Two Israelis Express Surprise over Support in the U.S. Jewish Community for Kahane’s Views

Two Israelis — one Arab, the other Jewish — who have completed a two-week speaking tour in the U.S., said here that they were surprised by the support within the American Jewish community for the views of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the leader of the ultra-nationalist Kach Party, who advocates the ouster of all Arabs from Israel.

Rafik Halabi, an Israeli journalist who is a member of the Druze sect, and Rabbi Moshe Habertal, a leader of Netivot Shalom, an Israeli religious peace group, came to the U.S. as Leadership Fellows under awards from the New Israel Fund, a group which works for civil rights and Jewish-Arab cooperation in Israel. They spoke yesterday at a press conference at the American Jewish Committee.

“I have confused impressions from the meetings with American Jews,” Halabi said. “We met many Jews who support Kahane, but at the same time we met many Jews who are for pluralism and democracy in Israel.”

“I found that the American Jewish community is divided along the same line as the Israeli society,” Habertal said. He said that he is bothered by the use of “religious propaganda” by Kahane and his supporters to gain inroads among American Jews. “Fighting Kahanism is fighting for the soul of Judaism,” he asserted.

The two agreed that continued Israeli occupation of the West Bank is harmful for the future of Israel and for democracy in Israel.

“There is an apartheid in the West Bank,” Halabi charged. He said that there are two separate sets of laws for Israelis and for Arabs in the West Bank. “Israel cannot control the West Bank and have at the same time a democratic, pluralistic society,” Halabi said.

Habertal said: “As religious Zionists, we believe that life is more sacred than territory and we are willing to trade territories for peace.”

According to Halabi, “there is a mistrust between Arabs and Jews in Israel.” There is a need, there fore, Halabi maintained, “to encourage Arabs and Jews to talk to each other and to cooperate.”

“We are trying to break the stereotype of Arabs and Jews in Israel,” Harbetal said. “We are trying to create an atmosphere in which mutual talks can take place.”