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| Screenshot of masked Jews storming a West Bank village on April 17, 2026 (TOI) |
I have never changed my opinion about that ever since I
first read his views as a weekly columnist for the Jewish Press back
in the early seventies. He was way ahead of his time. Although many Israelis
slowly came to understand his views and ultimately agreed with his perspective,
it wasn’t until October 7th that virtually the entire
population of Israel did as well.
But his solution to the problems he so correctly identified
- was a failure of moral turpitude of such great magnitude, that it led Baruch
Goldstein, one of his more devout followers, to mass murder 29 Palestinian
worshippers at Maaras HaMachpela in Chevron and wound 125 more before he was
subdued and himself killed.
Rabbi Kahane’s many followers responded by setting up a
shrine at Goldstein’s gravesite and making frequent pilgrimages there to honor
his memory. Which, in my view, was a massive Chilul HaShem — and which,
thankfully, the Israeli government eventually outlawed.
That said, one cannot overlook the fact that Rabbi Kahane’s
views generated quite a following long after he was assassinated during a visit
to the US. Views that are unapologetically held by his political heir in the
Knesset, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who to this day considers Goldstein one of his
heroes.
What makes this significant is that Ben-Gvir has quite a
substantial following — far greater than Rabbi Kahane had at his peak. His party, Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) won six seats in the Knesset, compared to the
single seat Rabbi Kahane won at his peak. Six seats translate to well over
200,000 supporters. That does not even include those who might be sympathetic
to his views but, for political reasons, voted for another party. And it
certainly does not include voters who were pushed over the line after October 7th.
Among those supporters are extremists who take that support
to the next level. Armed with Rabbi Kahane’s perspective and attitude about
Palestinians, they have taken it upon themselves to do what they believe Rabbi
Kahane himself would have done were he still alive — a belief not all that
far-fetched considering his militant past in the US and his solution for
regaining all of Eretz Yisroel by resorting to the forcible transfer of
Palestinians out of the country (if they did not agree to accept Jewish sovereignty
over all the land).
Some of his extremist followers harass Palestinians living
in villages with hardcore acts of violence, leading to destruction of property
and even death or injury of innocent Palestinians. Often claiming self-defense.
Which may or may not be true. That a Palestinian living in Yehuda or Shomron
(the West Bank) may hate us and even wish us dead does not mean we may cause
them harm. But those extremists are surely acting on what they believe would
have met with Rabbi Kahane’s strong approval, As they believe would have been
his approval of Baruch Goldstein.
(I am reminded of the effusive eulogies of Baruch Goldstein
given by some Religious Zionist rabbis after his death. Which Rav Aharon
Lichtenstein, publicly condemned as a major Chilul HaShem at the time.)
Making matters worse is the fact that even among those
followers who would never attempt such acts themselves, there is public support
for - or at least a defense of them by hundreds of thousands of sympathizers.
And let us not overlook the silence of many Religious Zionist rabbis and
educators, which seems to indicate sympathy for for the religious fervor, zeal
and motivation behind the violence, if not outright support.
This brings me to Rabbi Yosef Blau…
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