Combating right‐wing political extremism in Israel: Critical appraisal
Raphael Cohen‐Almagor · Terrorism and Political Violence · 1997
The aim of this essay is to examine the decision to outlaw the ‘Kach’ and ‘Kahane Is Alive’ movements and to analyze some other measures the Israeli government has utilized in its struggle against political extremism. I argue that while the decision to outlaw the ‘Kach’ and ‘Kahane Is Alive’ movements was justified, resorting to administrative detentions at times which do not constitute real emergency is an utterly unethical and unjustified means in a democratic society. I further assert that Israel should make an exception to its Law of Return to the effect of excluding non‐Israeli members of these two movements from society by denying them the right of obtaining citizenship. Israel would be justified in applying content‐based reasoning to its decision of whether or not to grant citizenship to extreme elements who wish to settle on its soil.