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Among The Extremists
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A selection of readings and links on militant Jewish radicals and their beliefs, actions and connections

 

"Talking with Jewish Extremists"
In these excerpts from her 2003 book, Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill, Jessica Stern, a leading expert on terrorism, recounts her conversations with two members of the Temple Mount Faithful, a messianic group of Jewish extremists who are followers of the teachings of Rabbi Kahane and who seek to destroy the Muslim holy sites built where the Jewish Temples once stood. They are also dedicated to expanding Israel's borders to encompass the entire biblical Israel. Stern, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, spent four years interviewing extremist members of three religions: Christians, Jews and Muslims.

 

"Days of Rage"
This March 2005 Jerusalem Report article by Leslie Susser examines what might be coming in the struggle over Ariel Sharon's plan to remove all Jewish settlers from Gaza and from four settlements in the northern West Bank starting in July 2005. Are right-wing opponents exaggerating when they warn Sharon's plan will lead to a "civil war?" Susser looks at the Kahanists actively leading the opposition, those Israelis ideologically aligned with them, and the three major strategies Israeli authorities expect their opponents to adopt. She also assesses the potential cracks in the solidarity of settler opposition to Sharon's plan.

 

Terrorist Groups
This page of The Council on Foreign Relations site on terrorism links to the page "Kach, Kahane Chai" which offers background on these two Israeli terror groups, including their roots in the teachings of Rabbi Meir Kahane, their links to terrorist attacks, whether they were involved in the 1995 assassination of Yitshak Rabin, their U.S. supporters and their status in Israel.

 

On Assassinations and Attempted Assasinations, and Yigal Amir
An article offering the views of Binjamin Zev Kahane concerning the assassination of Yitzak Rabin and Rabin's killer,Yigal Amir. Binjamin, the son of Rabbi Meir Kahane, took up his father's mantle after the rabbi was assassinated. Binjamin himself was assassinated in Israel in 2000. More of his political commentary can be found elsewhere on this Kahane site. And while the main page of this site notes it is "being reconstructed," the "category" scroll bar on the top right links to a range of selections including a photo gallery, biography of Kahane and more by and about him.

 

U.S. List of Known Kahanist Groups and Aliases
This list is from Presidential Executive Order 13224: "Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, Or Support Terrorism." (Sept. 2001)

 

Kach, Kahane Chai - International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism
The Institute for Counterterrorism is a research institute dealing with solutions to international terrorism. The "Arab-Israeli Conflict" link at the top of this site links to "Terrorist Organization Profiles" which collects background articles and documents on the Kahane Movement and its offshoots.

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posted april 5, 2005

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