Q&A: Rabbi Meir Kahane
Rabbi Meir Kahane
Question
Not the racist, but the candidate for the position of Chief Rabbi. Did you know him in Yeruham? If so, and setting aside for a moment your well-known view of the institution of the Chief Rabbinate, what do you think about his being chosen as the Religious Zionist candidate for Chief Rabbi?
Answer
Just now I sent him congratulations, and I wrote to him that I never dreamed, even in my wildest dreams, that I would send best wishes to a candidate for Chief Rabbi. I wrote that I would be happy to be proven wrong and discover that this institution can be repaired, and that purifying it does not require breaking it. But I am very skeptical.
Rabbi Meir is, in my view, a very worthy person. A good and wise man, but unfortunately the position probably has its effect.
That aside, he is not the candidate of Religious Zionism but the candidate of a few Haredi creatures (with a few additions) who appointed themselves as representatives of the entire Religious Zionist public. But that is already a different discussion.
Discussion on Answer
“Unfortunate terminology” — unfortunate terminology
“\”Unfortunate terminology\” — unfortunate terminology” — unfortunate terminology
“He is not the candidate of Religious Zionism but the candidate of a few Haredi creatures.” Could you please give some explanation for your words? Many thanks in advance.
Sociologically, those who are also identified by the public as Haredi are vehemently opposed to him (they identify him with Rabbi Goren):
https://www.kipa.co.il/%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%98%D7%99/1159174-0/
It seems to me that this points to a flaw in the Rabbi’s theory according to which everyone to the right of the Rabbi is Haredi. There are shades of gray in the world too.
Haredi,
The overwhelming majority of the collection of rabbis who convened in the committee to locate the Religious Zionist candidate (certainly those on that committee’s leadership) are national-Haredi, that is, Haredim who say Hallel on Independence Day. So to view the person who was chosen (who is a worthy person and one I like very much) as the candidate of Religious Zionism is a bad joke.
Y.D.,
It seems to me that if you think for another minute you’ll discover on your own the flaws in what you wrote (beyond the flaw obvious to all in using the oxymoron “a flaw in Michi Abraham’s theory”).
The overwhelming majority of the committee members are national-Haredi?! Are you serious? Rabbis Ariel, Lior, Blumentzweig, Dudkevitch, Bornstein, Bigel, Guttel, Re’em, Weitman, Carmel, Medan, Perl, Kula, Shilat—are they national-Haredi?! And that’s just from the ones I know; I assume there are others who can’t be classified as Haredi and I simply don’t know them.
When you’re against something (Bibi / the Rabbinate), you paint all of it black (in both senses).
You’re joking, right? Rabbis Lior and Ariel aren’t Hardalim?! Define Hardal.
Likewise Rabbis Bornstein, Dudkevitch, etc. Even in the list you presented there is a respectable number of hardcore Haredim.
The leadership that led this was entirely like that (except perhaps Rabbi Blumentzweig). That’s what I meant.
“Haredi creatures” — unfortunate terminology