Hebrew גּוּשׁ אֱמוּנִים ; the “Block of the Faithful” or “Block of the Believers”) was an extra-parliamentary Jewish national religious organization in Israel . The spiritual fathers of Gush Emunim are Abraham Isaak Kook (1865–1935), the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Palestine during the British mandate, and his son Zwi Jehuda Kook (1891–1982).

founding

Gush Emunim was founded in 1974 by graduates of the Jerusalem yeshiva Merkas HaRaw Kook . It emerged as an activist reaction to the Yom Kippur War, which was shocking for Israel .

The group had no more than 20,000 active members in its most active time, but to this day it has had a huge impact on politics.

ideology

Gush Emunim sees itself as a religious-Zionist renewal movement that sees the founding of Israel as part of a process of redemption, which also includes the taking over of all of Eretz Israel . The ideology of the movement was based on the four cornerstones: messianism , the holiness of the people of Israel, the holiness of the land of Israel and the holiness of the Torah . Israel, including the Gaza Strip , West Bank and East Jerusalem , were viewed as a Holy Land that could not be returned. Even state institutions, such as the Israeli army , could be fought according to this ideology if they were to permanently cede land to non-Jews , for example to Arabs in connection with peace agreements.

  • Messianism: The messianic process of redemption began with the birth of Zionism in the 19th century. All historical events relevant to Israel, e.g. B. the Balfour Declaration , the establishment of the State of Israel , the Six Day War are included, on the one hand as divine providence or as a divine warning. The Holocaust is also seen by some Gush Emunim followers as a divine sign that assimilation was the wrong path. The process of salvation must be driven forward through active action until the expected Messiah appears, especially through the settlement of the promised land .
  • The Choseness: Another component in the ideology is the emphasis on a specificity of the Jewish people. While Zionism wants to end the Jewish diaspora and want to create its own national Jewish culture, Gush Emunim emphasizes the fact that the Jewish people have been chosen by God, which releases the Jews from secular laws in certain points. If the worldly laws do not allow colonization of all of Palestine, it is not valid for Gush Emunim because it does not correspond to the divine command, which is absolutely binding.
  • The Holiness of the Land of Israel: Gush Emunim makes an absolute claim to all of Israel within the biblical boundaries, which is seen as a symbol of Jewish renewal. This claim stands above the claims of all other peoples, since the Jews are the chosen people and thus the only people with a divine bond to their homeland. The most important task for Gush Emunim is to settle the occupied territories as quickly as possible, because the land must first be redeemed before spiritual redemption.

Underground movement

Between 1979 and 1984 there was an underground Gush Emunim movement. Members of this movement bombed Palestinian mayors. Two mayors, Bassam Shaka ( Nablus ) and Karim Halaf ( Ramallah ), were mutilated.

In 1983 two members of this organization invaded the Islamic College in Hebron . There they fired shots and threw a hand grenade. They murdered three students and injured 33. The perpetrators were initially sentenced to life imprisonment, but the sentences were gradually softened, so that they were released after less than seven years. The main reason for this was a pardon from Israeli President Chaim Herzog .

In April 1984, a Jewish terrorist group was exposed in Israel with a plan to blow up the mosques on Jerusalem's Temple Mount . According to the conspirators, the destruction of the sanctuary should lead to several hundred million Muslims mobilizing for jihad, which would force all of humanity into the final, decisive confrontation. Israel's victory at the end of this desired ordeal could prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Numerous members of this terror group belong to the inner circle of leaders of the Gush Emunim.

Activities since 1984

Little is known about the activities of Gusch Emunim after 1984, apparently the planned terrorist attack shook the group strongly.

literature

  • Peter Demandt: Gusch Emunin . In: Micha Brumlik , Dan Diner (Ed.): Babylon - Contributions to the Jewish Present , Issue 4 (1988), pp. 40 ff.
  • Idith Zertal , Akiva Eldar : The Lords of the Land. Israel and the settler movement since 1967. DVA, Munich 2007.
  • Gershom Gorenberg : The End of Days. Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount. Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 128-137.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.morfix.co.il/%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A9%20%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7% 9D% E2% 80% 8E
  2. ↑ Information on the movement on the website of the Israeli Parliament (English), accessed on May 17, 2015
  3. ↑ [1] In: bornpower.de. , accessed April 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ http://www.relinfo.ch/lexikon/judentum/gusch-emunim/ , accessed on May 11, 2019
  5. ↑ [2] In: bornpower.de. , accessed on May 11, 2019.
  6. ↑ [3] In: bornpower.de. , accessed on May 11, 2019.
  7. ↑ [4] In: bornpower.de. , accessed on May 11, 2019.
  8. ^ What Next for Israel? , Time , July 9, 1984. Retrieved March 4, 2011
  9. ^ 3 Israeli Terrorists Are Released In 4th Reduction of Their Terms , NY Times , December 27, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2011
  10. ↑ (Gorenberg, page 128ff.)
  11. ↑ http://www.relinfo.ch/lexikon/judentum/gusch-emunim/, accessed on May 11, 2019