Israeli Terrorism Frightens USA

Israeli terrorism is organized rather weakly, it is represented with only two organizations

The US Department of State has recently announced, several websites had been added on the American list of foreign terrorist organizations. Reuters reported, the list of webpages included: newkach.org, kahane.org, kahane.net, kahanetzadak.com. They have been categorized as terrorist groups' associates..

American authorities believe, the four websites support the ultraright Israeli movement Kach, suspected of organizing acts of terrorism against Palestinians. According to the American law, the financial support and any other assistance to the mentioned sites has  to be banned. The webmasters and other employees of the webpages will not be allowed to obtain visas to visit the USA. In addition, American banks are supposed to block their accounts.

The terrorism issue is not at all new in the Middle East, especially in Israel and Palestine, where terrorist acts have been following one after another for decades. A lot of people talk about the Arab, the Palestinian terrorism, but there is a lot less information about the Israeli terrorism.

Israeli terrorism exists. Some people believe (and they have certain grounds to think so) that even the actions of the Israeli army and special services can be classified as terrorist actions. It goes without saying that Israelis do not agree with this characterization.

The Israeli terrorism is organized rather weakly, it is represented by only two organizations. It is explained both with the successful work conducted by the Israeli special services and with the fact that the majority of population do not accept the ideas of the radical groups. In addition, practically all Israelis who wish to struggle against Palestinians have an opportunity to do it absolutely legally in the Israeli army. Nevertheless, even a weak Jewish terrorist movement is a source of trouble for people of Palestine and Israel.

One group is Kach which translates as "Only Thus." This movement is a rightist separatist organization. It was founded by the American-Jewish Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1972 (the rabbi was born and then murdered in New York). In 1984, Kahane presented his movement to the Zionist parliament of the eleventh convocation. Kahane is known for his talmudistic views: he urged his followers to oust Palestinian Arabs from the entire territory of Palestine that was supposed to belong to Jews only, as he believed. He perceived both Arabs on the whole and Palestinians in particular as a declining (according to the Jewish religion) nationalistic and fanatic group of people. Kahane was using all forms of violence against Palestinians in the occupied territories. He thought that  Palestinians should be persecuted and expelled everywhere.

One of his followers organized an armed attack on a Muslim mosque on April 11th of 1982. Many Muslims were killed and wounded as a result of the attack. The leader of the crime was arrested, but then acquitted and released with the help of the money that he had paid to his attorneys. The majority of his followers are students focused on Jerusalem - they think that both legal and illegal forms of struggle are possible in their activities.

The political structure of the movement is the top level of the organization. Military, financial and ideological organizations lay the foundation of it. The movement directly controls the committee which provides security to the Jewish organizations that have exercised special activity during the first intifada. The movement Kach attempts to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and organizes imprudent skirmishes near the dome.