Israel's Ayatollahs

The far right is now a force to be reckoned with in Israel. A plethora of groups - Kach, Tehiya, Morasha, Gush Emunim - advocate the goal of a greater Israel and the brutal repression of the Palestinians. Here, the authors talk to the leaders of the far right, about their aims, methods, and attitudes towards religion and state.

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The far right is now a force to be reckoned with in Israel. A plethora of groups - Kach, Tehiya, Morasha, Gush Emunim - advocate the goal of a greater Israel and the brutal repression of the Palestinians. These groups represent a growing threat not only to Middle East peace, but to the established political order in Israel itself. Raphael Mergui and Philippe Simonnot talk to the leaders of the far right about their aims, methods, and attitudes towards religion and the state. In an extended interview, Meir Kahane - former FBI agent, co-founder of the Jewish Defense League and founder of the extreme-right Kach movement in Israel - argues that the Jewish state cannot be democratic, secular and multi-racial, and that Arabs should be expelled from Israel and the occupied territories. Such men are no longer part of a lunatic fringe. They are gaining increasing respectability and a mass following. They are Israel's Ayatollahs.