Two former members of the ultra-nationalist Kach party, who had allegedly sprayed graffiti that called for the expulsion of Arabs and the annihilation of a Gaza village, were arrested early Tuesday morning in Sderot, Israel Radio reported.
The two were arrested under the suspicion of vandalizing property after they reportedly sprayed the words
"Kahane was right. There is a solution [and it is] to expel the Arab enemy," and "we must erase Beit Hanun."
The Kach movement - designated a terror organization and outlawed 18 years ago - revealed last week that it intends to petition the High Court of Justice to reinstate its legal status and allow its members to run for the Knesset.
Rabbi Meir Kahane, the movement's founder, was a militant proponent of forcing Israel's Arab population to leave the country.
Kach logo spraypainted on a cement block. Hebrew script reads, "Kahana Hai": "Kahane Lives"
The United States Department of State designates the group as a terrorist organization and says that it has engaged in terrorist activity by
- using explosives or fire arms with intent to endanger the safety of individuals or cause substantial damage to property
- threatening and conspiring to carry out assassinations
- soliciting funds and members for a terrorist organization
The State Department also says that the group is suspected of involvement in a number of low-level attacks since the start of the Second Intifada in 2000.
Stated goal is to restore the biblical state of Israel. Kach (founded by radical Israeli- American rabbi Meir Kahane) and its offshoot Kahane Chai, which means “Kahane Lives,” (founded by Meir Kahane’s son Binyamin following his father’s assassination in the United States) were declared terrorist organizations in March 1994 by the Israeli Cabinet under the 1948 Terrorism Law.
This followed the groups’ statements in support of Dr. Baruch Goldstein’s attack in February 1994 on the al-Ibrahimi Mosque— Goldstein was affiliated with Kach—and their verbal attacks on the Israeli Government. Palestinian gunmen killed Binyamin Kahane and his wife in a drive-by shooting in December 2000 in the West Bank. The group has organized protests against the Israeli Government.
Kach has harassed and threatened Arabs, Palestinians, and Israeli Government officials, and has vowed revenge for the deaths of Binyamin Kahane and his wife. These organizations are suspected of involvement in a number of low-level attacks since the start of the al-Aqsa intifadah.
In April 2002, Israeli police arrested a former Kach spokesman in connection with an attempt to leave an explosive-packed trailer outside a Palestinian girls’ school and hospital in East Jerusalem. However, reports vary on Kach’s involvement with this plot. The planned July 20, 2005 Israeli withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza and parts of the West Bank has heightened concerns that ultranationalists may perpetrate attacks against Palestinians or attempt to assassinate Israeli leaders.
In the 2003 elections former Kach leader Baruch Marzel ran as number two on the Herut – The National Movement party list. The party narrowly missed obtaining a seat. In 2004 he founded the Jewish National Front, which gained 24,824 votes in the 2006 elections - about 0.7% of the populace, and about 40% of the minimal number of votes required for entry to the Knesset.
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1 comment:
Your readers may be interested to listen to Meir Kahane's views firsthand. They can download his videos here: samsonblinded.org/blog/and-if-youre-looking-for-a-messiah.htm The downloads are full DVD and sound quality is way better than on google video or youtube.
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