They Must Go
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1981. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. [6], 282 pages. Index. DJ has wear, tears, soiling and chips. “Every day,” writes Rabbi Meir Kahane, “the Arabs of Israel move closer to becoming a majority. Are we [Israel] committed to national suicide? Should we allow demography, geography, and democracy to push Israel closer to the abyss? According to Rabbi Kahane, Israel can only be sustained by a permanent Jewish majority and a small, insignificant, and placid Arab minority. But the Arab population continues to grown quantitatively and qualitatively. They openly vow to destroy the Jewish state – with the democratic vote. In this explosive manifesto Rabbi Kahane sets forth the only plan to save Israel. Israeli Arabs would be given the options of accepting noncitizenship, leaving willingly with compensation, or being forcibly expelled without compensation. Controversial? Yes. “For Jews and Arabs in Israel there is only one answer – separation. Jews in their land, Arabs in theirs. Separation. Only separation.” They Must Go was written in 1980 while Rabbi Meir Kahane was jailed in Ramle Prison by the Israeli government under an unprecedented administrative detention order that imprisoned him without a trial, without his being informed of any specific charge, and without opportunity to know or to question any alleged evidence or witness. Rabbi Kahane’s ideas were suppressed, defamed, and subjected to hysterical diatribes by people who were too frightened to consider them intelligently or to debate them intellectually. Is there a time bomb ticking away relentlessly in the Holy Land? Can Arabs and Jews ultimately coexist in a Jewish-Zionist state? Rabbi Meir David HaKohen Kahane (August 1, 1932 – November 5, 1990) was an American-born Israeli ordained Orthodox rabbi, writer, and politician who served one term in Israel's Knesset. A cofounder of the Jewish Defense League and founder of the Israeli political party Kach, he espoused militant views and actions to combat anti-Semitism that led to a 1971 criminal conviction in the United States for conspiracy to manufacture explosives intended for the Soviet Mission to the United Nations in New York City, and in Israel for plotting to blow up the Libyan embassy in Brussels in revenge for the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich; in each case he received a suspended sentence and probation. His legacy continues to influence militant and far-right political groups active today in Israel. Kahane publicized his "Kahanism" ideology, which he claimed was simply Torah Judaism based on Halakha (Jewish law), through published works, weekly articles, speeches, debates on college campuses and in synagogues throughout the United States, and appearances on various televised programs and radio shows. He was an intense advocate for Jewish causes, such as organizing defense squads and patrols in Jewish neighborhoods and demanding for the Soviet Union to "release its oppressed Jews". He supported violence against those he regarded as enemies of the Jewish people, called for immediate Jewish mass migration to Israel to avoid a potential "Holocaust" in the United States, supported the restriction of Israel's democracy to its Jewish citizens, hoped that Israel would eventually adopt Halakha, and endorsed the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Kahane proposed enforcing Halakha as codified by Maimonides. Non-Jews wishing to dwell in Israel would have three options: remain as "resident strangers" with limited rights, leave Israel and receive compensation for their property, or be forcibly removed without compensation. While serving in the Knesset in the mid-1980s Kahane proposed numerous laws, none of which passed, to emphasize Judaism in public schools, reduce Israel's bureaucracy, forbid sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews, and end cultural meetings between Jewish and Arab students. In 1968, Kahane was one of the co-founders of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) in the United States. In 1971, he co-founded Kach ("Thus"), a new political party in Israel. The same year, he was convicted in New York for conspiracy to manufacture explosives and received a suspended sentence of five years. In 1984, he became a member of the Knesset, when Kach gained its only-ever seat in parliamentary elections. Kahane was boycotted across the aisles of the Knesset, and would often speak in front of an empty chamber. The Israel Broadcasting Authority similarly avoided coverage of his activities. In 1988, after polls showed Kach gaining popularity, the Israeli government banned Kach for being "racist" and "anti-democratic" under the terms of a law that it had just passed. Kahane was assassinated in a New York City hotel by an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen in November 1990. Condition: Very good / Good.
Keywords: Arabs, Jews, Israel, Palestine, Demography, Separation, Coexistence, Noncitizenship, Expulsion
ISBN: 0448120267
[Book #81711]
Price: $100.00