Israel’s far-right kingmaker joins memorial for racist rabbi

By ELEANOR H. REICH
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — A far-right Israeli lawmaker, whose surging popularity helped propel former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to power in last week’s general election, has delivered a glowing tribute at a memorial event for an extremist rabbi assassinated in 1990. The lawmaker, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has long admired Meir Kahane, the late radical rabbi. Kahane’s violent anti-Arab ideology — which included calls to ban Jewish-Arab intermarriage and for the mass expulsion of Palestinians — was considered so repugnant that Israel banned him from parliament and the United States listed his party as a terrorist group. Kahane was assassinated by an Arab assailant in New York 32 years ago. Ben-Gvir praised him at the event on Thursday.