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Jewish religious terrorism is religious terrorism committed by adherents of Judaism, a national religion of Jews, for the purpose of achieving varying political and religious ends. The motivation for Jewish religious terrorism is typically rooted in a fanatical interpretation of the Judaic dogmas and other tenets of faith.

Terminology

As in case with other terminologies such as Christian terrorism or Islamic terrorism, the correctness of usage of term "Jewish religious terrorism" is disputed.

History of Jewish religious terrorism

The most ancient acts of Jewish religious terrorism can be traced back as early as to 1st century, when Jewish political and religous movement called Zealotry sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy land by force of arms. The term Zealot, in Hebrew kanai (קנאי, frequently used in plural form, קנאים (kana'im)), means one who is zealous on behalf of God. Josephus describes the movement as one of the first example of the use of terrorism.

List of Jewish religious terrorist organisations

The following groups have been considered terrorist organizations:

• The Jewish Defense League (JDL) was founded in 1969 by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City, with the declared purpose of protecting Jews from harassment and antisemitism. The JDL has carried out a number of bombing attacks against targets they consider threats to the Jewish people. The FBI’s Mary Doran described the JDL in 2004 Congressional testimony as "a proscribed terrorist group". The National Consortium for the Study of Terror and Responses to Terrorism states that, during the JDL's first two decades of activity, it was an "active terrorist organization.".

• Gush Emunim Underground (1979–84;): formed by members of the Israeli political movement Gush Emunim.

• Brit HaKanaim (1950–53;): an organization operating in Israel from 1950 to 1953 with the objective of imposing Jewish religious law in the country and establishing a Halakhic state.

• Kach and Kahane Chai: A political party founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s and based on his concept of Kahanism, outlawed by the Knesset in 1994 under anti-terrorism laws.

• Keshet (Kvutza Shelo Titpasher): (1981-1989) A Tel Aviv anti-Zionist haredi group focused on bombing property without loss of life

Individuals

Eden Natan-Zada killed four Israeli Arab civilians on August 4, 2005. His actions were criticized by then prime minister Ariel Sharon, as "a reprehensible act by a bloodthirsty Jewish terrorist" .

Baruch Goldstein (December 9, 1956 – February 25, 1994), an American-born Israeli physician, perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in the city of Hebron, in which he shot and killed between 30 and 54 Muslim worshippers inside the Ibrahimi Mosque (within the Cave of the Patriarchs), and wounded another 125 to 150 victims. Goldstein was lynched and killed in the mosque. Goldstein was a supporter of Kach, an Israeli political party founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane that advocated the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the Palestinian Territories. In the aftermath of the Goldstein attack and Kach statements praising it, Kach was outlawed in Israel. Today, Kach and a breakaway group, Kahane Chai, are considered terrorist organisations by Israel, Canada, the European Union, and the United States.The JDL maintains, on its website, "we are not ashamed to say that Goldstein was a charter member of the Jewish Defense League."

Yigal Amir's assassination of Yitzhak Rabin on November 4th, 1995 has been described as terrorism with a religious motivation. Amir was quoted as saying he had "acted alone and on orders from God." and that "If not for a Halakhic ruling of din rodef, made against Rabin by a few rabbis I knew about, it would have been very difficult for me to murder." A former combat soldier who had studied Jewish law, Amir stated that his decision to kill the prime minister was influenced by the opinions of militant rabbis that such an assassination would be justified by the Halakhic ruling of din rodef ("pursuer's decree"). This concept allows for an immediate execution of a person if it saves Jewish life, although the characterization of Rabin as din rodef was rejected as a perversion of law by most rabbinic authorities. According to Amir, allowing the Palestinian Authority to expand on the West Bank represented such a danger.Amir was associated with the radical Eyal movement, which had been greatly influenced by Kahanism.

See also

• Christian terrorism
• Islamic terrorism
• Judaism and violence
• Religious terrorism
• Religious violence
• Sikh extremism
• Zionist political violence

References

1. "Explaining Religious Terrorism Part 1: The Axis of Good and Evil." Section "Terrorism Across Religions." by Mark Burgess. Agentura.ru.
2. Jacobs, Louis (2007). "Judaism". In Fred Skolnik (ed.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 11 (2d ed.). Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. p. 511. ISBN 9780-02-865928-2. Judaism, the religion, philosophy, and way of life of the Jews.
3. Jewish terrorism in Israel. Ami Pedahzur,Arie PerligerTemplate:Ref-en
4. "Democracy isn't easy" by Anne Roiphe. The Jerusalem Post.
5. "Islamic terrorism. On not calling things by their right names" by Steven Poole. Unspeak.net.
6. Zealot, Online Etymology Dictionary
7. Zelotes, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus
8. http://www.cdi.org/friendlyversion/printversion.cfm?documentID=1502
9. ^ Anti-Defamation League on JDL
10. Backgrounder:The Jewish Defense League ADL
11. Federal Bureau of Investigation - Congressional Testimony
12. JDL group profile from National Consortium for the Study of Terror and Responses to Terrorism
13. Lustick For The Land and The Lord: The Evolution of Gush Emunim, by Ian S. Lustick
14. Pedahzur, Ami, and Arie Perliger (2009). Jewish Terrorism in Israel. Columbia University Press. pg 33-36
15. Mark Juergensmeyer. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. University of California Press. ISBN 0520240111.
16. Radical Orthodox Group Terrorizes Secular Israelis. Pittsburgh Press Feb 25, 1989
17. Sprinzak pg. 101
18. Washington Post, 5 August 2005
19. 1994: Jewish settler kills 30 at holy site BBC On This Day
20. 1994: Jewish settler kills 30 at holy site BBC On This Day
21. In the Spotlight: Kach and Kahane Chai Center for Defense Information October 1, 2002
22. In the Spotlight: Kach and Kahane Chai Center for Defense Information October 1, 2002
23. Terror Label No Hindrance To Anti-Arab Jewish Group New York Times, 19 December 2000
24. Kahane Chai (KACH) Public Safety Canada
25. Council Decision of 21 December 2005 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/848/EC Official Journal of the European Union, 23 December 2005
26. Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) U.S. Department of State, 11 October 2005
27. JDL: Frequently Asked Questions
28. • Pedahzur , Avi, Jewish terrorism in Israel, Columbia University Press, 2009, pp 98-110
    • Stern, Jessica (2004). Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill. HarperCollins. p. 91. ISBN 0060505338,. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
    • Mahan, Sue; Griset, Pamala, Terrorism in Perspective, SAGE, 2007, pp 137, 138
    • Mickolus, Edward, The terrorist list: A-K, ABC-CLIO, 2009, p 66
    • Sprinzak, Ehud Brother against brother:violence and extremism in Israeli politics from Altalena to the Rabin assassination 1999
    • Hoffman, Bruce Inside Terrorism 1998 pg. 88
29. Brother against brother: violence and extremism in Israeli politics Ehud Sprinzak, pg. 277
30. ^ Mark Juergensmeyer. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. University of California Press. ISBN 0520240111.
31. Sprinzak, pg. 255

• Jewish terrorism
• Arab–Israeli conflict