Joe Kaufman: "A Kahane Legacy Lost"

*** note: the below article was first published online on Jan. 2, 2001 by Joe Kaufman on the discussion forum of the Jewish Defense League" Source Click Here

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A Kahane Legacy Lost

by

Joe Kaufman
Joe Kaufman

I didn’t know anything about Meir Kahane. I had once seen his name mentioned in a book, in the section entitled, “Jews That We Wished Were Not Jews.” But aside from that, nothing. All that I knew was that, at my college, semester after semester, the Black Student Union brought another prominent antisemitic black Muslim onto the campus to speak, and we (theJewish Student Union) were bringing an “extremist Jew” named Meir Kahane to counteract this. I didn’t know what to expect, but due to the level of racial tension that these cretins caused, and because of the number ofantisemitic actions that took place around campus, after each one of these guys spoke, I can honestly say that I was looking forward to it.I never did get that chance to see him, though. He was murdered seventeen days before the event was going to occur (ironic, how his son has died shortly before I was to have seen him, as well). I recall seeing one of my fellow JSU members crying, after hearing about this. I couldn’t believe that a person that I knew so little about (I was pretty worldly for a college kid) could elicit such feelings in someone… at least someone that wasn’t related or even a friend of the family! But I soon learned otherwise, as I watched the film that was shown in Kahane’s place.It was a film of a speech that he had given previously, and I cannot describe to you properly just how moving it was! I know it affected everyone in the crowd… and let me tell you, this was a crowd that was not used to such subjects! I remember, as if it were yesterday, the words he spoke: “I do not hate Arabs, but I love Jews.” These words stuck in my head. At the time, I questioned why he would say this. After all, it was perfectly understandable, if he were to have hated Arabs. Just like, during the Holocaust, it was perfectly understandable for a Jew to hate Germans.But he said he didn’t hate them, and I took him at his word. And anyway, it taught me a valuable lesson: that you don’t necessarily have to hate your enemy; you just can’t lose sight of the fact that the one that you are fighting (and making deals with) is the enemy.The controversy surrounding Kahane – at least, when it came to his Israel policy – revolved around his strong advocacy for removing (forcibly, if necessary) all Arabs from the Jewish state. This stance gained himpopularity in Israel, which led to him acquiring a seat in the Knesset.This stance also garnered him many enemies, which led to him being removed from his seat in the Knesset. But his followers remained loyal. To this day, one still can read posters tacked and glued around the Holy Land proclaiming, “Kahane was right!”But was he right? Well, first we have to ask ourselves if it is even possible to achieve peace with these people. I mean, can you ever truly make peace with a people whose holy book (god) states that you can never befriend a Jew… and worse? Can the answer(s) be more obvious?!So Israeli officials continue to forge ahead with their “peace” deal. They call it “land for security.” What they truly don’t understand is that the land is their security. Kahane knew this to be the case. And whether you agree with his solution or not, you must agree on this: that Yasser Arafatis a terrorist, and there can be no peace achieved with him, or any of his colleagues for that matter. They are not out for peace; they are out forone thing, and that is blood. While Bill Clinton and Ehud Barak are trying desperately to deal away the Temple Mount and half of Jerusalem, you can hear Kahane screaming down from the Heavens, “Don’t do it!” But as it states in Proverbs, “The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for want of understanding.”When Meir Kahane was assassinated, a huge void was left. His son,Binyamin, tried to fill it, but now he’s gone too… leaving six orphans in his wake and another lifeless body for his mother to grieve over. If the Kahanes’ memory serves us any purpose, it’s to show that trust (and peace) is ultimately between only ourselves. Who will be for us, if not us? It only takes one enemy from within to ruin it for all.

Joe Kaufman is the chairman of Citizens Against Hate and the vice-chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition of South Florida. Please send comments to the Jewish Israeli Magazine, or e-mail Joe at joe4rep@gate.net.
Posted on Jan 2, 2001, 6:32 PMfrom IP address 65.34.37.22