Baruch Meir Marzel ( he, ברוך מאיר מרזל, born 23 April 1959) is an Israeli politician and activist. He is an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

originally from Boston who now lives in the Jewish community of Hebron in

Tel Rumeida Tel Rumeida ( ar, تل رميدة; he, תל רומיידה), also known as Jabla al-Rahama and referred to by Israeli settlers as Tel Hebron is an archaeological, agricultural and residential area in the West Bank city of Hebron. Within it, l ...

with his wife and nine children. He was the leader of the far-right-oriented

Jewish National Front The Jewish National Front ( he, חֲזִית יְהוּדִית לְאוּמִּית, ''Hazit Yehudit LeUmit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym, Hayil (Hebrew: ), is a religious far-right Otzma Yehudit Otzma Yehudit ( he, עָצְמָה יְהוּדִית, , Jewish Strength', or 'Jewish Power) is a far-right political party in Israel, which has been referred to as Kahanist and anti-Arab. It was originally formed as Otzma LeYisrael (; lit., ''S ...

. He was the "right-hand man" of assassinated

Rabbi Meir Kahane Meir David HaKohen Kahane (; he, רבי מאיר דוד הכהן כהנא ; born Martin David Kahane; August 1, 1932 – November 5, 1990) was an American-born Israeli ordained Orthodox rabbi, writer, and ultra-nationalist politician who serv ...

, acting as spokesman for the American-born rabbi's Kach organization for ten years. The mainstream Israeli press has described him as an "extreme right-wing activist".

Biography

Marzel was born in 1959 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, and emigrated to Israel with his family when he was six weeks old, settling in Jerusalem's

Bayit Vegan Bayit VeGan ( he, בית וגן, lit. ''House and Garden'') is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. Bayit VeGan is located to the east of Mount Herzl and borders the neighborhoods of Kiryat HaYovel and Givat Mordechai. History Bronze Age A 4 ...

neighbourhood. Although his father Shlomo was a respected educator who did not deal much with politics, Baruch joined Kahane's Jewish Defense League at age 13. He gave up his US citizenship when he ran for the Knesset. He served in the IDF

Armored Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

and fought in the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

, participating in battles along the Beirut-Damascus highway, after which he served in the United States as a representative for Sar-El. Marzel and his wife Sarah have nine children.

Political activism

From his youth, he participated in the Kach movement, and for nearly a decade, he served as its spokesperson. Marzel was elected head of the Kach movement's secretariat, after Kahane was assassinated in New York. A

splinter group A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

from Kach,

Kahane Chai Kach ( he, כך, lit=Thus) was a radical Orthodox Jewish, ultranationalist political party in Israel, existing from 1971 to 1994. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1971, based on his Jewish-Orthodox-nationalist ideology (subsequently dubbed Kaha ...

, was led by Kahane's son

Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane ( he, בנימין זאב כהנא‎ 3 October 1966 – 31 December 2000) was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and the son of Rabbi Meir Kahane. Born in New York City, he emigrated to Israel with his family at the age of four, ...

. In 2003, Marzel joined

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...

and

Paul Eidelberg's Paul Eidelberg (born 1928) is an American-Israeli political scientist, author and lecturer, and is the founder and president of The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy, with offices in Jerusalem. He is also president of the Yamin Yisrael Part ...

Yamin Yisrael party to become the number-two candidate on the party list, after

Michael Kleiner Michael Kleiner ( he, מיכאל קליינר; born 4 April 1948) is an Israeli politician and was the leader of Herut – The National Movement He is currently the President of the Supreme Court of the Israeli Likud party. Biography Michael Kl ...

, in the bid to enter the 16th

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

session. The election advertisements featured him prominently with the traditional Hebrew saying "Hazak U'Baruch" (literally, ''strong and blessed'', he, חזק וברוך), a pun on Marzel's first name. Herut narrowly missed the minimum number of votes needed to enter the Knesset. In 2004, he founded the

Jewish National Front The Jewish National Front ( he, חֲזִית יְהוּדִית לְאוּמִּית, ''Hazit Yehudit LeUmit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym, Hayil (Hebrew: ), is a religious far-right2006 elections. During the election campaign, Marzel called on the Israeli military to "carry out a targeted killing against (left-wing figure)

Uri Avnery Uri Avnery ( he, אורי אבנרי, also transliterated Uri Avneri; 10 September 1923 – 20 August 2018) was an Israeli writer, politician, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat for t ...

and his leftist collaborators". This came in reaction to Avnery earlier saying on Israeli radio station

Kol Israel ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcasti ...

that the assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi was a Palestinian "targeted killing", like the Israeli military's "

targeted killings Targeted killing is a form of murder or assassination carried out by governments outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield. Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a subject of contention within and betw ...

" of Palestinian political leaders. According to

Gush Shalom Gush Shalom (Hebrew: גוש שלום, lit. ''The Peace Bloc oalition') is an Israeli peace activism group founded by Uri Avnery in 1993. Avnery–a former journalist, Irgun and Knesset member–also lead the organization till his death in 2018. ...

, "the radio did not quote vnery'snext words: 'I am against all assassinations, both by Israelis and Palestinians.'" Marzel was considered too far-right for Israel's hard-right parties, such as the National Union or the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...

(today's

HaBayit HaYehudi The Jewish Home ( he, הַבַּיִת הַיְהוּדִי, HaBayit HaYehudi) is an Orthodox Jewish and religious Zionist political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet, and Tkuma in N ...

party). Ultimately, the Jewish National Front received 24,824 votes (0.79%), less than half the minimum 2% required to enter the

. In 2009, after fellow party member

Michael Ben-Ari Michael Ben-Ari ( he, מיכאל בן ארי, born 12 October 1963) is an Israeli politician, and former member of the Knesset. During the 18th Knesset, Ben Ari was a member of the National Union party, until it broke up as elections for the 1 ...

won a seat in Knesset on the

National Union (Israel) The National Union ( he, האיחוד הלאומי, ''HaIhud HaLeumi'') was an alliance of right-wing and nationalist political parties in Israel. In its final full form, the alliance consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael ...

list, Marzel agreed to serve as Ben-Ari's parliamentary aide. Marzel had originally planned to run independently. They eventually agreed not to submit their party's list on their own, and instead placed Ben-Ari on the National Union party list. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, Marzel ran for the Knesset again, this time on the third slot of the newly founded

Otzma LeYisrael Otzma Yehudit ( he, עָצְמָה יְהוּדִית, , Jewish Strength', or 'Jewish Power) is a far-right political party in Israel, which has been referred to as Kahanist and anti-Arab. It was originally formed as Otzma LeYisrael (; lit., ''S ...

party, which splintered from National Union. However, the party failed to cross the electoral threshold. Prior to the election, other right-wing parties, such as the Jewish Home party, had rejected including or co-operating with Marzel, considering him to be too outspoken and too far-right. Prior to the 2015 Israeli election, Marzel was put 4th on the Yachad-

Otzma Yehudit Otzma Yehudit ( he, עָצְמָה יְהוּדִית, , Jewish Strength', or 'Jewish Power) is a far-right political party in Israel, which has been referred to as Kahanist and anti-Arab. It was originally formed as Otzma LeYisrael (; lit., ''S ...

technical bloc. Marzel's inclusion came as a result of a compromise between the two parties, including the exclusion of Michael Ben-Ari and the inclusion of Marzel. In February 2015, the Election Committee disqualified Marzel, along with Arab MK

Haneen Zoabi Haneen Zoabi ( ar, حنين زعبي, he, חנין זועבי; born 23 May 1969), is a Palestinian-Israeli politician. The first Arab woman to be elected to the legislature on an Arab party's list, she served as a member of the Knesset for ...

, from running in the election. The decision squeaked by with a 17 to 16 majority. The decision came after past attempts to block Marzel failed. The reasons given for the disqualification of Marzel were several statements attributed to him, which groups petitioning the move claimed qualified as "racism". Following Marzel's appeal, The Supreme Court accepted the appeals by both MK Haneen Zoabi and Marzel, against the decision of the Central Election Committee (CEC), which decided to disqualify them from participating in the next Knesset. In the end, the Yachad-Otzma bloc failed to pass the election threshold by a mere 11,000 votes, thus not entering the Knesset. Marzel and Ben-Ari started the process in November 2022 of launching a new party that would be to the right of Otzma Yehudit. He is a writer for the Israeli newspaper

Arutz Sheva ''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew, English, and Russian as well as ...

Legal issues

Baruch Marzel was first arrested by police at age 14. His first conviction followed three years later. According to a 2003 report in the Israeli newspaper ''

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

'', "Marzel had acquired a police record of some 40 files before he was 30". The report goes on to detail his criminal record, including assaults on Palestinians (one earning him a 12-month suspended prison sentence), an Israeli police officer, an Israeli left-wing activist, and the journalist

. In August 2012, Israeli police arrested Baruch Marzel at the entrance to the town of Kiryat Arba over his failure to report for questioning. He was suspected of being involved in several incidents in Hebron that took place six months prior, in which several Palestinians allegedly were attacked. In 2014, Yariv Oppenheimer, chairman of Peace Now, signed a police complaint against Marzel alleging threats against his life by his followers. On his Facebook page, Oppenheimer wrote that he is "exiting the police station now, worried and pessimistic. The telephone won't stop ringing, and on the other end, human scum who follow Marzel continue to curse and threaten." In March 2015, six days before the 2015 legislative election, the Judea-Samaria District Police filed charges in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court alleging that Marzel attacked a Palestinian Arab in 2013. According to the indictment, on 8 February 2013, Marzel entered the home of Hebron resident

Issa Amro Issa Amro (Arabic: عيسى عمرو; April 13, 1980) is a Palestinian activist based in Hebron, West Bank. He is the co-founder and former coordinator (2007-2018) of the grassroots group Youth Against Settlements. Amro advocates the use nonvio ...

, as the activist was passing through to visit the Cave of the Patriarchs, and began attacking the Palestinian for "unknown reasons" after Amro demanded he leave. Marzel's attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir slammed the indictment, saying it "stinks of election tampering". This was echoed by Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who stepped in to demand an explanation as to why the indictment came two years after the incident. In February 2017, Marzel was arrested after clashing with police while protesting the demolition of

Amona Amona may refer to: Places * Amona, Goa, a village in Goa, India * Amona, Mateh Binyamin, an Israeli outpost in the central West Bank *Isla de Mona Mona ( es, Isla de Mona) is the third-largest island of the Puerto Rican archipelago, after the ...

, a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Controversies

Anti-LGBT activism

Marzel has in the past advocated violence towards homosexuals in Israel, calling for a

religious war A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to ...

against them during a radio interview. In 2006, in the days leading up to a planned gay pride parade in Jerusalem, Marzel reportedly stated that, "The stabbing incident during last year's parade will seem minor in comparison with what is anticipated this year. We have to declare a holy war." Marzel also was involved in the controversial March 2009 flag parade through

Umm al-Fahm Umm al-Fahm ( ar, أمّ الفحم, ''Umm al-Faḥm''; he, אוּם אֶל-פַחֶם ''Um el-Faḥem'') is a city located northwest of Jenin in the Haifa District of Israel. In its population was , nearly all of whom are Arab citizens of Is ...

. He led protests against the eighth Jerusalem Gay Pride parade of 2010, opining that " omosexualityis a disease of choice, and a man can change his taste and his ways. When someone has AIDS, they tell them not to infect others, so why are these people allowed to march here in Jerusalem and infect us with their disease?" During the 2012 Gay Pride march in Jerusalem, Marzel led a counter-demonstration in the

ultra-Orthodox Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

neighborhood of

Mea Shearim Mea Shearim ( he, מאה שערים, lit., "hundred gates"; contextually, "a hundred fold") is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem outside of the Old City. It is populated by Haredi Jews, and was built by members of the Old Yish ...

. He brought with him to the demonstration three donkeys. Each of the donkeys bore a sign, one of which read "I'm proud too", a second one read "Proud Donkey", and the third one simply read "Pride March". Five years later, during the 2017 Jerusalem gay pride march, Marzel again led a counter-demonstration. Despite his previous rhetoric, Marzel stated that he did not protest against LGBT people on a personal level, saying: ''"I'm not fighting against these people personally, but against the parade and the phenomenon. ..The nuclear family is a holy thing, and it's important to protect it."''

Anti-assimilation activism

Marzel is seen as a central figure in the anti-assimilation Lehava group, along with Rabbi Ben-Zion Gopstein. In 2006, Marzel sent an open letter to

Linor Abargil Linor Abargil ( he, לינור אברג'יל, sometimes spelled ''Linor Aberjil''; born February 17, 1980) is an Israeli lawyer, actress, model and beauty queen who won the Miss World beauty pageant in 1998, shortly after being raped. Since the ...

, asking her not to marry non-Jewish Lithuanian NBA player

Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas "Šaras" Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. During his playing career, standing ...

. A similar open letter was addressed in March 2010 to Israeli model

Bar Refaeli Bar Refaeli ( he, בר רפאלי; born ) is an Israeli model, television host, businesswoman and actress. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Sw ...

, urging her not to marry her non-Jewish boyfriend at that time, American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Representing the Lehava organization, Marzel tried to convince Refaeli that her ancestors would have opposed such a marriage. In 2013, he was among 50 activists who held an anti-assimilation protest at a wedding between an Arab man and a Jewish woman. In July 2014, Facebook removed Marzel's page after readers complained about incitement.

Baruch Goldstein party

In 2000, Marzel organized a Purim party at the grave of

Baruch Goldstein Baruch Kopel Goldstein ( he, ברוך קופל גולדשטיין; born Benjamin Carl Goldstein; December 9, 1956 – February 25, 1994) was an Israeli-American mass murderer, religious extremist, and physician who perpetrated the 1994 terroris ...

, the religious extremist who perpetrated the 1994

Cave of the Patriarchs massacre The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre or the Hebron massacre, was a shooting massacre carried out by Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli extremist and member of the far-right Kach movement. On 25 F ...

. Marzel was quoted as saying, "We decided to make a big party on the day he was murdered by Arabs."The extremist who could bring Kahanism back to the Knesset
''The Times of Israel''. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015

"The Radical Jew"

A short film about Baruch Marzel called ''The Radical Jew'' was the Winner of Best Short Documentary at the Charlotte Film Festival and the Golden Strands Award for outstanding short documentary at Tallgrass Film Festival.

References

External links

"The Radical Jew" (short film about Baruch Marzel)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marzel, Baruch Israeli criminals Leaders of political parties in Israel American Orthodox Jews American emigrants to Israel Living people Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli Kahanists Israeli settlers Jewish National Front politicians Kach and Kahane Chai politicians 1959 births Otzma Yehudit politicians Former United States citizens Israeli people convicted of assault