We must say 'enough' to Kahanism in the Knesset's opinion

The 25th Knesset and the 37th Government of the State of Israel have presented us with a series of unprecedented events, decisions and phenomena that pose a significant threat to Israeli democracy and the future of Israeli society.

The most serious of these is the entry of Kahanism into the mainstream of Israeli politics and the legitimacy this ideology is gaining among large sections of politics, even in unexpected places. For example with a young secular woman from Tel Aviv.

Last week, Minister of Social Equality and Women’s Advancement May Golan – a member of the Likud, once the party that led the boycott against Meir Kahane in the Knesset – put on one of the most embarrassing displays on display in the plenum, as she shouted and waved her arms. In an attempt to defend the tarnished honor of Michael Ben-Ari, a declared Kahane supporter who has been disqualified from running for the Knesset.

You can only imagine what Menachem Begin and Isaac ShamirMay they rest in peace, she would have said if they heard her words. They are undoubtedly turning in their graves.

The dramatic shift in attitudes toward the Kahanist ideology and its proponents is perhaps the most significant change Likud has undergone since its founding and until the decline that now grips the party under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

MK May Golan visits MK Itamar Ben-Gvir’s makeshift office in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, February 14, 2022. (credit: Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

Netanyahu has not just normalized Itamar Ben-Gvir and its Kahanist doctrine, but has also turned them from minor players into the tone setters of the Israeli right. In many ways, he facilitated and encouraged the infiltration of Kahanism into the heart of his party, opening the Likud’s doors to it.

His partners in the Likud leadership, who indulge in dreams of succession, will find in the future that Kahanism will show them the way out of their own party.

Over the past two years, Kahanism has ceased to be just a phenomenon whose normalization must be fought. This racist and anti-democratic worldview has not only caught on with a certain audience, but has also been treated lightly by a much broader audience, including players and institutions that should have taken a clear and uncompromising stand against it.

What is required of us today is no longer a ‘battle for containment’, but a concentrated effort to push this dangerous phenomenon from the center of Israeli existence to the extreme and illegitimate edges to which it belongs.

A significant part of the Israeli media should be criticized for nurturing Ben-Gvir and normalizing his Kahanist views, as well as the distorted relationship between him and some journalists and media outlets.

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Another major problem is the capitulation of key figures in the national-religious public to the currents emerging from the Lehava and Otzma Yehudit movements, and the difficulty of developing a clear and strong theological, educational and communal alternative to these trends present.

However, criticism of the complete normalization of Kahanism should primarily be aimed at the political system and the politicians. Among those who fail to fulfill their duties is, of course, Netanyahu, who paved the way for Ben-Gvir to the Knesset, to the cabinet table and to his dramatic influence on the rule of law.

Netanyahu’s inaction regarding Ben-Gvir’s dangerous actions, such as changing the status quo on the Temple Mount, is no less serious and consequential than his failures and actions that led to the October 7 disaster, and the signs on the wall are clear.

BUT NETANYAHU is not alone responsible and guilty. Kahanism has taken a vicious hold, thanks in part to politicians and parties from the ostensibly liberal Center, who have sat on the fence or, worse, joined the right.

Over the past two years, the opposition has failed in many crucial tasks – one of which is the clear and vehement opposition to the penetration of Kahanism into the political mainstream. I look today to my colleagues in the Liberal parties and ask how it is possible that what was a glaring red line for the Likud leaders in the past is no longer a red line for us today.

Examples of extremism: We have only seen the tip of the iceberg

The calls to settle Gaza and Lebanon, support for the violence of extremist settlers in the territories, calls for revenge and the bloodlust to which we are subjected, the blatant violation of the status quo on the Temple Mount, the takeover of the police, the reckless distribution of weapons, attempts to the subordination of the National Guard under the command of Ben-Gvir, and the complete disregard for the bloodshed in the Arab communities – these are just the tip of the iceberg of the future that awaits us if we fail to dismantle the legitimacy Ben-Gvir’s Kahanism has won.

The rejection of this legitimacy requires a clear line to be drawn in the political and public sand. It requires setting clear and unambiguous boundaries. That is why my fellow MK Naama Lazimi and I announced at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset that we would boycott any Knesset speech. Ben-Gvir.

On the face of it, this is a symbolic step, but we attach it to a call and demand to return to fundamental principles regarding what is legitimate and illegitimate in Israeli politics. This simple and fundamental step, once shared by all Zionist parties, must become the hallmark of the political forces committed to the future of Israeli democracy.

We expect our friends in the opposition to take over, and we hope that the wider public, who have filled the streets for the past two years, will join this demand from their representatives.

Our inaction has led to this dangerous change. It’s time to use our feet and our voices to say: enough.

What is required of us today is no longer a ‘battle for containment’, but a concerted effort to push this dangerous phenomenon from the center of Israeli existence to the extreme and illegitimate margins to which it belongs.

The writer is a Labor Party MP.