Meir Kahane: Encyclopedia II - Meir Kahane - Political legacy continued

Meir Kahane - Political legacy continued

Following Kahane's death, no charismatic leader emerged to fill the void, and Kahane's radical ideology declined in popularity among Israelis. However, two small Kahanist factions later emerged: one under the name of Kach and the other Kahane chai (Hebrew: כהנא חי, literally "Kahane lives [on]"). In 1994 following the massacre in the Cave of the Patriarchs by a Kach supporter, the Israeli government declared both to be illegal terrorist organizations^{[4] [5]}. The U.S. State Department has also added Kach and Kahane Chai to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Providing funds or material support to these organizations remains a criminal act to this day, both in Israel and the U.S. In 2005, Israeli politician known under the pseudonym Obadiah Shoher assembled a group of followers, and claimed to be the true follower of Kahane. The group was named Samson Blinded after Shoher's book, Samson Blinded: A Machiavellian Perspective on the Middle East Conflict, a compendum of Kahane's ideas.

In autumn of 2000, as the Al-Aqsa Intifada began, Kahane supporters spray painted graffiti on hundreds of bus shelters and bridges all across Israel. The message on each target was identical, simply reading: "Kahane Was Right".

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Political legacy continued", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki