Origins of Kach and Kahane Chai Jewish Defense League Meir Kahane The move to Israel Kach originated as the Jewish Defense League (JDL) in New York. It was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane as a result of the racial tensions between the Jewish teacher’s union and the black residents, during the New York City teachers’ union strike of 1968. By 1970 the JDL made its main focus on the conditions of Soviet Jews and tried to get the Soviet Union to change its anti-Semitic policies. When Rabbi Meir Kahane moved from New York to Israel in 1971, he brought the JDL with him.

In Israel Political Party - Kach Knesset Assassination Splinter group Kahane Chai To try and further his political goals, Meir Kahane Meir created the Kach party to try and gain seats in the Knesset, which is Israel’s Senate. The Kach party earned a singled seat in the Knesset during the 1984 election and were banned from future elections due to their racist political agenda. Kach’s goal was to restrict voting to people who could prove association with the Jewish state. In 1990, the founder, Kahane was assassinated and this caused a splinter group to break away and form Kahane Chai. In 2003 the U.S State Department designated Kahane Chai and all of its aliases, Kach and the JDL, as a foreign terrorist organization.

Objectives Expand Jewish rule Expel Palestinians Restore Israel The main objective of Kahane Chai is to expand Jewish rule across the area of the West Bank and to expel Palestinians from lands occupied by Israel. Kahane Chai wants to restore Israel to its Biblical size and regain all the territory it had at that time, which includes the areas occupied by Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Meir Kahane argues that Israel was not created as a reward for Jews, but as a punishment for the Gentiles which meant that the new state of Israel was virtuous as justice for the harm the Gentiles had inflicted on the Jewish State

Ideology and Doctrine Jewish Orthodox-Nationalist Kahanism Hillul Hashem The ideology of Kahane Chia was Jewish Orthodox-Nationalist and it was called Kahanism. Kahanism was influenced by the writings of the founder Meir Kahane. One of the most important documents to Kahane Chai is an essay is called “Hillul Hashem”. This essay was only distributed to members of the Kahane Chai members and opposed the current Zionist ideo-theology at the time. The features in Meir Kahane’s writings that came to define Kach and Kahane Chai are deterministic fundamentalism, the belief that the Jewish people are the chosen people of God, the theory of revenge, and Jewish isolationism.

Conclusion Unsuccessful Lacks credibility Threats without backing Kach/Kahane Chai will not be successful in completing its goal of expelling all Arabs from the territories occupied by Israel because it lacks credibility. Kach, as a political party, only managed to gain one seat in the Knesset before being banned. Kahane Chai has only managed to carry out two larger scale attacks and many lower-level activities but they have not done anything on a large enough scale to be taken as a major threat by the governments of the world. Kahane Chai has threatened and harassed Palestinians, Arabs, and Israeli government officials who have favored the dismantlement of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Kach and Kahane Chai has also set an unrealistic goal to achieve. Wanted to expel all Arabs from the West Bank and take control of the occupied territories alienates Palestinian refugees and Israel citizens and politicians that are opposed to the occupation. In order to complete this goal, Kahane Chai would have to go against the Israeli government and their allies. Without the support of the people, Kach/Kahane Chai’s objectives are just pipe dreams.