Kahane grandson arrested for 'extremist Jewish activities'

Extreme right-wing activist Meir Ettinger, a grandson of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, was arrested by the Israel Police and Shin Bet on Monday. According to a Shin Bet statement, Ettinger is suspected of involvement in "organizing extremist Jewish activities."

Ettinger had previously been expelled from both the Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria regions due to his "dangerousness," the Shin Bet said. At the time of his arrest, Ettinger was living in Safed in northern Israel.

Ettinger, 24, has risen to the top of the Shin Bet Jewish Division's most-wanted list in recent years. The Shin Bet had previously sought to place him under administrative detention, but this request was denied by the State Attorney's Office.

In a blog post published last week, the day before the arson attack in Duma that killed a Palestinian toddler and seriously injured his family, Ettinger wrote, "The truth must be told -- there is no terrorist organization, but there are many, many Jews, many more than one might think, whose value systems are completely different than those of the High Court of Justice and the Shin Bet, and are not bound by the ignorant and broken laws of the state, but rather by laws much more eternal."

Ettinger's attorney, Yuval Zamar, said, "I have no doubt that the highly publicized arrest will end with a whimper and without any charges being filed."

In a "rebel manifesto" he authored several years ago, Ettinger wrote, "The idea of the rebellion is very simple. Israel has many weak points, many issues on which it walks on eggshells so as to not stir up trouble. What we're going to do is simply ignite these powder kegs."

On Monday morning, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, "We intend to fight Jewish terrorism in a determined and uncompromising manner. The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet made important decisions yesterday, including the adoption of my recommendation to use administrative detention orders against Jewish terrorists and fanatics."

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Monday, "Israel will permit more aggressive interrogation methods when it comes to dealing with Jewish extremists."

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