Kahanism

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The kahanism is a sense of religious Zionism , based on the views of Meir Kahane , founder of the Jewish Defense League and Kach -party based. It mixes ultra-nationalism with religious fundamentalism, racism and the justification of violence. The central political goals of Kahanism are the expulsion of most Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied territories and of most of Israeli citizens of Arab origin from Israel, as well as the elimination of Western democracy there in favor of a Jewish theocracy . The acceptance of Kahanism extends far beyond Kahane and Kach.

Core ideology

Kahane's worldview was originally shaped by the revisionist Zionism of Vladimir Zeev Jabotinsky , who was often a guest at Kahane's parents' house. In his youth, Kahane had also been a member of the Betar youth founded by Jabotinsky . The writings of Israel Eldad also influenced him, Kahane said. A central aspect of the Kahanist ideology is the belief in the chosenness of the Jewish people , based on which Kahane sees an eternal and holy right to the promised land . One of his stated goals was to replace the internationalist orientation of many young Israelis with “healthy nationalism ”.

In the eyes of liberal Israelis, Kahane was the champion of Jewish racism. In fact, after his Kach party entered the Knesset , the Israeli government also introduced a new law that prohibits parties that the Israeli government considers racist from voting, which is why Kach was banned from the 1988 elections and Kahane subsequently resigned from parliament. According to his own statement, however, he rejected a “racial” definition of Jewish nationalism, since the nationalism and religion of the Jewish people would form a unit, while “racially” motivated nationalism was mostly secular . The unity of Jewish ethnicity and religious affiliation makes Jewish nationalism unique among the nationalisms of other peoples. He denied accusations of racism against his ideology with reference to the fact that every non-Jew, regardless of his origin, can convert to Judaism . On the other hand, he accused secular Jews of racism, since they only define their belonging to Jewry through their descent, but not through their religion. According to him, there is no reason to be Jewish without belief in the truthfulness of the Jewish religion . Kahane turned against the exclusion of his party from the Knesset elections by appealing to the Israeli Supreme Court , which was unsuccessful.

Values ​​and worldviews that are not based on the Torah have no validity for Jews, according to Kahane, because, in his view, they are of godless origin. According to Kahane, Jews cannot trust a world that Auschwitz created again and instead must ensure that Auschwitz never happens again.

Greater Israel

Kahane called for the establishment of Greater Israel , which means at least the annexation of all occupied territories. In an interview, he also stated that the borders of Eretz Israel would encompass an even larger area, stretching from Jamit to the Euphrates . In response to the objection that such territorial claims would mean eternal war with the Arabs, he replied that they would exist anyway. Kahane also believed that Jews should die rather than give back a piece of land.

View on the Messiah

Kahane believed that the Jewish Messiah would have come long ago if the Jews had obeyed all of the commandments of the Torah . The secular system of Israel and the "foreign occupation" of the Temple Mount would therefore only delay its arrival.

Relationship to democracy

The democracy was held by Kahane, due to its Greek origin, basically for something non-Jewish and alien. After that, it is in itself invalid. Provided that a democratically elected government bases its decisions on the orthodox interpretation of the Torah, it is acceptable. However, Kahane described Israeli democracy as contradicting itself, since non-Jews are also entitled to vote in it and thus could one day be given the opportunity to vote Israel out as a Jewish state in the event of demographic change.

Relationship with non-Jews

In Kahane's opinion, non-Jews are only allowed to live in the Land of Israel as “strangers” , provided that they obey the seven Noahidic commandments . However, they do not receive full equality with this status. Kahane appealed to this and also demanded that "foreigners" must recognize the State of Israel, have to pay special taxes, not be allowed to become civil servants and that they are denied the right to vote. The “strangers” should confirm their loyalty once a year.

He also called for an extensive separation of Jews and non-Jews in public life: non-Jews should be taught in schools that are separate from Jews, attend separate leisure facilities and not be allowed to settle in Jerusalem .

Kahane also called for a 5-year prison term for sexual contact between Jews and non-Jews. In an interview with the show 60 Minutes, he replied to the objection of the also Jewish journalist Mike Wallace that such a law was astonishingly similar to the Nuremberg Laws , that most Jews had a wrong idea of ​​their religion and that Judaism was not " Thomas Jefferson ".

The vast majority of non-Jews in Israel are currently made up of the Palestinian Arabs . According to Kahane, the Jews are now in the same situation as they were in 1230 BC. At the time of the conquest . Joshua , the successor of Moses and leader of the Israelites, sent the Canaanites three letters in advance of the conquest, in which he offered them three possible options: They leave the country voluntarily, they recognize the "alien" status, or they fight for the country and bear the consequences for it. According to Kahane, Israel should do the same with the Arabs today.

Relationship to violence

Kahanism justifies the use of force as a political weapon. Kahane himself had been violent to political opponents several times. In 1974 he first emerged with the concept of " Terror Neged Terror " (Hebrew for "Terror against Terror"). The aim of this concept was to fight Arab terrorism with Jewish terrorism. Kahane suggested to the Israeli government at that time that they deal with an organization based on this concept in the same way as the Arab states do with the Arab terrorist organizations: The Israeli government should deny any connection to TNT, but on training its members allow their state soil. However, the Israeli government was not receptive to this idea.

Kahanist activists have committed various anti-Arab acts of violence in the past, the most prominent of which are the 1994 Hebron massacre by Baruch Goldstein and the 2005 Shefar'am shooting by Eden Natan-Zada . Goldstein is revered today by the Kahanists as a “righteous man” (Hebrew: “ Zaddik ”) because of his deed .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Is Israel's Soul Imperiled? Yes, By Kahanism The New York Times , December 20, 1985
  2. Public Safety Canada about Kach ( Memento from October 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  3. https://www.apnews.com/26db378f2e5b4e638f5856cb97bbdfab
  4. Geoffrey Brahm Levey in: Paul A. Djupe, Laura R. Olson: Jewish Defense League in: Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics . Infobase Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4381-3020-0 , pp. 230 ( google.de [accessed on January 9, 2017]).
  5. a b c d e f g h i j Ehud Sprinzak: Kach and Meir Kahane: The ascendance of Israel's radical right . Oxford University Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-19-505086-8 ( orgfree.com [accessed June 7, 2018]).
  6. a b c d e Philippe Simonnot, Raphael Mergui: Israel's Ayatollahs: Meir Kahane and and the Far Right in Israel. Saqi Books, London 1987, ISBN 0-86356-142-X , pp. 40-78.
  7. ^ Meir Kahane: Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews , Lyle Stuart 1987, Part II: A Jewish State Versus Western Democracy ; Part IV: Judaism Versus Western Democracy .
  8. Kahane chats with Mike Wallace
  9. ^ Rabbi Meir Kahane Confronts Protesters At Speech in Minnesota on YouTube
  10. Israel: In Blood and Fire , Der Spiegel , February 20, 1994.

See also : Jewish Defense League , Kach and Kahane Chai , Victor Vancier