Far-right politics in Israel encompasses ideologies such as

ultranationalism Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...

, Jewish supremacy, Jewish

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

, Jewish fundamentalism,

anti-Arabism Anti-Arab racism, also called Anti-Arabism, Anti-Arab sentiment, or Arabophobia, refers to feelings and expressions of hostility, hatred, discrimination, fear, or prejudice toward Arab people, the Arab world or the Arabic language on the basis ...

, and ideological movements such as neo-Zionism and

Kahanism Kahanism () is a religious Zionist ideology based on the views of Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League and the Kach party in Israel. Kahane held the view that most Arabs living in Israel are the enemies of Jews and Israel ...

. In the 2020s, the term "far-right" has been mainly used to describe advocates of policies such as the expansion of

Israeli settlements Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, opposition to

Palestinian statehood The history of the State of Palestine describes the creation and evolution of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During the British mandate period, numerous plans of partition of Palestine were proposed but without the agr ...

, and imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, the West Bank, and

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948)

Revisionist Zionism

Revisionist Zionism Revisionist Zionism is a form of Zionism characterized by territorial maximalism. Revisionist Zionism promoted expansionism and the establishment of a Jewish majority on both sides of the Jordan River. Developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1920s ...

's ideological and cultural roots were influenced by

Italian fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky; 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940) was a Russian-born author, poet, orator, soldier, and founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in O ...

, the founder of

, believed that Britain could no longer be trusted to advance

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, and that

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

, as a growing political challenger to Britain, was therefore an ally.

Betar (founded 1925)

was a secular Zionist and an extremist nationalist. He was exiled from the British Mandate for supporting armed struggle against the British. In 1923, Jabotinsky established the

Revisionist Zionist Revisionist Zionism is a form of Zionism characterized by territorial maximalism. Revisionist Zionism promoted expansionism and the establishment of a Jewish majority on both sides of the Jordan River. Developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1920s ...

youth movement

Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...

at a meeting in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Latvia. 2 years later in 1925, the Revisionist "Hatzohar" Party was established,Revisionist Zionists
YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern EuropeZe'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky
''Jewish Virtual Library''. as a movement that existed separate from the main Zionist movement, the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

. The term "revisionist" referred to a revision of the

's policies at the time. The

Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...

, a

paramilitary organization, established by Avraham Tehomi in 1931, opposed British rule over Palestine, and was engaged in acts of terrorism against British officers and Arabs, in an attempt to expel them from the land and achieve Jewish sovereignty.Y. 'Amrami, A. Melitz, ''דברי הימים למלחמת השחרור'' ("History of the War of Independence"), Shelach Press, 1951. (a sympathetic account of events, mostly related to Irgun and Lehi). The Irgun joined forces with

and

Hatzohar Hatzohar (), full name Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim (), was a Revisionist Zionist organization and political party in Mandatory Palestine and newly independent Israel. History Hatzohar was founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky and others in Paris in Apr ...

in 1937.

Revisionist Maximalism

Revisionist Maximalism was a short-lived right-wing militant political ideology that was a part of the Brit HaBirionim faction of the Zionist Revisionist Movement created by Abba Ahimeir. Ahimeir was born in Russia in 1897 and migrated to Palestine at the age of fifteen. In 1928 Ahimeir joined Jabotinsky's Revisionist movement and became one of the movement's important activists. In 1930, Brit HaBirionim under Ahimeir's leadership publicly declared their desire to form a

fascist state Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social ...

.Larsen, p377. The Revisionist Maximalist movement borrowed principles from

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

and

and it also drew inspiration from

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

's Italy. Revisionist Maximalists strongly supported the

Italian fascist Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

regime of

and wanted the creation of a

Jewish state In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland for the Jewish people. Overview Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewi ...

based on fascist principles. The goal of the Maximalists was to "extract Revisionism from its liberal entrapment", because they wanted

's status to be elevated to the status of a dictator, and desired to forcably assimilate the population of Palestine into Hebrew society. The Maximalists believed that authoritarianism and national solidarity was necessary to have the public collaborate with the government, and to create total unity in Palestine.

Irgun (1931–1949)

The White Paper of 1939

The White Paper's publication also intensified the conflict between the Zionist militias and the British Army; a Jewish general strike was called, attacks were launched against Arabs and British police, telephone services and power lines were sabotaged, and violent speeches of protest were held for several months. A week after the publication of the

White Paper of 1939 The White Paper of 1939Occasionally also known as the MacDonald White Paper (e.g. Caplan, 2015, p.117) after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary, who presided over its creation. was a policy paper issued by the British governmen ...

, the

planted an explosive device in the Rex cinema in Jerusalem, injuring 18 people, including 13 Arabs and 3 British police officers. On that same day, 25

members attacked the Arab village Biyar 'Adas, forced their way into 2 houses, and shot 5 Arab civilians to death.

Lehi (founded 1940)

The Lehi, also known as the

Stern Gang Lehi (; , sometimes abbreviated "LHI"), officially the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel () and often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemies as the Stern Gang." Blumberg, Arnold. ' ...

, was a

militant group, founded by Avraham Stern in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in 1940. The group split from the

, and sought a similar alliance with

. Lehi also believed that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

was less of an enemy of the Jews than Britain was, and attempted to form an alliance with the Nazis, proposing a Jewish state based on "nationalist and totalitarian principles, and linked to the German Reich by an alliance".Leslie Stei
''The Hope Fulfilled: The Rise of Modern Israel''
Greenwood Publishing Group 2003 pp. 237–238. Avraham Stern, then commander of the Lehi, objected to the

, British plans to restrict Jewish immigration and

Jewish land purchase in Palestine In the 1880s, Jews, predominantly Ashkenazis, Ashkenazi, began purchasing land and properties across Ottoman Palestine in order to expand the collective territorial ownership of the Yishuv. Large Jewish corporations and private Jewish buyers le ...

, and proposed the creation of a binational Jewish-Arab Palestine. calling for an armed struggle against the British instead.

History in Israel

1948-1967

Far right activity in the early years of the State of Israel was partly inspired by the legacy of the British mandate. In 1948, Irgun and Lehi refused to disband and challenged the authority of the Israeli government under

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

. In 1951, a failed attempt to blow up the Knesset was made by an extreme Jewish organization that advocated Halakha-based state.

After the 1967 Six-Day War

In the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

, and the

Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip The occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic began in 1959 following the dissolution of the All-Palestine Protectorate, which had ruled the Gaza Strip as a client state of Egypt since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and its mer ...

. This victory resulted in the revival of " territorial maximalism", with aspirations to annex and settle these new territories. leading some Israeli political leaders to argue for the redefinition of the country's borders in accordance with the vision of Greater Israel. The Movement for Greater Israel, which emerged about a month after the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

ended, advocated for the control over all of the territories captured during the war, including the

, and

. The members of the movement demanded immediate imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the territories. The supporters of the movement were united by a territorial maximalist ideology. During the summer of 1967, far-right nationalists began to establish settlements in the occupied West Bank to establish a Jewish presence on the land.

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

's agreement to return the

to Egypt, as well as his initiation of the Autonomy Plan, caused parts of the political right to radicalise and adopt far-right political ideologies.

Kach party (1971–1994)

The Kach party, founded by

Meir Kahane Meir David HaKohen Kahane ( ; ; born Martin David Kahane; August 1, 1932 – November 5, 1990) was an American-born Israel, Israeli Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox ordained rabbi, writer and ultra-nationalist politician. Founder of the Israeli pol ...

in 1971, was a far-right

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

political party in Israel. The party's ideology, known as

, advocated the transfer of the Arab population from Israel, and the creation of a Jewish theocratic state, in which only Jews have voting rights. Kach additionally argued that Israel should annex the 1967

Israeli-occupied territories Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prio ...

because of their religious significance. The party's motto, "Rak Kach" , was derived from the motto of the

, a Zionist militant organization active in the 1940s. In the

1973 Israeli legislative election Legislative elections were held in Israel on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 79%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I'', p125 The election was postponed for two months because ...

, Kach won 0.81% of the total votes, falling short to pass the electoral threshold, which was 1% at the time. In the next elections in 1977, Kach failed once again to win enough votes for parliamentary presence. Kach earned a single seat in the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

in the

1984 Israeli legislative election Legislative elections were held in Israel on 23 July 1984 to elect the eleventh Knesset. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977 Israeli legislative ele ...

. Shortly after

was sworn in as a member of the Knesset, he made his first media-oriented provocation by announcing his plan to open an emigration office in the Arab village of

Umm al-Fahm Umm al-Fahm ( , ''Umm al-Faḥm''; ''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 Palestinian citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm ...

. He stated that his plan was to offer residents of the village financial incentives to leave their homes and the country. The town declared a general strike shortly after, and roughly 30,000 people, including liberal Jews, arrived at Umm-al-Fahm to prevent Kahane from entering the town. The

Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

initially decided to accompany Kahane with 1000 police officers as he marched, but later decided to cancel Kahane's march altogether, in concern of negative consequences. Kach activists frequently entered

Arab localities in Israel Arab localities in Israel include all population centers with a 50% or higher Arab population in Israel. East Jerusalem and Golan Heights are not internationally recognized parts of Israel proper but have been included in this list. According to ...

, distributing propaganda leaflets in demonstrations, provocatively raising the Israeli flag, making Arabs sign the

Israeli Declaration of Independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

, threatening them against moving to majority-Jewish towns, and convincing Arabs to leave the country. Some of

's legislative initiatives were mostly related to the "Arab problem" in Israel, intending to separate Jews and Arabs in public swimming pools, banning romantic relations between Jews and Arabs, and revoking the citizenship of Arabs in Israel. In his book, "They Must Go", Kahane wrote: "There is only one path for us to take: the immediate transfer of Arabs from

Eretz Yisrael The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

. For Arabs and Jews in

there is only one answer: separation, Jews in their land, Arabs in theirs. Separation. Only separation." One bill which he proposed required the imposition of a mandatory death penalty on any non-Jew who either harmed or attempted to harm a Jew, as well as the automatic deportation of the perpetrator's family and the perpetrator's neighbors from Israel and the

. The Supreme of Israel struck down his initiatives, on the grounds that there was no precedent and provision for them in the

Basic Laws of Israel The Basic Laws of Israel () are fourteen quasi-constitutional laws of the Israel, State of Israel, some of which can only be changed by a supermajority vote in the Knesset (with varying requirements for different Basic Laws and sections). Many of ...

. To limit the potential influence of anti-democratic parties such as Kach, the

, in 1985, proposed a new amendment to exclude parties that negate the democratic character of Israel. Kach was later barred from the 1988 elections, and its appeal was denied by the Supreme Court. 1994, following Baruch Goldstein's massacre of 29 Palestinians at the

Cave of the Patriarchs The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews by its Biblical name Cave of Machpelah () and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham (), is a series of caves situated south of Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the ...

, Israel designated Kach, for which Goldstein previously stood as a Knesset Candidate, as a terror organization.

The Oslo Accords and the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin

The far-right in Israel opposed the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

, with Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

being

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in 1995 by a right-wing Israeli extremist for signing them.

Yigal Amir Yigal Amir (born May 31, 1970) is an Israeli right-wing extremist who assassinated the incumbent prime minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995, at the conclusion of a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel. At the time of the murder, he ...

, Rabin's assassin, had opposed Rabin's peace process, particularly the signing of the

, because he felt that an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would deny Jews their "biblical heritage which they had reclaimed by establishing settlements".Smith, Charles D. ''Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict A History with Documents'', , pp. 458 Rabin was also criticized by right-wing conservatives and

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

leaders who perceived the peace process as an attempt to forfeit the

occupied territories Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling powe ...

and a surrender to Israel's enemies. After the murder, it was revealed that

Avishai Raviv Avishai Raviv (; born 8 June 1967) is a former agent of Israel's Shin Bet (Shabak), Israel's domestic intelligence service, whose mission was to monitor the activities of right-wing extremists. His code name was 'Champagne' ().Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

agent and informant. Prior to Rabin's murder, Raviv was filmed with a poster of Israeli prime minister

in an SS uniform.Ex-Undercover Agent Charged as a Link in Rabin Killing
''The New York Times'', April 26, 1999 His mission was to monitor the activities of right-wing extremists, and he allegedly knew of

's plans to assassinate Rabin.

2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza

The Israeli disengagement from Gaza, headed by

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

, included the removal of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip as well as several West Bank settlements, and resulted in protests and riots from Jewish settlers. Posters covering the streets stated that "Ariel Sharon had no right to give up parts of the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

". The settlers managed to secure the support of

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...

, then-leader of

Shas party Shas () is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily represents the interests of S ...

, who instructed Shas members of the Knesset to vote against the disengagement plan. Three settlers burned themselves alive in protest of the disengagement. By September 12, 2005, the eviction of all settlers from the

and demolition of their houses was completed, bringing Israel's 38 years of military rule over the

to a halt.

Political parties in 21st century

Moledet (1988–2013)

Moledet () was a minor party established by

Rehavam Ze'evi Rehavam Ze'evi ( ; 20 June 192617 October 2001) was an Israeli general and politician who founded the far-right nationalist Moledet party. He mainly advocated for complete cleansing of the Palestinian population through population transfer. ...

in 1988. Prior to the 1999 elections, the party joined the National Union alliance alongside

Herut – The National Movement Herut – The National Movement (, ''Herut – HaTnu'a HaLeumit''), commonly known as just Herut (), was a minor right-wing political party in Israel. Though it saw itself as the ideological successor to the historical Herut party (which merged i ...

and Tkuma. The alliance joined the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

formed by

on 7 March 2001 after he won the election for Prime Minister, and Ze'evi was appointed Minister of Tourism. However, Ze'evi was assassinated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on 17 October 2001. Prior to the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidential e ...

, the National Union formed an alliance with the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party (, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew abbreviation Mafdal (), was an Israeli political party representing the interests of the Israeli settlers and religious Zionist movement. Formed ...

. In the lead up to the 2013 elections, Tkuma merged with the Jewish Home.

Religious Zionist Party (1998–2023)

Otzma Yehudit (founded 2012)

Otzma Yehudit Otzma Yehudit () is a Far-right politics in Israel, far-right, ultranationalist, Kahanism, Kahanist, and Anti-Arab racism, anti-Arab List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. It is the ideological descendant of the outlawe ...

was founded in 2012 by

Michael Ben-Ari Michael Ben-Ari (; 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 19th Knesset approached and ...

, a former member of Kach. In the

2021 Israeli legislative election Legislative elections were held in Israel on 23 March 2021 to elect the 120 List of members of the twenty-fourth Knesset, members of the 24th Knesset. It was the fourth Knesset election in two years, amidst the continued 2018–2022 Israeli poli ...

Itamar Ben-Gvir Itamar Ben-Gvir ( ; born 6 May 1976) is an Israeli far-right politician and lawyer who is serving as the Minister of National Security since 2025. He is the leader of Otzma Yehudit ('Jewish Power'), a Kahanist and anti-Arab party that won ...

, a follower of Kach, was elected to the Knesset as a representative of the

party. Since 2022, Ben-Gvir has served as a Minister of National Security, and the party presently holds six seats in the

Lehava Lehava ( "Flame," ''LiMniat Hitbolelut B'eretz HaKodesh''; Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land) is a far-right and Jewish supremacist organization based in Israel that strictly opposes Jewish assimilation, objecting to most personal r ...

, one of the largest far-right organizations in Israel, advocates for the segregation and oppression of Palestinians. It has also been involved in acts of violence against Palestinians, LGBT individuals, and Christians. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on Lehava.

Noam (founded 2019)

Noam Noam () is a Hebrew name that means, "gentleness", "pleasantness" or "peacefulness". It started as the male version of ''Na'omi'' (English: "Naomi" or "Noémie"), but today is a very common Hebrew name for people of any gender. The common name day ...

is a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

political party in Israel, established in July 2019 by a conservative faction in the Religious Zionist community inspired by

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Zvi Thau Zvi Yisrael Thau (; born 1938) is an Israeli Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, a disciple of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, and co-founder and president of Yeshivat Har Hamor in Jerusalem. Biography Hans (Zvi Yisrael) Thau was born in Vienna to Galicia ...

and his

Har Hamor Yeshivat Har Hamor (); is a Religious Zionism, Religious Zionist yeshiva in Har Homa, Jerusalem, founded in 1997 as an offshoot of Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav. The president of the yeshiva is Rabbi Zvi Thau, and the Rosh yeshiva - head of the yeshiva ...

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

. The party's main goal is to advance policies against LGBT rights, and against what its backers call "the destruction of the family".

Avi Maoz Avigdor "Avi" Maoz (; born 6 July 1956)
''Mako'', 25 March 2021 (in Hebrew) ...

, the party's leader, was elected to the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, and is the party's sole representative.

2020s

2022 Likud-led coalition

The 37th Cabinet of Israel, formed on December 29, 2022, following the

election on November 1, 2022, has been described as the most right-wing government in Israeli history, as well as Israel's most religious government. The coalition government consists of seven parties—

United Torah Judaism United Torah Judaism (, ''Yahadut HaTora'') is a Haredi, religious conservative political alliance in Israel. The alliance, consisting of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, was first formed in 1992, in order to maximize Ashkenazi Haredi repr ...

Shas Shas () is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi religious List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardic Jews, Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until ...

Religious Zionist Party The Religious Zionist Party (), known as Tkuma () until 2021 and officially known as National Union–Tkuma (, ), was a Far-right politics in Israel, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist, Jewish supremacism, Jewish supremacist, and R ...

, and

National Unity Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

—and is led by

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

Criticism

Several journalists and

human rights group A human rights group, or human rights organization, is a non-governmental organization which advocates for human rights through identification of their violation, collecting incident data, its analysis and publication, promotion of public awareness ...

s such as B'Tselem,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, and

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

claim that the ideology advocated by the Israeli far-right are

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

and

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

towards

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

Arab citizens of Israel The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...

and immigrants. They see it as a danger to democracy, and claim that it uses violence and encourages violation of human rights. President of the United States

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

said

's government contained "some of the most extreme" members he had ever seen. In 2023, the

-led coalition was described in authoritarian terms by

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

, such as "

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

", "a dictatorship", and "

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

" (for similarities to Stalinism's authoritarian aspects).

Far-right Israeli politicians and the Al Aqsa Mosque

The Al-Aqsa mosque compound (which Israelis refer to as the "

Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...

") is the third holiest site in Islam and a Palestinian national symbol. In 2023 and 2024, National Security Minister

initiated at least four marches to the

Al-Aqsa compound Al-Aqsa (; ) or al-Masjid al-Aqṣā () and also is the compound of Islamic religious buildings that sit atop the Temple Mount, also known as the Haram al-Sharif, in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the R ...

, each of up to a thousand ultra nationalist

Israeli settlers Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

. During the visits, Ben Gvir stated that his he intends to convey a political message.

The Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a con ...

's spokesman,

Nabil Abu Rudeineh Nabil Abu Rudeineh (born 3 May 1946) is a Palestinian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Palestine and Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of s ...

, described his visits as "blatant attacks" on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, while Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs described them as "a provocative step that is condemned, and a dangerous and unacceptable escalation".

February 2023 Huwara rampage

On 26 February 2023, in retaliation for the

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

of two Israeli settlers earlier the same day by an unidentified attacker, hundreds of

went on a violent late-night rampage in

Huwara Huwara or Howwarah (, ) is a Palestinian town located in the Nablus Governorate of the State of Palestine. Located in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank, Huwara is on the main road connecting Nablus southwards to Ramallah and Jerusalem, a ...

and other Palestinian villages in the

Israeli-occupied West Bank The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily oc ...

, leaving one civilian dead and 100 other Palestinians injured, four critically, and the town ablaze. It was the worst attack stemming from

Israeli settler violence Palestinians are the target of violence by Israeli settlers and their supporters, predominantly in the West Bank. In November 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed the steep rise in the number of incidents between settlers and Pal ...

in the northern West Bank in decades. Israeli soldiers were in the area while the rampage by the settlers unfolded and did not intervene. The rampage was called a

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

by an Israeli commander in charge of the area. Israeli and Palestinian officials issued a joint declaration in

Aqaba Aqaba ( , ; , ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative center of the Aqaba Governorate. The city had a population of 148, ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

to counter the recent round of Israeli–Palestinian violence.

Smotrich's call for Huwara to be "wiped out"

In the rampage's aftermath, Israeli Finance Minister

Bezalel Smotrich Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (; born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli far-right politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022. The leader of the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism, he previously served as a Kn ...

, a far-right politician partly in charge of the administration of the West Bank, called for Huwara to be "wiped out" by the Israeli army. Condemnations from the United States, European Union, and Arab countries led to Smotrich retracting his comments and claiming they were said in the heat of the moment.

Gaza war

Statements from far-right ministers

Israel's far-right ministers have made controversial comments during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. * Agriculture Minister

Avi Dichter Abraham Moshe "Avi" Dichter (, ; born 14 December 1952) is an Israeli politician currently serving as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. A former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director, he resigned from the Knesset ...

(

) told Israeli Channel 12 in November 2023 that the war would be "Gaza's

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

", using the Arabic word for "catastrophe" that many use to describe the 1948 displacement of roughly 700,000 Palestinians. * Heritage Minister

Amihai Eliyahu Amihai Ben-Eliyahu (; born 24 April 1979), commonly known as Amihai Eliyahu (), is an Israeli far-right politician and activist who has served as Minister of Heritage since 2025. Eliyahu currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Otzma Ye ...

(

) said in an interview in November 2023 that dropping a nuclear bomb on the

was "one of the possibilities". * Finance Minister

(

National Religious Party–Religious Zionism The National Religious Party–Religious Zionism (), or Mafdal–Religious Zionism, is a far-right religious Zionist political party in Israel. The party was formed in August 2023, when the Religious Zionist Party and The Jewish Home parties ...

) said in a November 2023 letter that Palestinians should be excluded from "security zones" in the occupied West Bank even to "harvest olives". He has also called for the creation of "sterile security zones" around settlements in the West Bank to "prevent Arabs from entering". * Minister for the Advancement of Women

May Golan Flora May Bedra-Golan (; born 3 May 1986) is an Israeli politician who serves as the Ministry for Social Equality, Minister for Social Equality and as :he:המשרד_לקידום_מעמד_האישה, Minister for Women's Empowerment. She was ele ...

(

) said in a speech in February 2024 "I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did."

General strategy and courses of action

The far-right in Israel have used a variety of ways over the years to achieve their political goals. These include far-right parties such as Kach,

, and

Eretz Yisrael Shelanu Eretz Yisrael Shelanu () is a Far-right politics, far-right religious party in Israel. Founded by Chabad Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo and Baruch Marzel on 11 November 2008, it seeks to prevent both the creation of a Palestinian state as well as the dism ...

being represented in the

, Israel's parliament. Establishment of unauthorized

Israeli outpost In Israeli law, an outpost (, ''Ma'ahaz'' lit. "a handhold") is an unauthorized or illegal Israeli settlement within the West Bank, constructed without the required authorization from the Israeli government in contravention of Israeli statutes ...

s in the

is also common among far-right extremist groups, such as the

Hilltop Youth Hilltop Youth (, ''No'ar HaGva'ot'') are extremist Hardal Israeli settlements, settler youth operating in the Israeli-occupied territories, Israeli-occupied West Bank. They are known for establishing Israeli outpost, outposts without an Israeli ...

. Jewish extremist terrorism was carried out by extremists within Judaism, including the assassination of Palestinian mayors by the

Jewish Underground The Jewish Underground ( ''HaMakhteret HaYehudit''), or in abbreviated form, simply Makhteret,David S. New''Holy War: The Rise of Militant Christian, Jewish and Islamic Fundamentalism,'' McFarland, 2001, p. 143. was a radical right-wing fundamenta ...

group, the

Cave of the Patriarchs massacre On 25 February 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli physician and extremist of the far-right ultra-Zionist Kach movement, carried out a mass shooting of Palestinians who were praying in the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) in ...

, the murder of the boy

Mohammed Abu Khdeir The kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir occurred early on the morning of 2 July 2014. Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian people, Palestinian, was forced into a car by Israelis, Israeli citizens on an East Jerusalem street. His family i ...

, and the Duma arson attack. Further, " price tag attacks" have been committed in the

occupied West Bank The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily oc ...

by extremist Israeli settler youths against

Palestinian Arabs Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

, and to a lesser extent against left-wing Israelis,

Israeli Arabs The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, and Israeli security forces. Finally, political violence committed by far-right extremists, such as the murder of

Emil Grunzweig Emil Grunzweig (; December 1, 1947 – February 10, 1983) was an Israeli teacher and peace activist affiliated with the Peace Now movement. He became an icon of the Israeli left after he was killed by a grenade thrown at a peace rally in Jerusale ...

, the attempted assassination of

Zeev Sternhell Zeev Sternhell (; 10 April 1935 – 21 June 2020) was a Polish-born Israeli historian, political scientist, commentator on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and writer. He was one of the world's leading theorists of the phenomenon of fascism. S ...

, and the

Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister of Israel, was assassinated on 4 November 1995 at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv. The assailant was Yigal Amir, an Israeli law student and u ...

Notable political figures

File:Meir Kahane, seated (3x4 cropped).jpg,

File:Itamar Ben Gvir 3 (cropped).jpg,

File:Bezalel Smotrich.jpg,

File:Ben Zion Gopstein.jpg,

Bentzi Gopstein Ben-Zion "Bentzi" Gopstein (; born 10 September 1969) is a political activist affiliated with the far-right in Israel, a student of Meir Kahane, and founder and director of Lehava ("Flame"), an Israeli Jewish anti-assimilation organization. He w ...

Notes

References

{{Political spectrum Anti-Christian sentiment in Israel

Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948)

Revisionist Zionism

Betar (founded 1925)

Revisionist Maximalism

Irgun (1931–1949)

The White Paper of 1939

Lehi (founded 1940)

History in Israel

1948-1967

After the 1967 Six-Day War

Kach party (1971–1994)

The Oslo Accords and the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin

2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza

Political parties in 21st century

Moledet (1988–2013)

Religious Zionist Party (1998–2023)

Otzma Yehudit (founded 2012)

Noam (founded 2019)

2020s

2022 Likud-led coalition

Criticism

Far-right Israeli politicians and the Al Aqsa Mosque

February 2023 Huwara rampage

Smotrich's call for Huwara to be "wiped out"

Gaza war

Statements from far-right ministers

General strategy and courses of action

Notable political figures

See also

Notes

References