This is an advertisement for the Kach political party in which they provide their own interpretation of the line from the Israeli anthem, “To be a free people in our land.”
The poster calls upon the Israeli people to be free from violence and from the dictates of foreign nations regarding its values and its destiny. It states that it is time that all areas of the Land of Israel are recognized as parts of the State of Israel and that no other nation has rights to this land. The final lines of the poster express that, in order for this to happen, the Kach party – “a movement of actions” – must be elected to the Knesset.
Below the text appears Kach’s logo of a clenched fist with a Magen David (Star of David) in the background. The original Kach logo was an exact copy of that of the Etzel (Irgun) underground movement from the years of the British Mandate. The Etzel logo comprised a fist holding a rifle in front of a map of Greater Israel comprising both the east and west of the Jordan River. Kach originally used this image with the words “Rak Kach,” with the dual meaning of “only like this/only Kach,” to compare itself to the Etzel that used force to realise its goals of a free and independent Jewish nation. Following protests from Etzel veterans, the logo was however changed to the one that appears on this poster.
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Kach – Kach was a radical ultra-nationalistic political party that was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s. The party was elected to the Knesset in 1984 but was banned from the following 1988 and 1992 elections because its ideology incited racism. Kach advocated the expulsion of the Arab population from Israel and discriminatory measures against the Arabs for the purpose of defending the Jewish people and the Jewish State.
Etzel (Irgun) – The Etzel, also known as the Irgun, was a Zionist paramilitary underground organisation that operated in Israel at the time of the British Mandate. The Etzel was based on Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s revisionist Zionist ideology. Originally part of the Haganah, the Etzel moved away due to differences of opinion about their relationship with the British Mandate and the Arab forces; the Etzel believed that stronger measures should be used to advance the Zionist dream and bring an end to British rule. The Etzel, under the leadership of Menachem Begin (subsequent prime minister of Israel) and others, carried out military operations including the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. These operations resulted in the persecution of members of the Etzel in a period that was dubbed the “The Hunting Season”. With the establishment of the State of Israel, Etzel fighters joined the IDF together with fighters from other organisations. The Etzel was the political predecessor of the right-wing Herut party, also headed by Menachem Begin. Herut later joined with other parties to form the Likud party of today.
