by Lenny Goldberg
Today, the 5th of Tebet, is the Yahrzeit of Binyamn and Talya Kahane. Rav Binyamin was harassed constantly by the Israeli secret service, simply for the words he wrote. His ability to express the "Jewish Idea" frightened the Israeli authorities. Besides the dynamite in his pen, the very name "Kahane" was enough to frighten them.
He once wrote, "if I stayed home and did absolutely nothing, and hung a sign in front of my house that 'I am following in the path of my father', that would be enough for them to harass me." The following are excerpts from an article he wrote called "The Visit", in the year 2000, a few months before his murder, following another raid on his house and confiscation of his computer and property:
They didn't knock. "Hello", I hear in a loud voice... I always expect them to come, but when it finally happens, it's still a bit surprising... And all I can think is – what chutzpah to prance around my house and just take my stuff. There are eight of them... This is what they have to do while the state is burning, Ehud Barak is at Camp David, ready to give away the store...
I confess my sins. My house is loaded with dangerous materials. Very dangerous. Ideological material. That's why I'm used to these visits. On one hand, it's not pleasant when strangers are ransacking your house, on the other hand, there is some satisfaction in knowing that I must be doing something important if the secret services of the State in Israel are so worried about me.
They take it all – discs, papers, envelopes, videos.. They act like I'm in the "underground", but the fact is, everything with me is wide open, I don't even have a code for my computer. My classes are open for all to see, my phone is open to wiretapping – I'm totally exposed. I have nothing to hide. THEY are the ones who are operating like thieves in the night in an underground.
As they are carrying with the search, their leader tells me, parenthetically, that they are now carrying on a search in our center on Jaffa Street. He seems to think that such news will shake me up. I'm just like – take what you want, do what you want – you can't ban the "Idea". What's in my head, you can't confiscate. And actually, that's all I really have, no more and no less.
It takes them about an hour. One of them reports to his boss on the phone on the successful mission. "You'll have to come with us", they tell me. They place me in an unmarked car, and I'm surrounded by them. I study them. All are cut out of the same mold. What are they looking for in life? A career? To be part of the "high-security elite" of Israeli society?
We get to the Russian Compound. The interrogation gets underway. I'm curious as to what the charge will be this time. Sedition? Racism? The interrogator starts to read: "You are accused of 'illegal organization"… No surprise there. That's the only charge you can be accused of if you are giving Torah classes. For them, my very essence, my name alone incriminates me. I am a walking-talking terror organization on two legs. If I breathe, it's an act of terror.
I deny all charges and have nothing to say to them. They try to threaten me, but they know it's to no avail. Don't waste your time. The interrogator starts talking on the phone to somebody in Arabic. He finishes the conversation and asks me: "Do you know Arabic"? Negative. I tell him: "And it won't help you knowing Arabic, either"… "Why", he asks? "Because someone who can't identify with himself, will never understand the other side".
And then a discussion ensues, where I explain that all the sophisticated Israeli technology won't defeat the Arab simplicity. Because the Arabs identify with themselves, and believe in the truth of their cause, while the Israeli side is sterile and see their task as being "neutral", like the U.N. He's not happy to hear what I tell him: "If you notice, those political leaders who came out of the military were the least ideological. You'll never hear a strong stance on anything from them. Because that's the mentality that has been ingrained into the security forces and military". How can I say such a thing, he responds. "Ehud Barak risked his life serving in the army"… True, but what is usually motivating these people is a "career" in the IDF…
The conversation continues, I focus on Jewish identity. He tries to sway the conversation towards me. I tell him that on such subjects, I am not talking. You want to talk, let's go to a coffee shop and we'll talk about it. Does anything I say penetrate? Or is he so wrapped up in his role as "interrogator", and for him this entire discussion is just to get into my head. If that's the case, he'll understand nothing. Just like he won't understand the Arab...
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Lenny Goldberg lives in Jerusalem, Israel, and operates a children's entertainment company.