Image: Ha’aretz.
Kahanism is a realist Israeli/Jewish nationalist position. It asserts the need for the Jewish people to live by their own standards, acting toward self-determination, preserving their own methods and values against the norming and entropy that is the default of the world. We were fortunate to get in an interview with Jonathan Stern, a Kahanist thinker and political force who has spoken in the past in defense of pan-nationalism.
What is Kahanism, and how does it differ from other Zionist, pro-Jewish or pro-Israel movements?
Kahanism is a right wing Jewish nationalist movement founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. The ideology of Kahanism is known as the “Jewish Idea” and teaches that the Jewish people must form a Jewish-only ethno-national state in the Land of Israel which would be governed by Torah Law, not democracy. One obstacle to forming such a state is the presence of millions of Arab Muslim occupiers, who migrated into the land of Israel over the centuries since the Roman Dispersion in 70 AD, so Rabbi Kahane was extremely active in advocating for their deportation en masse from Israel and this is what he is most famous for.Â
However Kahanism isn’t just about Israel. Kahanism also espouses a global worldview which promotes nationalism in across the world and opposes multiculturalism. Kahanism is a traditionalist ideology which opposes liberalism, drug use, rap music, tattoos, promiscuity, homosexuality and other sexual perversions, and opposes intermarriage and the cultural assimilation of Jews into gentile society. One of the core tenets of Kahanism is “every Jew a .22”, and Kahanists believe that in order to be strong and free, Jews must arm themselves.
Hence Kahanism is extremely pro-2nd amendment and you will be hard pressed to find a Kahanist that doesn’t carry (or at least own) a firearm. Rabbi Kahane fiercely supported the war in Vietnam, (even writing a book about it called The Jewish Stake in Vietnam) and was a ferocious enemy of Communism, notoriously leading a violent campaign of terror against the USSR in the 1970s and 80s. Kahane also supported Apartheid in South Africa.
In regards to the United States: we believe that America was built as a White, Judeo-Christian country and that this is what has led it to be great. We do not hate Blacks for being black, nor do we hold animosity towards members of any other race simply because of their being born into that race. However we realize that multiculturalism and “diversity” are destroying the fabric of this country, and see that this experiment of a giant ethnic melting pot made up of people sharing no ethnic identity, cultural commonality or history is a disaster and is ultimately unsustainable. Hence we feel a natural kinship with White, Christian Americans who have allowed us to flourish in this country, and to whom we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude.
While Kahanism is a branch of Zionism, most Zionists consider us to be racists, bigots and right-wing extremists since we oppose western democracy, and reject the idea of a secular, socialist, multicultural Israel where Arabs are given full rights as citizens. There are several different factions within Zionism, [which are] Labor Zionism (Socialist/Communist), Revisionist Zionism (Capitalist/democratic), and Religious Zionism (Religious/Statist). While Kahanism is a form of Religious Zionism, it is much less tolerant and politically correct than mainstream Religious Zionism which believes in peace with Arabs and promotes “religious and ethnic tolerance.”
Would you say it was “right wing,” as the media does, and if so, do you consider nationalism to be a right-wing view?
I would say that at least according to today’s concepts of left and right, Kahanism certainly falls well within the right-wing camp. Accordingly, nationalism in and of itself also falls within the category of “right wing” under those same notions.Â
What drew you to this viewpoint, and how has it changed your life since?
I became involved in Kahanism at a very early age, as a result of the Crown Heights Riots in 1991, where blood-thirsty black mobs rampaged through the streets of that New York City Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, murdering and pillaging at will; while the NYPD (under the order of Black leftist mayor Dinkins) stood by watching and allowed it to happen.
This event taught me several things: that no matter what the liberal Jewish establishment tells us, blacks and other minorities are not our friends, and liberal politicians will allow Jews to get killed in order to pander to their votes. I understood that we can never rely on others to protect ourselves, and that Jews must arm themselves and train hard for communal defense. And it made me understand that even though we are ethnically unique and a nation unto ourselves, Jews are White and that Jews in America must live among Whites and unite with our fellow Whites in order to defend ourselves against these savages.
I became very close with Rabbi Binyamin Ze’ev Kahane, the son and heir of Rabbi Meir Kahane, (Binyamin [was] later murdered by Islamic Terrorists in the West Bank in 2000) and I have been active ever since. Kahanism has empowered me to be a strong, proud Jew, brought me to serve in the Israel Defense Forces and fight for the land of Israel, and has inspired me to advocate and pass on my ideology to others.
How much has Kahanism been revived by the victories of Trump and other right-leaning events, like Brexit and Hungary shifting right, and possible quasi-nationalist victories in the Netherlands and France?
It is impossible to even begin to quantify the degree to which Kahanism has been revived by Brexit, the victory of Trump, and the rise of the National Front in France and other populist movements in Europe. What we have in common with all these movements is that we are all Nationalists. The Torah teaches us that there are 70 nations, each with its own language, identity and culture, and that this is the way G-d intended the world to be.
Artificial and unnatural globalist entities such as the European Union destroy the boundaries between one nation and the other, and these boundaries exist in order to maintain balance in our world. People across the western world today are waking to up to how destructive multiculturalism has been to all but the globalist elite and third world savages, and are revolting against this globalist tyranny which has already caused so much damage and mayhem. These nationalist victories have given us a shot of energy not seen in decades.
Each day, more and more people are flocking to our cause and joining the ranks of our movement. After almost two decade of being practically inactive, we are now having large events and rallies where hundreds of excited young people attend and bring their friends. Our online presence has also elicited a tremendous response from supporters (both Jewish and Gentile) from across the globe, wishing to lend us support.Â
Theodor Herzl wrote that the only way to escape persecution by national populations was to become a national population, effectively ending the diaspora. Do you think this is possible and, if so, what form would it take?
Herzl was correct in his assessment that the Jewish people will eventually need to become a national population, all residing in our own homeland in the land of Israel, and that this will be the only practical solution to defeat antisemitism. Now, mind you, I didn’t say, end antisemitism; I said defeat it, because antisemites will always hate the Jewish people no matter where we are, and will always attempt to annihilate us, even as a national population in our own land. However if we create a powerful ethno-national Jewish state with the right ideology, we will be able to fend off these attacks and no enemy will ever succeed in defeating us.Â
The problem with this is the practical aspect. First of all we have the current state of Israel, which is frankly a disaster. It was established as a secular, socialist state, built on the Soviet model by avowed communists. Instead of adopting Torah Law as its basis, it adopted western values and a tailor-suited version of “democracy” in order to run things. The result has been where you have a state that on the one hand claims to be Jewish, yet on the other allows millions of homicidal Arabs to reside and vote there, even though they are murdering Jewish citizens every day.
The state also prides itself on its gun control, Socialism, embracing “gay rights,” and promoting every disgusting Cultural Marxist perversion under the sun. There is a large population of right-wing religious Jews there who would gladly put the state on the right course, but the Globalist leaders stymie them and go so far as to employ draconian measures such as arbitrary arrests and administrative detention (open-ended jail terms without trial or access to legal council) in order to silence them. Rabbi Kahane’s political party, Kach, was banned in Israel by left-wing socialist Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin in 1994, and so Jewish Nationalists like us are essentially unable to advance our cause there for the time being.
We hope that eventually we will be able to replace this disgraceful entity with a true Jewish State, a State of Judea, and that at that point all the Jews of the world (left wing multiculturalists excluded) will be able to return there and fulfill this dream. We are fighting hard each and every day for that to occur. But for the time being, it seems that right wing Nationalist Jews can accomplish much more to advance our goals while living in the United States. We may have to wait a long time to all return to our homeland, but we have unbreakable faith that one day it will happen.
How must Israel deal with the problems of hostile populations within its borders, such as Palestinians, and hostile populations elsewhere in the middle east, such as many of the more fundamentalist Muslim states?
If Israel was a true Jewish state, it would round up all Muslims within its borders and expel them to any other Muslim country as Rabbi Kahane proposed. Once they are expelled, the problem of an internal security threat will cease to exist. In regards to fundamentalist Muslim States in the Middle East, there must be a policy of an iron fist. If any one of them so much as dares to lift a finger against the Jews, they must be attacked brutally and punished to the point where they will never again consider belligerence.
If that means random carpet bombing of their cities and killing large amounts of civilians (such as what the US and Britain did to Dresden and Tokyo in WWII), so be it. Aside from this iron fist policy, there is no reason for us to intervene to overthrow secular Arab dictators (such as Saddam Hussein, Bashar Assad, Moamar Ghaddafi, and Hosni Mubarak) so long as those dictators keep to themselves and do not bother us in our own land. What happens between them and their people is their own business and none of our concern. We do not need to be in the business of “promoting democracy” in the Middle East.
Do you think it is reasonable, realistic and logical for the United States to ban some Muslim immigration?
I think it is reasonable, realistic and logical to ban all Muslim immigration into the US. The question is only one of if there is a will by the people. I believe a majority of Americans support banning Muslims from coming here. The only thing standing in our way is a handful of radical left wing activist judges. Just like a majority of this country rejected homosexual “marriage” yet these activist judges ignored the popular will and forced it down the everybody’s throat, and more recently with the activist San Francisco Federal Judges overturning Trumps lawful executive order banning Muslims, these judges are the real obstacle standing in our way. And the truth is that there is a very simple solution to this problem: just ignore their rulings.
There is actually precedent for this in our history. In the 1830s the Supreme Court refused to allow the removal of Indians from their lands in the South, but the President just ignored them and did it anyway. These judges only have as much power as we are willing to give them. If Trump were to completely ignore their rulings and force policy, what power would they really have to stop him? Of course this again comes down to the question of if there is a will by the American people to do this. Because if there is, nothing can stop us. But there is another elephant in the room here staring us in the face which we can not afford to ignore.
What about all the Muslims already here? Even if you banned every Muslim in the world from setting foot in America, you’d still have several million “Muslim Americans” who are already established here AND have been committing ALL of the Islamic terror attacks we have faced in recent years. Why is everyone ignoring them? Why should their piece of paper stating that they are US citizens differentiate them from a Muslim fresh off the Boat from Syria or Afghanistan? In fact, they are much likelier to commit an attack than a new comer from the Middle East. So the only answer in regards to effectively solving this problem is for all Muslims to be actively removed from the United States, including those who are American Citizens. Of course the ACLU will cry “racism!”, but at the end of the day, this is the only way to make America safe and no other proposal will ever actually work.
What do you think is the future of the “melting pot” model of the United States? If Herzl was correct, would this not lead to an internal clash of civilizations between different minority groups?
I believe that the “melting pot” model of the United States is an unworkable disaster and is bound to lead to a horrific end result. Without a doubt, this will lead to a massive clash of civilizations among different populations which is likely to descend into a full-out civil war. I am sure if Herzl were alive today, he would tell you exactly that.
You have told Haaretz newspaper that Richard Spencer is “a white nationalist who stands up for white people and there is nothing wrong with that.†Does this mean you believe in pan-nationalism, or nationalism for all ethnic groups?
I am a Jewish Nationalist first and foremost, but Jews are White, so naturally I recognize the logic behind White Nationalism. One should promote his own ethnicity first and foremost before he promotes the interests of others. Blacks do this, Muslims do this, Hispanics do this, so should Whites. So I respect Spencer for his level-headed advocacy in defense of the White Race. I definitely believe in nationalism for all ethnic groups.Â
How do you reconcile the need for the principle of nationalism with the fact that this will involve supporting others who are hostile to Jews, or even derive some inspiration from National Socialism or Islam? Can nationalists “work together separately”?
Being a nationalist means putting the interests of one’s own nation above all else. If working with people who are somewhat antisemitic would advance our national goals, I would have no problem doing this. I would even work with Muslims if it helped our cause. I will give you one example where we actually did this to great effect. In 2005 an international (George Soros funded) homosexual coalition planned a massive gay festival in Jerusalem called “Inter-pride,” which was supposed to include gay parades, marches, film festivals, concerts, conferences, and numerous parties which always descend into sickening drugged-out gay orgies.
I was in Israel at the time, and we realized that in order to stop this abomination from taking place, we would need to join forces with other groups which we are unfriendly with, but share our anti-gay agenda. We reached out to the Catholic Church, Protestant denominations, Orthodox Christians, and even the Muslim Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. As a result of the contacts we made, all of these leaders joined forces with the Ashkenazi and Sefardic Chief Rabbis of Israel and held a massive press conference to denounce and reject this disgusting event. In the end, the Israeli government caved under pressure and cancelled the Sodomite festival. I have never worked with Muslims (or other enemies) ever since, and I hope I never have to again. But If I have to in order to achieve an important goal, I will.
However there are limits. There is no way at any point in time and for any reason that I (or any other Kahanist for that matter) would ever work with or join forces with Nazis or anyone who believes in or promotes any form of Nazism. That would make us sell-outs to our own people. However unlike many other Jews, I do recognize that most White Nationalists are not Nazis, and I hope to build strong working relations with various WN groups and leaders.
Do you think that “Leftist Jews” create enmity that is then attributed to Jews in general, and that perhaps the problem with certain high-profile Jewish people is their Leftism, not their Jewishness?
I absolutely agree that leftist Jews cause a tremendous amount of antisemitism. For instance, several high-profile leftist Jews were very active with the ANC fighting to undermine the White Government in South Africa during the 70s and 80s. The White South Africans welcomed them into their country, gave them freedom and enabled them to become wealthy and successful, and in return they stabbed South Africa in the back in favor of a bunch of bongo-beating, machete-wielding savages who deeply hate Jews and consider us useful idiots.
I am solidly convinced that the antisemitism of Eugene Terreblanche and the AWB was a direct result of this stab in the back by these few, vocal Marxist Jews, because in general the Boers are very pro-Jewish and pro-Zionist. And to be honest with you, I can totally understand them if that was the experience they had with Jews. Same goes for the liberal Jews in America who marched to end segregation in the South in the 60’s, end the Vietnam War and those that are promoting open borders, multiculturalism, diversity, homosexuality, transsexuals, abortion, debauchery, and every perversion under the sun today. If I was a hard-working, red blooded White American and constantly saw Jews promoting this garbage which undermines the nation that my ancestors fought so hard to build and maintain, I’d probably hate Jews too!
However what these folks don’t realize is that those outspoken, liberal Jews do not represent Judaism in any way and do not speak for all Jews. They only represent the spineless, Reform and Conservative, multi-culturalist SJW Jews, whose loyalty is not to G-d or Judaism, but rather to globalism and their own perverted selves. These pathetic Ghetto-Jews make Jews like me absolutely sick, and we commit ourselves to countering them at every opportunity possible.
Despite this, there will always be a segment of the population that no matter what, would and will always hate Jews. If every Jew in the world voted republican, supported Nationalism, heterosexuality, gun rights, etc, etc, they would still want to exterminate us, because they are Amalekites and that is their nature. These types of antisemites only understand a Jewish fist, and that is exactly what we intend to give them.Â
Do you think that Jewish people are more prone to Leftism than other groups, and if so, why? Do you see this as an inherent tendency, or an adaptive one related to being outsiders among national populations, or having some kind of internal conflict about being part of a religious/cultural/ethnic minority in a time when all of those things are somewhat taboo?
I think that proportionally, secular Jews in America are more likely to be liberals than members of other populations. I think the reason for this is that almost 2000 years of exile from their homeland, and living under a variety of oppressive foreign rulers has not only broken their fighting spirit, but caused them to adopt a perpetual victim identity and to always identify with the perceived underdog. Whereas, I see the Inquisition, the pogroms, and the Holocaust, and say that never again will my people be helpless victims of persecution.
I have learned to be strong in body and spirit and, to own firearms and prep for the day when I may have to defend my family and community. These libtard Jews on the other hand saw these same events and came to a diametrically different conclusion. They see that since this was done to us, we need to make sure that this will never again be done to any other people. So they start out by feeling compassion for poor, persecuted minority groups all across the world, and then they end up deluding themselves into believing that by advancing a “progressive” agenda, helping all the poor suffering illegal immigrants, Syrian refugees, “persecuted” homosexuals and transvestites, they are actually fulfilling a divine mission to make the world a better place. It’s delusional, but they seriously believe this, and their reform and conservative quack “Rabbis” egg them on with this garbage.Â
This “social justice” insanity can be broken, but it will take for these confused Jews to return to Torah and adopt an Orthodox lifestyle for their years of brainwashing to be broken and reversed. I know many people like this who grew up in convoluted Reform and Conservative leftist households, eventually saw that it was empty and fake and turned to Orthodoxy. Once they became religious and broke their ties with their former communities, they were able to see the farce that these liberal Jews believe in as what it is.
One thing to consider is that while these secular leftist Jews are quickly dying out due to a low birth rate and intermarriage with gentiles, the Orthodox Jewish population is growing rapidly due to a high birth rate and almost no intermarriage. Orthodox Jews are generally much more politically right wing, and solidly vote republican. In fact, most would be considered very far to the right, especially in regards to social issues. Demographics can not be ignored, and the Judaism of America’s future is Orthodox, not Reform or Conservative, so keep in mind that the politics are already changing now and will continue to change in the future.
If people want to support Kahanism, or follow your work, how can they do so and is there a way that they can donate or support you?
If people would like to follow us or get involved, we are active on Facebook. Just search for “the Kahanist Movement.” We get shut down regularly by Facebook for “promoting racism,” so don’t be surprised if that happens again. But as fast as they shut us down, we always start up again. We’re also getting active on Twitter. If anyone wants to contact or donate to the Kahanist movement, you can call us at (718) 395-7405, or email Gennadiy: [email protected].
This was an amazing interview that gives all of us quite a bit to think about. Thank you, and best of luck plus our support in your quest!
Tags: interview, jonathan stern, kahanism, nationalism