Israel Matzav

Jeffrey Goldberg and the 'Messianics'

If you happen to be a Jew who believes in Maimonides' 13 principles of faith, one of which is a belief in the future coming of the Messiah, then Jeffrey Goldberg is really, really scared of you.

Jeffrey Goldberg, respected Jewish-American journalist, felt it was his duty to broadcast to humanity that Jews who believe in the coming of a Messiah - thus earning the "messianic" adjective - are a clear and present danger to world peace. That belief in the coming of a Messiah constitutes one of the 13 Principles of the Jewish Faith, adhered to by all observant Jews throughout history, without a single resultant incident of bloodshed or violence, is irrelevant. For Jeffrey, the important point was to draw a false equivalence between Islamist fanaticism and Jewish virtue; to ensure that civilized people learn to be frightened of Jews, particularly Jews who lovingly adhere to the statutes of their faith, no less than they are of Islamists, and preferably more so. Mission accomplished, indeed.

But wait, there's more! Who are these "messianic" Jewish terrorists, and where are they hiding?

"A few months ago," Jeffrey helpfully directs us, "I visited a building in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City owned by a radical yeshiva." Aha! So that's where the "messianic" Jewish terrorists are encamped, biding their time to strike the blow that ends the world. Camped illegitimately, Goldberg likely wishes to add, it being the Muslim Quarter, and thus the dreaded and preferably Judenrein "West Bank".

To my knowledge, which I admit is limited (where's Yaacov when you need him), the only yeshiva of any prominence in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City is Yeshiva Ateres Cohanim. Here it is on Google Maps, in relation to the Temple Mount. Here's a brief video (click the link, I command you) about the yeshiva, encompassing the history of the place, which has been a center of Jewish learning since 1886, when it was known as Yeshiva Torath Chaim (pictured on the right, 1920s).

That's right, the building now home to Ateres Cohanim housed a yeshiva long before the international community decided that Jews should not be allowed to live in "East" Jerusalem, and longer still before Jeffrey Goldberg decided that any Jew who lives in "East" Jerusalem is a "radical". What's more, the building is the sole survivor of the Jordanian occupation, during which time the other 80 yeshivas and synagogues in the Arab controlled portions of the city were destroyed. The building laid empty after the Arab pogroms of 1936, entrusted to an Arab caretaker, until Israel reunified Jerusalem in 1967.

That wasn't the only effort by Goldberg this week to 'protect' the World from 'messianic Jews.' Earlier in the week, he went after David HaIvri (pictured above), executive director of the Shomron Liaison Office, and an occasional source of news for this blog.

I would only note that the person Rep. Gohmert is standing next to, David Halvri, is someone I met in the 90s when he still called himself David Axelrod (no relation, as far as I can tell, to the other David Axelrod), and when he was a leader of the Kach movement, founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, and of Kahane Chai, the successor organization to Kach. Kach men, of course, are fascist fundamentalists. HaIvri was arrested in Israel for celebrating the death of Yitzhak Rabin; he was also jailed for six months for desecrating a mosque. He has also been associated with groups that have been included on the State Department list of terrorist organizations. Just noting this for the record.

In the paranoia of the 1990's, lots of people were arrested for 'celebrating the death of Rabin' (something that absent a threat to someone else would probably constitute free speech in the US by the way). In one apocryphal story I recall from that time, a Jerusalem barber asked "who is next in line" and someone responded "Shimon Peres." Someone called the police and the person was promptly arrested. So I don't put much stock in saying that someone was arrested for 'celebrating the death of Rabin.' Most of them weren't.

As to Kach/Kahane Chai, one of the deep, dark secrets of this country is that many Jews believe Kahane was right about a lot of things (although most of us - including me - would not support the use of violence to induce Arabs to leave). Consider our national anthem, the possibility of Israel having to choose between being a democracy or being a Jewish state (something about which Goldberg himself has expressed concern), and the fact that three years ago, 76% of Israeli Jews surveyed said they favored transferring 'Israeli Arabs' to a 'Palestinian state' if one is ever - God forbid - established. Kahane never envisioned a 'Palestinian state,' but he did favor transferring 'Israeli Arabs' to Arab countries. If you think that's unreasonable, go here and see what the very mainstream Daniel Gordis has to say about it.

As to Goldberg's claims about Kach/Kahane Chai being 'terrorist organizations,' they were in fact so designated, but at the request of an ally of the United States: The Government of Israel. The Israeli government feared that - given the opportunity - many Jews would vote for Kahane, and that just didn't fit in with the branja's plans. So they excluded Kahane from the 1988 elections (something which has never been done to any anti-Zionist Arab parties) and went around the world asking that his organizations be declared terrorist organizations.

By the way, the MEK in Iran and the PKK in Kurdistan were also both designated as terror organizations at the request of then-US allies Iran (under the Shah) and Turkey, respectively. Today, James Jones, formerly President Obama's National Security Adviser, favors removing the terrorist designation from the MEK. Sometimes designation as a terrorist organization is politically influenced.

For those who know little or nothing about Kahane (who was murdered in 1990 a few blocks from my office at the time), here's a video of a 1984 debate between Kahane and Ehud Olmert on ABC's Nightline. Who do you think won?

Let's go to the videotape. More after the video.



But for the record, I am told by mutual friends that David has been squeaky clean since he got married - no arrests, no Kach/Kahane Chai activities and no more youthful indiscretion. And there's a good chance that Congressman Gohmert (R-Tx) had no idea who David is or what his background is, before during or after that photo shoot.

And in another cheap shot, the normally pro-Israel Harry's Place asked why HaIvri was allowed into the US. As it happens, unless he's given it up, David is a US citizen (who has dual citizenship with Israel, just like I do).

Labels: Ateret Cohanim, David HaIvri, Jeffrey Goldberg, Kach, Kahane Chai, MEK, PKK, Rabbi Meir Kahane, Yitzchak Rabin

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:34 AM