Baruch Marzel Reflects on Kahanist Legacy, IDF Haredi Recruitment, and Rift with Itamar Ben-Gvir
Baruch Marzel, founder of Otzma Yehudit, spoke candidly in a recent interview with Yossi Ben Atar about his political and personal journey, including his break with former ally Itamar Ben-Gvir and his views on the legacy of Rabbi Meir Kahane. Marzel, who will not run in the upcoming elections, believes that around 15 Knesset seats align with Kahane's ideology today, a significant increase since Kahane's lifetime. He criticized the current right-wing camp for voter apathy, estimating that three to four Haredi Knesset seats are at risk due to dissatisfaction with ultra-Orthodox parties' failure to resolve the military draft issue.
Marzel recounted how Rabbi Shach personally instructed him to enlist in the IDF and attend a Hesder yeshiva, emphasizing that those not studying Torah should serve in the army. He supports the IDF's Hesder unit "Hashmonaim" as a serious framework allowing Haredi soldiers to maintain their religious lifestyle, but insists that accommodations must be formalized in military regulations rather than left to commanders' discretion. He also backs a phased approach to Haredi conscription, as proposed by Ofir Winter, where suitable frameworks are established before drafting non-students.
On his relationship with Ben-Gvir, Marzel revealed that they have almost no contact today, partly to avoid confusion about Ben-Gvir's ideological stance distancing himself from Kahane's path. Despite their split, Marzel acknowledged some of Ben-Gvir's measured actions regarding the Haredi sector but criticized him for continuing protests instead of focusing on governmental work. Marzel also claimed that Ben-Gvir uses the Otzma Yehudit name without permission, but he does not trust the legal system to reclaim it.
Marzel shared personal reflections on his life in Hebron, where he has lived in a caravan for 42 years, raising nine children and hosting over 100 guests every Shabbat. He described surviving a near-fatal injury during the Lebanon War and expressed deep connection to the biblical history of the region. Politically, he criticized the Israeli government's missed opportunity to implement a large-scale voluntary Palestinian emigration plan from Gaza and praised settlement expansion while warning that building alone is insufficient without weakening Palestinian authorities.
Despite his critiques, Marzel gave the current government a moderate rating of 50-60 and praised Minister Bezalel Smotrich's settlement efforts. He declined to endorse any current prime ministerial candidates and defined himself as neither Haredi nor religious Zionist but committed to "truth." He concluded optimistically, noting recent investments in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs as signs of national redemption and permanence in the land.
