This piece reflects the views of the author, Ezra Briskin, and not those of Emerald Media Group. Send your columns or submissions about our content or campus issues to [email protected].
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In 1984, Meir Kahane won a seat in Israel’s Knesset representing Kach — a Jewish nationalist party he founded and led. His election sparked controversy and concern. Jewish nationalism was not a new concept, but Kahane’s radical and religiously-fueled interpretation of it was. Other members of the Knesset responded accordingly, routinely vacating the Knesset floor when Kahane rose to speak. One year after Kahane’s election, Kach was banned due to racism and Kahane subsequently lost his seat in 1988. Three years later, he was assassinated. For a brief moment, most Israelis breathed a sigh of relief thinking that Kahane’s ideas were a mere remnant of the past. However, this relief would be interrupted by gunfire in 1994 when Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Palestinians in a Hebron Mosque. One year later, Yigal Amir assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Both men were devoted Kahanists. Both men were Jewish supremacists. In 1948, Israel enfolded in its Declaration of Independence, a pledge to “EXTEND our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness.” As Israel celebrates its 75th birthday, though, how is the country following through on this promise? Once again, Israel is forced to reckon with its burgeoning radical religious Zionism problem.
Twenty-nine years after Goldstein’s attack, a new iteration of Kahanist ideology has returned to Israel. Only this time, it has been adopted and embraced by Israel’s mainstream right wing. In the most recent Israeli election, Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and the Religious Zionist party jointly received 5.12% of the national vote and 14 seats in the 25th Knesset. Otzma Yehudit is an ideologically Kahanist party while the Religious Zionist party espouses many of Kahane’s ultra-nationalist beliefs. Crucially, Benjamin Netanyahu — leader of Likud — welcomed these two parties into his governing coalition. In doing so, his right-wing coalition clinched a majority and restored him as Prime Minister. During this process, Netanyahu made several concessions to reach a majority, including installing far-right lawmakers into ministerial roles. Yitzhak Wasserlauf, the Minister of National Resistance, has stated, “When [Palestinians] throw rocks, you have to shoot; when they throw Molotov cocktails, you have to respond with shooting.” Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, who serves as the Minister of Finance and oversees West Bank operations, has described himself as a “fascist homophobe” and called for the Palestinian village of Huwara to be “wiped out” following devastating Israeli settler violence in the region. Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of Otzma Yehudit, was appointed as the National Security Minister, a role that grants him control over the Israeli State Police, among other vital security departments. Ben-Gvir is a committed Kahanist who made a name for himself by defending violent Israeli settlers in court. He also hung a portrait of Baruch Goldstein in his living room even after being elected to the Knesset in 2021.
The election of these figures marks two major changes in Israeli politics. The first is a far-right jolt that is only rivaled by Likud’s initial rise to power in the 1977 legislative election. The second change is the Israeli right wing’s weaponization of the Jewish religion to justify implementing alt-right policies. In doing so, they have created an environment of fear, hate, and restless persecution in Israel. In many ways, Israel’s rise of religious extremism mirrors what is happening in the United States, with bigoted leaders weaponizing religion to reinstate “traditional” themes into mainstream society. Most, if not all, of the leaders of Israel’s right-wing movement promote the idea that Israel solely belongs to the Jewish people, a narrative many conservative Christian Americans echo. However, they have conveniently ignored how narrow their idea of what it means to be Jewish is; who they deem worthy of the land of Israel.
In their eyes, non-Orthodox Jews are not only fake Jews but are an “active danger” to Judaism. The religious right clearly excludes queer Jews, who Bezalel Smotrich views as “abnormal” and whose pride parades are “worse than bestiality,” according to Smotrich. Agnostic and secular Jews, as well as Jews of patrilineal descent, do not fit into the mold of what these bigoted leaders believe to be “authentic” Jews. The scariest part of this harmful rhetoric is that if Israel’s right-wing speaks about Jewish identity like this in public, how are they talking about Palestinians in private?
Just like so many other progressive Jews around the world, my religion has served as a catalyst for my political engagement, especially with Israel/Palestine. As such, I question how some people can take the same religion that taught me how to love and use it to spread hate. I cannot help but question how people who have studied the same texts I have studied, connected with the same liturgy I have connected with, and cared so deeply about the religion I too care so deeply about, concluded that Judaism is a tool for intolerance instead of justice. I wonder how people like Itamar Ben-Gvir can read, “You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20-22) and still believe in unheeded settlement expansion. I am lost at how Bezalel Smotrich can study texts that state, “When you approach a town to attack it, you shall offer it terms of peace” (Deuteronomy 20:10) and still celebrate the pogrom in Huwara in March. I am baffled that any so-called Jew could study the phrase, “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:10), and use it to justify oppressing Palestinian human rights, expanding the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, undemocratically overhauling the judicial system, and speaking ill of Jews who do not perfectly align with their narrow-minded perception of what a Jew is and how they should act. The beauty of the Jewish religion lies in its promotion of individualism and acceptance built upon the everlasting pursuit of righteousness. Israel’s current government fails to understand this.
Growing up, I was told to live my life Jewishly and take immense pride in my religion and how it influences my life. To me, living Jewishly is to “Love peace and pursue peace,” as described in Pirkei Avot 1:12. To me, living Jewishly is to “Not stand idly by while [my] neighbor’s blood is shed,” as prescribed in Leviticus 19:16. Living Jewishly is to spread peace, embrace challenging conversations, think critically of the world we live in, and to love radically. It is to uplift our friends and family, speak out against injustice, and engage in tikkun olam to better the world. Living Jewishly is not to advocate for violence, uproot democracy, and choose to exacerbate conflict when peace is achievable. Living Jewishly is not to be bigoted and malicious.
This radical right-wing ideology is perilous for Israel. The long-term effects of its judicial overhaul, settlement expansion, and illiberal policies are detrimental to Palestinians, Israelis, and diasporic Jews alike. It’s challenging to facilitate discourse about this topic and even more difficult to create tangible change in Israel/Palestine — especially as American students. Here at the University of Oregon, for instance, it oftentimes feels impossible to create true change. We must be honest with ourselves: Oregon is a politically disengaged campus, and it is difficult to engage people on an issue that is occurring 7,000 miles away.
However, young Jews and Oregon students are not voiceless in this conflict. Even if we are physically removed from the Israel-Palestine conflict, we must not let ourselves be intellectually and emotionally detached from it. We must combat right-wing ideology within Jewish spaces, seek out invaluable discourse with Palestinians, and honestly confront the realities facing Israelis and Palestinians today. We must detest intolerance and stand up to hate within and outside of our communities. We must lead, teach, organize, agitate and grow. In essence, we must live and lead Jewishly — because if we don’t, Israel’s ultra-nationalist right will continue to try to speak for all of Judaism. And that is a reality we cannot accept.
