The Next War

Radical Zionists in the Holy Land

Author: Dan Setton

Length: 54'

They are armed. They are dangerous. And they are fanatical. The Israeli intelligence service considers them capable of unleashing one of the Mid-East's worst nightmare scenarios. And most surprisingly of all, they are Jewish. They are the extremists - part of a significant movement of radical Zionists who are committed to total Jewish control of an ethnically cleansed holy land. To outsiders, the militants appear to be ordinary people, with families, homes and jobs, but beneath the normal facade is the face of extremism. They are men like Gershon Salomon, leader of the Temple Mount Faithful, one of 10 Jewish groups devoted to the destruction of the Dome of the Rock and the building of a third Jewish temple. As Salomon notes, the extremists see the conflict with the Palestinians as part of a divine master plan. "Events today are a part of the end of time and battle of nations, after which will come God's judgment of all the enemies of Israel. These men have weapons and explosives, often work in disciplined cells, and have left a bloody record over the past 20 years. Their numerous operations have included such high-profile events as the machine-gun mosque massacre by Baruch Goldstein in March 1994, and the assassination of the Prime Minister Itzhaq Rabin in November 1995. Israeli security forces have also foiled at least four schemes to set fire or to bomb the al-Aqsa Mosque, right next to the Dome of the Rock. This is considered a nightmare scenario, capable of embroiling the entire region in a religious conflagration. But dig a little deeper and the story becomes even more bizarre a tangled web of relationships between radical Zionists and American extremists. Many of these militants are the spiritual and political heirs of Rabbi Meir Kahane, an American born Rabbi from Brooklyn. Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, espoused the use of violence under the flag of fighting against anti-Semitism and for Soviet Jewry. He went on to advocate the use of force to expel Arabs from Biblical Israel. His followers, many of whom have emigrated to Israel from the USA, live primarily in settlements in the West Bank. They continue to receive funding from their American colleagues, both Jewish and fundamentalist Christians. And while Israelis once broadly considered them lunatics, their agenda is now gaining support. Radical Zionists: The Other Extremists is the story of the key players in the next crisis, that will take place in the Middle East, as the parties attempt to resume the peace talks. The film includes some exclusive interviews and exposes for the first time the world of militant Jewish radicals. This two-hour special is produced by two-time Emmy award-winning producer Dan Setton. With unprecedented access, he will provide a chilling, insider's look at the daily lives and violent ambitions of Israel's militant right. A SET PRODUCTIONS production

year of production: 2005