In recent times, the term "far-right" is mainly used to describe advocates of policies such as the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, opposition to
Palestinian statehood, and imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the
Gaza Strip, the
West Bank, and
all of
Jerusalem.
In 2024, many individuals and groups on the far-right in Israel are advocating for the reoccupation of Gaza following the
Israel-Hamas war.[2]
Ze'ev Jabotinsky was a secular Zionist and an extremist nationalist.[6] He was exiled from the British Mandate for supporting armed struggle against the British.[6]
The goal of the Maximalists was to "extract Revisionism from its liberal entrapment", because they wanted
Ze'ev Jabotinsky's status to be elevated to the status of a dictator,[20] and desired to
forcably assimilate the population of Palestine into Hebrew society.[21] The Maximalists believed that authoritarianism and national solidarity was necessary to have the public collaborate with the government, and to create total unity in Palestine.[21]
Irgun emblem. The map shows both
Mandatory Palestine and the
Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" is written above the map, and "raq kach" ("only thus") is written below.
The
Irgun (
Hebrew: ארגון; full title:
Hebrew: הארגון הצבאי הלאומי בארץ ישראלHaIrgun HaTzvaʾi Ha-Leumi b-Eretz Israel, lit. "The National Military Organization in the Land of Israel"), or Etzel (
Hebrew: אצ״ל) (sometimes abbreviated IZL), was a
Zionistparamilitary organization that operated in
Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the older and larger
Jewishparamilitary organization
Haganah (Hebrew:
Hebrew: הגנה, Defence).[22] The Irgun has been viewed as a
terrorist organization or organization which carried out terrorist acts.[23][24][25][26]
The Irgun policy was based on what was then called
Revisionist Zionism founded by
Ze'ev Jabotinsky.[27] Two of the operations for which the Irgun is best known are the
bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946 and the
Deir Yassin massacre that killed at least 107 Palestinian Arab villagers, including women and children, carried out together with
Lehi on 9 April 1948.
The organization committed acts of terrorism against Palestinian Arabs, as well as against the British authorities, who were regarded as illegal occupiers.[28] In particular the Irgun was described as a terrorist organization by the
United Nations, British, and United States governments; in media such as The New York Times newspaper;[29][30] as well as by the
Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry,[31][32] the 1946
Zionist Congress[33] and the
Jewish Agency.[34]Albert Einstein, in a letter to The New York Times in 1948, compared Irgun and its successor
Herut party to "Nazi and Fascist parties" and described it as a "terrorist, right wing, chauvinist organization".[35]
The White Paper's publication also intensified the conflict between the Zionist militias and the British Army; a Jewish general strike was called, attacks were launched against Arabs and British police, telephone services and power lines were sabotaged, and violent speeches of protest were held for several months.[37] A week after the publication of the
White Paper of 1939, the
Irgun planted an explosive device in the Rex cinema in Jerusalem, injuring 18 people, including 13 Arabs and 3 British police officers. On that same day, 25
Irgun members attacked the Arab village
Biyar 'Adas, forced their way into 2 houses, and shot 5 Arab civilians to death.[38]
Lehi (founded 1940)
The hand represents the Lehi
salute, with only two raised fingers on the right hand to represent the "If I forget thee / O Jerusalem...may my right hand forget its skill" (
Ps. 137:5) pledge. The acronym "Lehi" is written below the hand.[39]
In the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured the
Golan Heights, the
West Bank, the
Sinai Peninsula, and the
Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip.[44] This victory resulted in the revival of "
territorial maximalism", with aspirations to annex and settle these new territories.[45] leading some Israeli political leaders to argue for the redefinition of the country's borders in accordance with the vision of
Greater Israel.[46] The
Movement for Greater Israel, which emerged about a month after the
Six-Day War ended, advocated for the control over all of the territories captured during the war, including the
Sinai Peninsula,
West Bank, and
Golan Heights. The members of the movement demanded immediate imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the territories. The supporters of the movement were united by a territorial maximalist ideology.[46] During the summer of 1967, far-right nationalists began to establish settlements in the occupied West Bank to establish a Jewish presence on the land.[47]Menachem Begin's agreement to return the
Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, as well as his initiation of the
Autonomy Plan, caused parts of the political right to radicalise and adopt far-right political ideologies.[48]
Kach party (1971–1994)
Flag of
Kach, a former ultranationalist political party in IsraelKach logo spraypainted on a cement block reading "Kahane Chai"Kahanist graffiti in
Hebron on a Palestinian home. The words to the top right say "Kahane Chai". The fist inside the
Star of David is the party logo. Below is the acronym for "Kahane Chai" which is also the Hebrew word for strength.
The
Kach party, founded by
Meir Kahane in 1971, was a far-right
Orthodox Jewish,
Religious Zionist political party in Israel. The party's ideology, known as
Kahanism, advocated the transfer of the Arab population from Israel, and the creation of a
Jewish theocratic state, in which only Jews have voting rights.[49] Kach additionally argued that Israel should annex the 1967
Israeli-occupied territories because of their religious significance.[50][51] The party's motto, "Rak Kach"
lit.'Only thus', was derived from the motto of the
Irgun, a Zionist militant organization active in the 1940s.[50][52] In the
1973 Israeli legislative election, Kach won 0.81% of the total votes, falling short to pass the electoral threshold, which was 1% at the time. In the next
elections in 1977, Kach failed once again to win enough votes for parliamentary presence.[53] Kach earned a single seat in the
Knesset in the
1984 Israeli legislative election.[54][55]
Shortly after
Meir Kahane was sworn in as a member of the Knesset, he made his first media-oriented provocation by announcing his plan to open an emigration office in the Arab village of
Umm al-Fahm. He stated that his plan was to offer residents of the village financial incentives to leave their homes and the country.[56] The town declared a general strike shortly after, and roughly 30,000 people, including liberal Jews, arrived at Umm-al-Fahm to prevent Kahane from entering the town. The
Israel Police initially decided to accompany Kahane with 1000 police officers as he marched, but later decided to cancel Kahane's march altogether, in concern of negative consequences.[57]
Kach activists frequently entered
Arab localities in Israel, distributing propaganda leaflets in demonstrations, provocatively raising the Israeli flag, making Arabs sign the
Israeli Declaration of Independence, threatening them against moving to majority-Jewish towns, and convincing Arabs to leave the country.[58] Some of
Meir Kahane's legislative initiatives were mostly related to the "Arab problem" in Israel, intending to separate Jews and Arabs in public swimming pools, banning romantic relations between Jews and Arabs, and revoking the citizenship of
Arabs in Israel.[59] In his book, "They Must Go", Kahane wrote: "There is only one path for us to take: the immediate transfer of Arabs from
Eretz Yisrael. For Arabs and Jews in
Eretz Yisrael there is only one answer: separation, Jews in their land, Arabs in theirs. Separation. Only separation."[60]
One bill which he proposed required the imposition of a
mandatory death penalty on any non-Jew who either harmed or attempted to harm a Jew, as well as the automatic deportation of the perpetrator's family and the perpetrator's neighbors from Israel and the
West Bank.[61]The Supreme of Israel struck down his initiatives, on the grounds that there was no precedent and provision for them in the
Basic Laws of Israel.[62] To limit the potential influence of anti-democratic parties such as Kach, the
Knesset, in 1985, proposed a new amendment to exclude parties that negate the democratic character of Israel.[62] Kach was later barred from the 1988 elections, and its appeal was denied by the Supreme Court.[62] 1994, following
Baruch Goldstein's massacre of 29 Palestinians at the
Cave of the Patriarchs, Israel designated
Kach, for which Goldstein previously stood as a Knesset Candidate,[63] as a terror organization.[64][65]
The Oslo Accords and the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
Rabin delivering his speech at the 4 November 1995 rally, shortly before his assassination
The far-right in Israel opposed the
Oslo Accords, with Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin being
assassinated in 1995 by a right-wing Israeli extremist for signing them.[66]Yigal Amir, Rabin's assassin, had opposed
Rabin's peace process, particularly the signing of the
Oslo Accords, because he felt that an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would deny Jews their "biblical heritage which they had reclaimed by establishing settlements".[47] Rabin was also criticized by right-wing conservatives and
Likud leaders who perceived the peace process as an attempt to forfeit the
occupied territories and a surrender to Israel's enemies.[67][68] After the murder, it was revealed that
Avishai Raviv, a well-known right-wing extremist at the time, was a
Shin Bet agent and informant.[69] Prior to Rabin's murder, Raviv was filmed with a poster of Israeli prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin in an
SS uniform.[70][71][72] His mission was to monitor the activities of right-wing extremists, and he allegedly knew of
Yigal Amir's plans to assassinate Rabin.[73]
2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza
Protest against the evacuation of the Israeli settlement
Kfar Darom
Otzma Yehudit (
Hebrew: עוצמה יהודית, English: "Jewish Power") was founded in 2012 by
Michael Ben-Ari, a former member of Kach. In the
2021 Israeli legislative election,
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a follower of
Kach, was elected to the Knesset as a representative of the
Otzma Yehudit party.[90] Since 2022, Ben-Gvir has served as a Minister of National Security, and the party presently holds six seats in the
Knesset.
Lehava, one of the largest far-right organizations in Israel, advocates for the segregation and oppression of Palestinians. It has also been involved in acts of violence against Palestinians, LGBT individuals, and Christians. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on Lehava.[91][92]
Noam (
Hebrew: נעם,
lit. 'Pleasantness'; officially known as Lazuz)[93][94] is a
far-rightOrthodox Jewish,
Religious Zionist political party in Israel, officially established in July 2019 by a very conservative faction in the Religious Zionist community inspired by
RabbiZvi Thau and his
Har HamorYeshiva. The party's main goal is to advance policies against LGBT rights, and against what its backers call "the destruction of the family".[93]Avi Maoz, the party's leader, was elected to the
Knesset in
2021, and is the party's sole representative.[95][96]
In 2023, the
Likud-led coalition was described in authoritarian terms by
Haaretz, such as "
Fascist", "a dictatorship", and "
Stalinist" (for Stalinism's authoritarian aspects).[109]
Far-right Israeli politicians and the Al Aqsa Mosque
Israeli soldiers were in the area while the rampage by the settlers unfolded and did not intervene.[113] The rampage was called a
pogrom by an Israeli commander in charge of the area.[117]
Israeli and Palestinian officials issued a joint declaration in
Aqaba,
Jordan to counter the recent round of Israeli–Palestinian violence.[114][115][118]
Smotrich's call for Huwara to be "wiped out"
In the rampage's aftermath, Israeli Finance Minister
Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician partly in charge of the administration of the West Bank,[119] called for Huwara to be "wiped out" by the Israeli army.[120][121] Condemnations from the United States, European Union, and Arab countries led to Smotrich retracting his comments and claiming they were said in the heat of the moment.[117][122]
Far-right politics in Israel during the Israel-Hamas war
Israel's far-right ministers have made controversial comments during the
Israel–Hamas war.
Agriculture Minister
Avi Dichter (
Likud) told Israeli
Channel 12 in November 2023 that the war would be "Gaza's
Nakba," using the Arabic word for "catastrophe" that many use to describe the
1948 displacement of roughly 700,000 Palestinians.[123][124]
Finance Minister
Bezalel Smotrich (
National Religious Party–Religious Zionism) said in a November 2023 letter that Palestinians should be excluded from "security zones" in the occupied West Bank even to "harvest olives". He has also called for the creation of "sterile security zones" around settlements in the West Bank to "prevent Arabs from entering".[127][128]
Minister for the Advancement of Women
May Golan (
Likud) said in a speech in February 2024 "I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did."[129]
In May 2024, many individuals and groups on the far-right in Israel are advocating for the reoccupation of Gaza following the
Israel-Hamas war.[2]
^ There are two buildings in the
Al-Aqsa compound, the large prayer hall that is formally referred to in English as "
Al-Aqsa mosque" and the ornate central building known in English as the "
Dome of the Rock", but colloquially both are referred to as "Al-Aqsa Mosque" or simply "Al-Aqsa". Muslims believe the site is the location where the
prophet Mohammed (the founder of
Islam) ascended to heaven in the
7th century AD. Israelis refer to the location as the
Temple Mount, because it is thought to be the location of the
second temple, which was
destroyed by the Romans in the
1st century AD.
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