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Fundamentalism, Terrorism, and Democracy: the Case of the Gush Emunim Underground

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Fundamentalism, Terrorism, and Democracy: the Case of the Gush Emunim Underground Fundamentalism, Terrorism,Terrorism, andand Democracy: Democracy: TheThe CaseCase ofof thethe GushGush EmunimEmunim UndergrounUndergroun... ... PagePage 11 of32of 32 Fundamentalism, Terrorism, and Democracy: The Case of the Gush Emunim Underground by Ehud Sprinzak Hebrew University of Jerusalem C3 This paper was originally presented for discussion at a colloquiwncolloquium at The Wilson Center on September 16, 1986. TheThe meetingmeeting was was made made possible possible with with support support from from thethe FordFord Foundation. Single copies ofof this this paper paper maymay bebe obtained obtained withoutwithout chargecharge by writing to the Wilson CenterCenter at: History, Culture an~and Society Program, The Wilson Center, Smithsonian Institution Building,Building, Washington,Washington, D.C. 20506. The Table of Contents can be found at the endend of this document and alsoalso byby clicking section headings. Introduction This study isis partpart of a a largerlarger attempt to understand andand explainexplain thethe radicalizationradicalization processesprocesses that havehave taken place within democratic societies inin thethe last twenty-five years and that ledled non-violentnon-violent political movements toto embarkembark upon a violent coursecourse thatthat finallyfinally producedproduced terrorism. TheThe study emerged from a specific interestinterest inin thethe radicalization ofofOush Gush Emunim (the block of the faithful), an Israeli messianicmessianic movement committedcommitted toto establishingestablishing JewishJewish settlementssettlements inin thethe WestWest BankBank (biblical(biblical JudeaJudea andand Samaria). ItIt was espeCiallyespecially triggeredtriggered by thethe exposureexposure andand arrest, inin AprilApril 1984, of a terror groupgroup composed composed ofof highly-respected members of the movement, who since 19801980 hadhad committed several stunning acts of anti-anti­ Arab terror inin thethe WestWest Bank. The fact that the "underground"-as"underground"—as it it was was named named inin thethe press-hadpress—had alsoalso developed aa veryvery elaborateelaborate plan to blow up the Muslim Dome of the the Rock on Jerusalem'sJerusalem's Temple Mount, file:/ID:\Textbookfile://D:\Textbook CD\IO-Cases\Fundamentalism,CD \10-Cases\Fundamentalism, Terrorism, Terrorism, and and Democracy Democracy The The Case Case of of... __ , 1119/201111/9/2011 ACLURM018956 FBI018747 Fundamentalism, Terrorism, andand Democracy: Democracy: TheThe CaseCase ofof thethe GushGush EmunimEmunim UndergroWlUndergroun... ... PagePage 22 of32of 32 for ideological-religious reasons,reasons, was of special special significance.significance. ItIt showedshowed thatthat some prominentprominent members ofof Gush Emunim, who startedstarted their careers as peaceful,peaceful; idealistic settlers, had becomebecome extremely millenarian, radicalized to the point of considering catastrophecatastrophe a meansmeans ofof achieving national and religious redemption.redemption. The terrorism introduced by the members of the underground waswas notnot unprecedented.unprecedented. InIn thethe 1930s and 1940s therethere existed inin IsraelIsrael (then Palestine) two smallsmall JewishJewish undergroundWlderground groups which conducted a very sophisticated terrorterror campaign againstagainst bothboth thethe ArabsArabs andand the the British.! British). ButBut followingfollowing the establishment of the state ofIsraelof Israel inin 1948, these movements ceased to exist. The newly-established state became terrorismterrorism-free.-free. Terrorism was, for many years, considered in IsraelIsrael a barbaric Arab practice. Very few people believed,believed, untiluntil 1980,1980, that that IsraeliIsraeli JewsJews werewere capable,capable, morally or politically, of producing terrorism.terrorism: TheThe Wldergroundunderground ofof GushGush EmunimEmunim disproveddisproved thisthis conviction.conviction. It did to Israelis what other idealistic movementsmovements did,did, inin the the lastlast threethree decades,decades, toto otherother democratic societies—taughtsocieties-taught themthem'that that their political system was notnot immuneimmune to violence andand was capablecapable of generating generating intrademocratic terrorism. This study was stimulatedstimulated byby thethe generalgeneral desiredesire toto understandunderstand the psycho-politicalpsycho-political mechanisms that produce terrorism withinwithin aa democracy,democracy, aa politicalpolitical systemsystem usuallyusually notnot associatedassociated with this typetype of action. This general interestinterest was translated into five specific researchresearch questions regardingregarding Gush Emunim. (1) What were the historical conditions that led to the radicalization of Gush EmunimEmWlim and to the emergence ofof the the underground? underground? (2) What were the ideological predicaments of Gush EmunimEmWlim thatthat mademade itit possible possible forfor somesome of its members to consider violence asas aa necessarynecessary andand legitimatelegitiuiate means for achieving theirtheIr goals? (3) How waswas the the underground undergroWld formedformed andand what was thethe naturenature of the the behavioralbehavioral transformationtransformation that led its young andand idealistic membersmembers toto becomebecome committed committed terrorists? terrorists? (4) How diddid thethe groupgroup operate? What forms of terrorism terrorism did it carry out?out? HowHow werewere these forms of terror terror perceived andand justified by the members of the group? ' (5) Where and how does thethe casecase ofof the the Gush Gush Emunim EmWlim undergroundWlderground fit into our general understanding ofof social and political violence withinwithin democratic societies?societies? The answers to these questions will bebe presentedpresented in three descriptive sections:sections: History, Ideology and Terrorism. AA final analytical section will trytry to place the lesson learnedlearned from the study of the Gush 'EmunimEmunim underground within a broader theoreticaltheoretical perspective. History, The Emergence of Gush Emunim Gush Emunim was officially born born inin 19741974 as as a a reaction reaction to to thethe YomYom Kippur Kippur War.War. ButBut the spiritual inspiration for thethe newnew movement came directly out of the events ofofIsrael's Israel's previous conflict, the Six- file://D:file~IID:\Textbook \Textbook CD\lO-Cases\Fundamentalism,CD\10-Cases\Fundamentalism, Terrorism, Terrorism, and and Democracy Democracy The The Case Case of... of ... 1119/201111/9/2011 ACLURM018957 FBI018748 Fundamentalism, Terrorism, andand Democracy: Democracy: The The Case Case ofof thethe GushGush EmunimEmunim Undergroun Undergroun... ... Page Page 3002 3 of 32 Day War of 1967. 1967. Israel'sIsrael's swiftswift victory, victory, whichwhich brought brought aboutabout thethe reunificationreunification of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the returnreturn to Israel of biblical JudeaJudea and Samaria (the(the WestWest Bank),Bank), thethe conquestconquest ofof Sinai, and thethe takeovertakeover ofof the Golan. Golan Heights, was perceived by many Israelis as an unworldlyunworldly event.event. TheyThey simplysimply couldcould notbelievenot believe it was aUall real. Zionist religious Jews were especially stunned.stunned. The new eventevent did not square with thethe nonmessianic,nonmessianic, pragmatic stand they had maintainedmaintained forfor years;years. ItIt mustmust have have been been aa miracle. miracle. TheThe GodGod ofIsraelof Israel hadhad onceonce I again showed his might. He camecame to thethe rescue of his peoplepeople inin theirtheir worstworst moment offearof fear and anxietyanxiety and, as in the days of old, turnedturned an unbearable situationsituation upside upside down. down. InIn one one strikestrike he he placed placed thethe wholewhole traditional Eretz Yisrael-theYisrael—the object ofof prayers andand yearningsyearnings of of thousandsthousands of of years-inyears—in thethe handshands ofof hishis loyal servants. But while most ofof the the nation,nation, including the religious community, was stillstill shockedshocked andand overwhelmed.,overwhelmed, there was one small religiousreligious schoolschool thatthat was not.not. This schoolschool centeredcentered aroundaround Yeshivat Merkaz ha-Rav in Jerusalem and aroundaround the the theology theology of of thethe KookKook family.family. TheThe headhead of of thethe Yeshiva,Yeshiva, Rabbi ZviZvi Yehuda Kook, who succeededsucceeded thethe founderfounder ofof the the schoolschool (his(his revered revered fatherfather Rabbi AvrahamAvraham YitzhakYitzhak ha-Cohen Kook), was intenselyintensely preoccupiedpreoccupied withwith thethe incorporationincorporation of the entire Eretz Yisrael into thethe statestate ofof Israel. HisHis dreams were widely shared with his devoted students and werewere discusseddiscussed inin manymany courses and halakhic deliberations.~deliberations:2 Following thethe teaching of his father, and thethe beliefbelief thatthat ours ours is is aa messianicmessianic ageage inin which the Land ofIsrael,of Israel, in its entirety, is to be reunited, Rabbi ZviZvi YehudaYehuda KookKook leftleft no doubt inin the hearts of his students that inin theirtheir lifetimeslifetimes theythey werewere toto seesee the great e\,'ent.event. DistinctDistinct from the restrest ofof the religious community,community, thethe studentstudent body ofofMerkaz Merkaz ha-Rav was mentally and intellectually ready to absorb the consequences of the the Six-Day War—butWar-but
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