President Herzog, anti-Bibi protesters argue Kahanism in Israeli government

President Isaac Herzog stated that Kahanism needs to be removed from the government after being confronted by anti-Netanyahu protesters demonstrating outside of the President’s Residence (Beit Hanassi) in Jerusalem on Saturday.

The statement came as protestors claimed he was not doing enough for the hostages and "did not represent those who did not believe in the government."

7 דק׳ של שיחה בין הנשיא הרצוג למפגינים מחוץ לביתו. השיחה החלה בכך שהרצוג אומר שהמפגינים עושים לו עוול, המשיך ואמר שהוביל מהלכים ״ענקיים״ כדי לעצור את המשבר החוקתי, הוסיף שההתקפה על ג׳ית היא לא סכנה לדמוקרטיה אלא ״מעשה חמור ביותר אבל המערכת מטפלת״ והוסיף כי כעת אין סכנה לדמוקרטיה… pic.twitter.com/u8Knv9SUB0

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Herzog said that the demonstrators were doing him an injustice and that he had taken extensive steps to prevent a constitutional crisis.

He hit back, saying that he was representing the whole country and trying to create a sense of unity. He pointed out that he had called for the creation of a unity government and had been ignored by both sides of the political spectrum.

Denounce Kahanism!

The protestor asked him what unity could exist in the country with Kahanism present in the government and how he could possibly represent them if he wanted unity with Kahanists.

After accusing Herzog of collaborating with Kahanists, he said, "On the contrary, Kahanism should certainly be removed. Kahanism should be removed from the government."

The demonstrators pushed him further, calling on him to say that "Ben-Gvir was not legitimate."

Herzog responded by saying that was the Knesset's choice. He referred to events in the Bennett-Lapid government when people had called on the President to intervene in the political crisis.

He clarified that it was not his decision to make and that the decision of legitimacy should be decided in the Knesset, saying, "I believe in the will of the people."

He said it was not the president's place to intervene in public political discussions. He also said the protestors had a "legitimate struggle" and that if he believed there was a threat to democracy, he would intervene.

Demonstrators then asked him about the riots in Jit that happened before the weekend, to which he said was a "serious incident" and was already being processed by the legal system. 

The demonstrators, clearly dissatisfied with the answer, continued to push him, leading him to ask, "What more do you want? The perpetrators were arrested the very same night."

What is Kahanism?

Debates about the political legitimacy of figures such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are generally tied to his ideological progenitor, Meir Kahane, and his eponymous ideology, Kahanism.

Kahane's party, Kach (Power), achieved a single seat in the 1984 elections and was blocked from running in elections in 1988 and 1992 under a new law that blocked parties that incited racism from running.

Kach was finally banned in 1994 under Israel's anti-terrorism laws after one of its members, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Muslim worshippers in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

Kach and its successor group, Kahana Chai (Kahana Lives), are both considered terrorist organizations in Israel, Canada, the European Union, and the United States..