Hundreds of Land of Israel Movement activists and supporters of the radical movement Kach held a memorial service on Tuesday to mark 20 years since Rabbi Meir Kahane’s assassination.

Kach activist Haim Pearlman, currently under house arrest after his suspected killing of four Arabs in the 1990s, was also among the participants. The wife of the ‘Jewish terrorist,’ Keren Pearlman, told Ynet: “Today everybody knows that ‘Kahane’ is not a dirty word.”

The assembly was held at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem, where shirts, books and other items were sold to the crowd. Speeches of the late Kahane were screened as well, while protesters went wild, clapping every time he said “Arabs out.”

The founder of the Temple Institute, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, said during the assembly: “Leaders who have ruined our country always tell us that no one can teach them how to love Israel. But this love they are referring to makes them establish an Ishmael state in Israel. If, G-d forbid, an Ishmael state will be built, we will destroy it.” The crowd kept cheering him on enthusiastically.

Knesset Memeber Michael Ben Ari (National Union) also spoke out during the event, saying, “I too look at Rabbi Kahane’s picture, a picture that stands on my office desk and on my desk at the Knesset plenum, next to his book. It is not a simple task to represent you; you stand up to countless attacks and I must say that your truth isn’t a popular one. But Rabbi Kahane taught us not to speak the truth in the morning according to last night’s poll results, as the prime minister does.”

‘Part of God’s plan’

MK Ben Ari went on to say that the radical right-wing groups have been going through two tough decades since Kahane’s murder. “We have suffered persecution, administrative detentions, everything we had was confiscated. They tried to wipe us out, but we are soldiers. I was lucky to be part of such a group that created a fist of loyalty. I was given twice the amount of time for my speech honoring Rabbi Kahane at the Knesset today, the same speech I wasn’t allowed to give a year ago.”

Radical right-wing activist Baruch Marzel mentioned implicitly the assemblies held for late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in his speech. “Fifteen years ago memorials began for this one man. The state wasted millions on his legacy’s immortalization. There are almost no cities without a street or a hospital named after him. But after all of this, less and less people participate in his memorial services, because the truth gets clearer and clearer as years go by,” he said.

The head of Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea, Rabbi Yehuda Kroizer, said, “Rabbi Kahane became a symbol and as time passes, instead of his Torah disappearing we see how vital it really is. Israeli pride is not important today, and if it’s not important then the Land of Israel is not important and neither are the people living in it.

“In his book, Rabbi Kahane wrote that we are living in times of redemption, which is why he viewed Israel as part of God’s plan. This is why we must participate in the plan and integrate our own character into it. We must proudly carry on this mission assigned to us, and not grovel before the world’s nations or the enemies of Israel, but only to stand firm and strong.”