Kach

Kach was an ultranationalist Jewish extremist movement founded in 1971 by Rabbi Meir Kahane. It promoted a theocratic Jewish state governed by Halakha and called for the removal of Arabs from Israel and the Palestinian territories, arguing that non-Jews should not have full political rights within the state. The group rejected territorial compromise and sought to advance its aims through political advocacy as well as violent means. It published materials and organized supporters in the 1980s, earning notoriety for its hardline platform and its stance on minority rights in the Jewish state.

In 1994, following the Hebron massacre carried out by Baruch Goldstein, the Israeli government banned Kach and its offshoot Kahane Chai as terrorist organizations. The United States designated Kach as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997, placing it under sanctions and isolating its activities internationally. The movement’s ideology has persisted in fringe circles and diaspora communities, influencing later extremist groups that draw on Kahane’s inheritance, while Kahane Chai continues to operate in various forms and is also prohibited in several countries.

The founder, Meir Kahane, was assassinated in New York City in 1990 by El Sayyid Nosair, an event that intensified the movement’s notoriety and led to further scrutiny of its network. Kach remains a reference point in discussions of political violence within Zionist extremism, illustrating how extremist ideologies can persist beyond organizational bans.