Gush Emunim

Gush Emunim (Hebrew: גּוּשׁ אֱמוּנִים‎, lit. "Bloc of the Faithful") is an Israeli ultranationalist^[1] religious Zionist^[2] Orthodox Jewish^[3] right-wing fundamentalist activist^[2][4] movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights.^[5]

Quick Facts Leader, Governing body ...

Gush Emunim גּוּשׁ אֱמוּנִים‎
Leader	Zvi Yehuda Kook (1974-1982)
Governing body	Hanan Porat Moshe Levinger Shlomo Aviner Menachem Froman Yoel Bin-Nun Yaakov Ariel
Founder	Zvi Yehuda Kook Haim Drukman
Founded	February 1974 (1974-02)
Succeeded by	Yesha Council
Armed body	Jewish Underground
Settlement body	Amana
Political party	National Religious Party
Ideology	Neo-Zionism Religious Zionism Jewish messianism Jewish fundamentalism Halachic state Settler interests
Religion	Orthodox Judaism
Politics of Israel Political parties Elections

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While not formally established as an organization until 1974 in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, Gush Emunim sprang out of the conquests of the Six-Day War in 1967, encouraging Jewish settlement of the land of Israel based on two points, one religious and one practical. The religious point was a belief that, according to the Torah, God wants the Jewish people to live in the land of Israel and had returned lands such as the biblical Judea and Samaria as an opportunity for the Jewish people to return to their ancestral homeland.^[6][7] The second point stemmed from a concern that the pre-1967 borders, a mere 10 km (6.2 mi) wide at its narrowest point, were indefensible, especially in the long term, and it was therefore necessary to ensure that the land captured in the Six-Day War remained under Israeli control by creating a Jewish presence in the region and placing "facts on the ground".^[8][7] While Gush Emunim no longer exists officially, vestiges of its influence remain in Israeli politics and society.^[9][10]

Gush Emunim was closely associated with, and highly influential in, the National Religious Party (NRP). Nowadays, they refer to themselves – and are referred to by the Israeli media – as Ne'emanei Eretz Yisrael נאמני ארץ ישראל‎ (English: "Those who are loyal/faithful to the Land of Israel"). It also had a close relationship with the Jewish Agency.^[11]

Gush Emunim was founded by students of Zvi Yehuda Kook in February 1974 in the living room of Haim Drukman,^[12][13] who is also credited with coining the term.^[14] For the founders of the organization, the Yom Kippur War confirmed what Kook already argued before the outbreak of the Six-Day War: that Jewish settlement in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights was required to hasten the process of redemption.^[15] In addition to Drukman, its ideological and political core consisted of other disciples such as Hanan Porat, Moshe Levinger, Shlomo Aviner, Menachem Froman, Eliezer Waldman, Yoel Bin-Nun, and Yaakov Ariel.^[16] Kook remained its leader until his death in 1982.

In 1974, an affiliated group named Garin Elon Moreh, led by Menachem Felix and Benjamin (Beni) Katzover, attempted to establish a settlement on the ruins of the Sebastia train station dating from the Ottoman period. After seven attempts and six removals from the site by the Israel Defense Forces, an agreement was reached according to which the Israeli government allowed 25 families to settle in the Kadum army camp southwest of Nablus/Shechem. The Sebastia agreement was a turning point that opened up the northern West Bank to Jewish settlement. The small mobile home site housing 25 families eventually became the municipality of Kedumim, one of the major settlements in the West Bank. The Sebastia model was subsequently copied in Beit El, Shavei Shomron, and other settlements.^{[citation needed]}

In 1976, Gush Emunim founded the settlement-building arm Amana, which soon became independent and is still active. In 1979-80, a group of members from Gush Emunim radicalised and formed the Jewish Underground. This organization conducted several terror attacks and plotted to blow up the Dome of the Rock.^[17] The uncovering of the terrorist organization led to a severe blow to the settler movement's reputation. Following the crisis, Gush Emunim's role as the formal umbrella organization of the settler movement was gradually taken over by the Yesha Council, although Gush Emunim never formally ceased to exist.^[18] Despite being rooted in Gush Emunim, the Yesha Council is considered more practical and pragmatic than its predecessor.^[19] The Yesha Council, in its role as the political umbrella organization, and Amana, as the executive, settler-building branch, nowadays form the two main institutions of the settler movement.^{[citation needed]}

Yoel Bin-Nun, one of the founding members of Gush Emunim, broke off from the organization in the aftermath of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.^[7]

The ideological outlook of Gush Emunim has been described as messianic, fundamentalist, theocratic, and right-wing.^{[9][20][21][22][23]} Its beliefs were based heavily on the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and his son, Zvi Yehuda Kook,^[24][25] who taught that secular Zionists, through their conquests of Eretz Israel, had unwittingly brought about the beginning of the Messianic Age, which would culminate in the coming of the messiah, which Gush Emunim supporters believe can be hastened through Jewish settlement on land they believe God has allotted to the Jewish people as set forth in the Hebrew Bible. The organization supported attempts to co-exist with the Arab population, rejecting the population transfers proposed by Meir Kahane and his followers.^[26]

• Jewish fundamentalism
• Moledet
• Temple Mount and Eretz Yisrael Faithful Movement
• Terror Against Terror
• VISION Movement