Born on August 1, 1932 (New York, United States)
Died on November 5, 1990 (New York, United States)

Rabbi
Politician Political
activist

Though born and raised in the United States, Meir Kahane became one of the most controversial figures in Israeli politics in the 1980s. As the head of the Kach Party, he ran for and won a seat in the Israeli Knesset (legislature), by claiming to give voice to opinions no one else dared state aloud: that Jews should evict all Arabs from Israel and that a Jewish state need not be democratic. He was later banned from public office for promoting racism and opposing democracy. People from across the political spectrum denounced his views as dangerous, yet a substantial minority of Israeli voters expressed support for his views. When Kahane was assassinated in 1990, response to his death was as divided as it had been about his life.