Jerusalem Police arrested 12 activists of the Kach organization yesterday. Their crime: passing out pamphlets that said “Kahane Was Right.” The reference is to the former Knesset member, head of the Kach Party, and founder of the Jewish Defense League, the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. Rabbi Kahane was murdered in New York 14 years ago today– the 18th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan – by an Arab terrorist.
The police confiscated the pamphlets and continued to deliberate today whether passing out such material violates Israeli laws of incitement. Rabbi Kahane’s Kach Party platform called for the transfer of the Arab population from the State of Israel. The party was outlawed in a Knesset vote just prior to the 1988 national elections.
Rabbi Kahane first publicly declared his idea of “transfer” in a 1971 address delivered at Haifa University. The concept was considered so radical at the time that his speech triggered off spontaneous rioting and violent protests on campus.
In the wake of decades of Arab terror, however, the transfer program of Rabbi Kahane has risen in popularity. According to an October, 2004 survey commissioned by Channel 2 TV, 58% of adults aged 18-22 support “transfer,” while 26.4% believe that Rabbi Kahane was correct in his call to expel the Arabs. One third of those polled believe that Kach should be declared a legal party once again.
In commemoration of the anniversary of Rabbi Kahane’s death (Yahrzeit), hundreds of people gathered at the Jerusalem gravesite of Rabbi Meir Kahane in the Har Menuchot cemetery. The Kahane organizers postponed a memorial ceremony that was to be held at the synagogue of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood.
Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalRadio has posted a 1985 Larry King interview with Rabbi Kahane in audio format. Click here to listen.
Read a biography of Rabbi Meir Kahane.
The police confiscated the pamphlets and continued to deliberate today whether passing out such material violates Israeli laws of incitement. Rabbi Kahane’s Kach Party platform called for the transfer of the Arab population from the State of Israel. The party was outlawed in a Knesset vote just prior to the 1988 national elections.
Rabbi Kahane first publicly declared his idea of “transfer” in a 1971 address delivered at Haifa University. The concept was considered so radical at the time that his speech triggered off spontaneous rioting and violent protests on campus.
In the wake of decades of Arab terror, however, the transfer program of Rabbi Kahane has risen in popularity. According to an October, 2004 survey commissioned by Channel 2 TV, 58% of adults aged 18-22 support “transfer,” while 26.4% believe that Rabbi Kahane was correct in his call to expel the Arabs. One third of those polled believe that Kach should be declared a legal party once again.
In commemoration of the anniversary of Rabbi Kahane’s death (Yahrzeit), hundreds of people gathered at the Jerusalem gravesite of Rabbi Meir Kahane in the Har Menuchot cemetery. The Kahane organizers postponed a memorial ceremony that was to be held at the synagogue of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood.
Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalRadio has posted a 1985 Larry King interview with Rabbi Kahane in audio format. Click here to listen.
Read a biography of Rabbi Meir Kahane.