Q&A: Rabbi Meir Kahane
Rabbi Meir Kahane
Question
What is your opinion of Rabbi Kahane?
Do you see any flaw or disqualification in a person who studies and appreciates Rabbi Kahane and takes part in events commemorating him, despite his racist views toward the Arabs, on the grounds that this is how he understood Jewish law and that he sincerely and wholeheartedly believed that this was their legal status? Is it proper to distance oneself from him even though he was a Torah scholar who held this as the halakhic ruling? By the way, many rabbinic authorities (maybe even most Orthodox rabbis) agree with all these halakhic rulings of Rabbi Kahane, and even with more extreme ones (“we raise them up but do not lower them” and other “racist” things), except that they find various halakhic justifications to avoid these commandments, whereas Rabbi Kahane implements these things in actual practice. In essence, how is Rabbi Kahane different from the other rabbis?
Answer
Indeed, I do not agree with many of his statements, but there is nothing wrong with someone who appreciates him or participates in some ceremony in his memory. And you are also right that many hold like him and do not have the courage to rule that way, or refrain for technical reasons. In my opinion, he is genuinely mistaken and not merely for technical reasons, but as stated, that does not change anything. Someone who appreciates him and identifies with him because of these positions is mistaken, but not disqualified.