The Israeli Radical Right: History, Culture and Politics by Ehud Sprinzak Page 1 of29of 29 The Israeli Radical Right:Ri&ht:· History, Culture and Politics by Ehud Sprinzak from EncountersEDcouDten with the ContemporaryCODtemporary Radical Right edited by Peter MeddMerld and Leonard Weinberg Chapter 6 Westview Press Boulder 1993 Available from Amazon-comAmazon.com The Table of Contents can be foundfOWld at the end of this doCument andand also by clicking the section headings. 1984: The Shock Most Israelis were greatly shocked when they learned on the eve of April 27, 1984, that a plot to blow up five buses full of Arab passengers during a crowded rush hour was barely prevented. In the following week, twenty-seven men suspected ofoffonning forming an anti-Arab terrorist network were arrested. It was soon disclosed that the suspectssuspectS had been responsible for an attempt to assassinate the Arab mayors of three West Bank cities in 1980;1980; a murderousmUrderous attack on the Islamic college in Hebron in 1983, which took the lives of three students and woundedwOWlded thirty-three; and a score oflesserof lesser actsacts of violence against Arabs. An elaborate plan to blow up the Muslim Dome of the Rock on JerusaIem'sJerusalem's Temple Mount, the third most file://D:\Textbookfile:/ID:\Textbook CD\10-Cases\TheCD\lO-Cases\The Israeli Radical RightRight,History,Culture,History, Culture andand Politics Politics by... by ... 11/9/20111119/2011 ACLURM018927 FBI018718 The Israeli Radical Right: History, CultureCulture and Politics by Ehud Sprinzak ,PagePage 22 of29of 29 sacred place in Islam, was alsoalso onon theirtheir drawing board. What surprised observersobservers andand political political analystsanalysts in in AprilApril 19841984 waswas notnot soso much the existence of the terrorterror group as the identity ofof its members,members. They belonged to Gush Emunim (the(the BlockBlock of the Faithful), a religious fundamentalistfundamentalist group committed toto establishing JewishJewish settlementssettlements inin thethe WestWest Bank (biblical(biblical Judea andand Samaria).Samaria). ThOJlgh Though an an aggressive aggressive (and (and sometimes sometimes even even illegal)illegal) settlementsettlement movement,movement, GushGush Emunim hadhad nevernever openlyopenly embracedembraced anan ideology ideology ofof violence. Its orthodox leaders asserted aa biblicallybiblically based Jewish claimclaim toto JudeaJudea andand SamariaSamaria but badhad never advocated deportation ofof the Arab population.!population.1 Instead, theythey professed the belief that a peaceful and produ¢veproductive coexistencecoexistence with the Arabs, under a benevolent IsraeliIsraeli rule, was both possible andand desirable. That any ofof these highly educated and responsible men, some of whom whom werewere rankingranking army officersofficers and allall butbut oneone ofof whomwhom werewere headsheads ofof large families, wouldwould resortresort to terrorism waswas completelycompletely unexpected. The exposition ofof "respectable" "respectable" Jewish terrorism waswas followed,followed, three months later, byby another unexpectedunexpected event: the election intointo thethe KnessetKnesset (Israel's(Israel's parliament) of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, anan extremeextreme religious fundamentalist (assassinated(assassinated NovemberNovember 5,5, 1990).1990). NearlyNearly 26,00026,000 (1.3 percent) Israelis votedvoted for Kach (Thus), the political party that calledcalled for thethe expulsionexpulsion of the Arabs from historicalhistorical Palestine,Palestine, and 2.5 percent of Israeli soldiers were among them. Almost everybodyeverybody rememberedremembered that it waswas Kahane whowho since 19741974 hadbad advocatedadvocated publiclypublicly TerrorTerror NegedNeged Terror (TNT), (TNT), whichwhich inin hishis terminologyterminology stOodstood forfor Jewish terrorismterrorism versus ArabArab terrorism.terrorism.12 ' . The astonished Israelis did not have to wait long in order to discoverdiscover what thethe newnew party waswas about.about. AA day after the elections, KahaneKahane and his supporters held a victoryvictory parade toto thethe WesternWestern WallinWall in oldold Jerusalem. PassingPassing intentionally through thethe Arab Arab section section of of thethe old old city, city, Kahane'sKahane's excited excited followersfollowers smashed through the market, overturningoverturning vegetablevegetable stalls, hitting bystanders, punchingpunching thethe air withwith clenched fists, andand telling thethe frightenedfrightened local residents that thethe endend ofof their staystay inin thethe HolyHoly LandLand waswas near. ThisThis kindkind ofof street brutalitybrutality bas has been been repeated repeated many many times times since since especially especially following following anti-Jewish terror incidents. incidents. ButBut insteadinstead of of beingbeing shockedshocked byby whatwhat untiluntil thatthat time time could could only only have have been been seenseen inin oldold newsreels of pre-1945 pre-1945 centralcentral EuropeEurope or in modern scenesscenes from Teheran, somesome Israelis likedliked whatwhat theythey saw. Since thethe mid-1980s,mid-1980s, the the number number ofof supporters supporters of Kahane's Kabane's political stance has increased by a great amount. PollsPolls conducted as of summer 1984 have steadily given Kahane andand hishis advocatesadvocates betweenbetween 2.52.5 to 2.7 percent of the the total vote. Several attitude studiesstudies ofof high schoolschool students indicateindicate anan exceptionalexceptional support forfor KahaneKahane amongamong thethe yowig~young. A general atmosphere of forgiveness andand "understanding""understanding" ofof thethe acts of the Jewish undergroundunderground has also surfaced.12 A careful examination of the evolution of religious fundamentalism, extreme nationalism,nationalism, andand aggressiveaggressive anti-Arab sentimentsentiment sincesince 1984 suggests aa riserise that is neither accidental nornor isolated.isolated. ThisThis examinationexamination tells us the story of a a largelarge politicalpolitical processprocess thatthat until now hasbas not been properly identifiedidentified and named, the reen;lei'gencereemergence of the the Israeli Radical Right. Before thethe establishment ofof thethe StateState ofof Israel, therethere existedexisted in Jewish Palestine aa smallsmall ultranationalistultranationalist school that propagatedpropagated the the creation creation of ofa a monolithic monolithic JewishJewish regime and was hostile to the dominant ZionistZionist socialismsocialism ofof thethe time.time. ThisThis schoolschool waswas stronglystrongly opposedopposed to the partition ofof Palestine between Jews and ArabsArabs andand exerted exerted some some influence influence overover thethe young.young. TheThe actual partition ofof Palestine in 1948 and the establishment ofof Israel underunder the the domination domination of of thethe socialsocial democratic Mapai (later the Labor movement) movement) waswas responsibleresponsible forfor thethe greatgreat decline decline oftbisof this RadicalRadical Right and for its eventual demise. The nationalist scene was monopolized byby HerutHerot (Freedom party, later expanded to the Likud) , whichwhich waswas aa moremore moderatemoderate politicalpolitical party.party. It now appearsappears that the Israeli nationalist Right, which had beenbeen revitalizedrevitalized sincesince thethe SixSix Days' WarWar (1967), (1967), has undergone aa significantsignificant political and ideological transformation.transformation. InIn thethe lastlast decade decade and and especially especially since since 1984,1984, itit bashas gonegone from a unified political and ideological forceforce headedheaded unquestionably byby Menachem Begin,Begin, the leader ofLikud,of Likud, to a camp fragmented bothboth politicallypolitically andand ideologically.ideologically. file:/ID:\Textbookfile://DATextbook GD\10-Cases\TbeCD\10-Cases\The IsraeliIsraeli RadicalRadical Right Right History, History, Culture Culture and and Politics Politics by... by ... 11/9/2011 ACLURM018928 FBI018719 The Israeli Radical Right:Right: History,History, CulttireCUltUre and Politics by Ehud Sprinzak Page 33 of29of 29 The concept of the the Radical Right developed in the United States is useful in the Israeli contextcontext becausebecause groups like Kach and Gush Emunim do not fit the traditional featuresfeatures ofof thethe Israeli nationalistnationalist Right,Right, yetyet they are neither revolutionary nor Fascist. The parties toto thisthis camp earnestlyearnestly believe that they are the true Israelis and thethe genuinegenuine Zionists. The purpose ofof this chapter isis toto identifyidentify thethe sequencesequence ofof events that produced the Israeli Radical Right, portray itit asas aa political political culture,culture, andand examine examine itsits politicalpolitical dynamics.dynamics. The Ultranationalist LegacyLeuacy In the mandatemandate periodperiod thethe schoolschool mostmost identifiedidentified withwith thethe ideaidea ofof aa RadicalRadical RightRight waswas thethe maximalistmaximalist wing of revisionist revisionist Zionism,Zionism, the the ultranationalist ultranationalist orientation linked to organizations such as Brith Habirionim (the Covenant of Thugs) and Lehi (Israel's Freedom Fighters,Fighters, alsoalso known as the Stern Gang). The old Radical Right was moved byby two two fundamentalfundamental beliefs: thatthat the British were oppressive rulers who had