Far-right politics in Israel

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Flag of Kach, a former ultranationalist political party in Israel

Far-right politics in Israel encompasses ideologies such as ultranationalism, Jewish supremacy, Jewish fascism, and Anti-Arabism.[1] 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 West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Kahanism is an example of a far-right ideology active in Israeli politics.

History

In Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948)

Propaganda poster of the Irgun - a Zionist militant group that operated in Mandatory Palestine. In the picture - the map shows a future Jewish state defined in the borders of both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.

Prior to the establishment of Israel, far-right Jewish groups were based on Revisionist Zionism, which promoted the Jewish right to sovereignty over all of Mandatory Palestine, through the use of armed struggle.[2] Revisionist Zionism's ideological and cultural roots were influenced by Italian fascism. Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the founder of Revisionist Zionism, believed that Britain could no longer be trusted to advance Zionism, and that Fascist Italy, as a growing political challenger to Britain, was therefore an ally.[3][4]

In 1923,

Jewish immigration and Jewish land purchase in Palestine, and proposed the creation of a binational Jewish-Arab Palestine.[16]

The conflict between the Zionist militias and the British Army intensified following the publication of the White Paper of 1939; 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.[17] 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, shot and killed 5 Arab civilians.[18]

In 1967

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.[19] This victory resulted in the revival of "territorial maximalism," with aspirations to annex and settle these new territories.[20] The new borders included large portions of additional land, with some Israeli political leaders redefining the borders in accordance with the vision of Greater Israel.[21] 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.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]

Kach party (1971–1994)

Main article: Kach (political party)

The

Jewish theocratic state, in which only Jews have voting rights.[24] Kach additionally argued that Israel should annex the 1967 Israeli-occupied territories because of their religious significance.[25][26] 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.[25][27] 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.[28] Kach earned a single seat in the Knesset in the 1984 Israeli legislative election.[29][30]

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.[31] 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.[32] Kach activists were frequently entering 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.[33] 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 seizing the citizenship of Arabs in Israel.[34] 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."[35]

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.[36] 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.[37] 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.[37] Kach was later barred from the 1988 elections, and its appeal was denied by the Supreme Court.[37] 1994, following Baruch Goldstein's massacre of 29 Palestinians at the Cave of the Patriarchs, Israel designated Kach, which Goldstein supported, as a terror organization.[38][39] In 2012, the Otzma Yehudit party, an ideological successor to Kach, was founded. Its leader at the time, Michael Ben-Ari, was a member of Kach. In 2021 Israeli legislative election, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a follower of Kach, was elected as a representative of the Otzma Yehudit party.[40]

Oslo Accords

Rabin delivering his speech at the 4 November 1995 rally, shortly before his assassination

The far-right in Israel opposed the

SS uniform.[45][46][47] His mission was to monitor the activities of right-wing extremists, and he allegedly knew of Yigal Amir's plans to assassinate Rabin.[48]

Israeli disengagement from Gaza

Protest against the evacuation of the Israeli settlement Kfar Darom

The Israeli disengagement from Gaza, headed by Ariel Sharon, included the removal of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip as well as several West Bank settlements, and resulted in protests and riots from Jewish settlers.[49][50][51] Posters covering the streets stated that "Ariel Sharon had no right to give up parts of the Land of Israel". The settlers managed to secure the support of Ovadia Yosef, then-leader of Shas party, who instructed Shas members of the Knesset to vote against the disengagement plan.[52][53] Three settlers burned themselves alive in protest of the disengagement.[54][55][56] By September 12, 2005, the eviction of all settlers from the Gaza Strip and demolition of their houses was completed,[57][58] bringing Israel's 38 years of military rule over the Gaza Strip to a halt.

Current cabinet of Israel

The 37th Cabinet of Israel, formed on December 29, 2022, following the Knesset election on November 1, 2022, has been described as the most right-wing government in Israeli history,[59][60][61][62] as well as Israel's most religious government.[63][64] The coalition government consists of seven parties — Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, Noam, and National Unity — and is led by Benjamin Netanyahu.[65]

Judicial reforms

In 2023, as part of a campaign for judicial reform, a bill known as the "reasonableness" bill was passed in Israel. This controversial law limited the power of the Supreme Court to declare government decisions unreasonable.[66] In one instance, more than 80,000 Israeli protesters rallied in Tel Aviv against the far-right government's plans to overhaul the judicial system.[67] In early 2024, the Supreme Court of Israel struck down the reform[68] on the grounds that it would deal a "severe and unprecedented blow to the core characteristics of the State of Israel as a democratic state".[69]

Israel–Hamas war

Israel's far-right ministers have made controversial comments during the 2023

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter told Israeli Channel 12 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.[70][71] Israel's Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu said in an interview that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was "one of the possibilities".[72][73] Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said 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".[74][75] Israel's Minister for Advancement of Women May Golan said "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."[76]

Courses of action

The far-right in Israel have used a variety of ways over the years to achieve their political goals. These include far-right parties such as Kach, Otzma Yehudit, and Eretz Yisrael Shelanu being represented in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.[77] Establishment of unauthorized Israeli outposts in the West Bank is also common among far-right extremist groups, such as the Hilltop Youth.[78][79][80][81] Jewish extremist terrorism was carried out by extremists within Judaism, including the assassination of Palestinian mayors by the Jewish Underground group, the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, the murder of the boy Mohammed Abu Khdeir, and the Duma arson attack.[82][83] Further, "price tag attacks" have been committed in the occupied West Bank by extremist Israeli settler youths against Palestinian Arabs, and to a lesser extent against left-wing Israelis, Israeli Arabs, Christians, and Israeli security forces.[84][85] Finally, political violence committed by far-right extremists, such as the murder of Emil Grunzweig, the attempted assassination of Zeev Sternhell, and the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.[86][87]

Criticism

Several journalists and human rights groups such as B'Tselem, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch claim that the ideology advocated by the Israeli far-right are fascist and racist towards Palestinians, Arab citizens of Israel and immigrants. They see it as a danger to democracy, and claim that it uses violence and encourages violation of human rights.[88][89][90][91] President of the United States Joe Biden said Benjamin Netanyahu's government contained "some of the most extreme" members he had ever seen.[92]

See also

References

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