Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane (also spelled Benyamin Zeev Kahane or Benzi Kahane; Hebrew: בנימין זאב כהנא was an American-born Israeli Orthodox rabbi, scholar, writer, and leader of the Kahane Chai movement. He was the youngest son of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) and the Kach party, and a central figure in continuing and teaching the ideology known as Kahanism after his father’s assassination.

Early Life and Aliyah

Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane was born on October 3, 1966 (19 Tishrei 5727), in New York City to Rabbi Meir Kahane and Libby (Blum) Kahane. He was the youngest of their four children (alongside siblings including Baruch, Tova, and Tzipporah). The family lived in the United States during his earliest years while his father was active in Jewish activism, including the founding of the JDL in 1968.

In 1971, when Binyamin was four years old, the family made aliyah and settled in Jerusalem. He grew up in Israel amid the intense political and religious atmosphere surrounding his father’s work. His early education took place at the Mesorah elementary school, followed by Yeshiva L’Zeirim High School.

Education and Religious Formation

Binyamin continued his studies at the prestigious Mercaz HaRav (Merkaz HaRav Kook) yeshiva in Jerusalem, a leading institution of religious Zionism. In 1987 he co-founded, together with his father, Yeshivat HaRaayon HaYehudi (the Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea). This institution was dedicated to combining traditional Torah study with the distinctive ideological framework developed by Rabbi Meir Kahane—emphasizing Jewish national identity, faith, self-reliance, and a strict application of Jewish law to questions of sovereignty and security in the Land of Israel. Binyamin later directed Yeshivat HaRav Meir in the settlement of Kfar Tapuach (Tapuah).

Described by contemporaries as slightly built and initially somewhat introverted, with imperfect English that initially limited his reach among some American followers, he developed a strong following through his teaching and writing. He absorbed and systematically transmitted his father’s teachings, becoming known as a dedicated student (talmid muvhak) of that approach.

Marriage and Family

In 1988 (or 1989 according to some accounts), Binyamin married Talia (also spelled Talya or Taliya) Herzlich (Hertzlich), a schoolteacher from a family with roots in the Tiberias/Galilee area. The couple settled in Kfar Tapuach, a community in Samaria (the northern West Bank), where they raised six children. Their household was described by those who knew them as warm, disciplined, and deeply religious. Talia managed much of the daily family life while supporting her husband’s public and educational roles. The children included a son, Meir David, and five daughters.

Leadership After 1990 and Kahane Chai

Rabbi Meir Kahane was assassinated in New York on November 5, 1990. Following a succession struggle within the Kach movement, Binyamin founded and led Kahane Chai (“Kahane Lives”). The group sought to continue his father’s political and ideological path. In ideological terms the differences between the remaining Kach faction and Kahane Chai were limited.

Binyamin was barred from running for the Knesset in 1992. Both Kach and Kahane Chai were outlawed by the Israeli government in 1994 (and later designated as terrorist organizations by Israel and the United States) in the aftermath of the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre carried out by Baruch Goldstein, a Kach supporter. Despite the bans, Binyamin continued educational and publishing work, maintaining the Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea and related activities in Kfar Tapuach. He was investigated for sedition, convicted multiple times by Israeli courts for advocating violence against Arabs, and served jail time (including a reported six-month sentence around 1998). Israeli security services periodically searched properties associated with the movement.

Writings and Teachings

Binyamin produced a steady stream of educational material aimed at explaining and applying his father’s ideas through classical Jewish sources. His best-known work is The Haggada of the Jewish Idea (Haggadat HaRa’ayon), a commentary on the Passover Haggadah that draws heavily on Rabbi Meir Kahane’s teachings (particularly material from Perush HaMaccabee) and focuses on themes of faith, Jewish destiny, national consciousness, and the meaning of the Exodus for contemporary Jewish life. It was published in Hebrew with English translation and later reissued.

He also wrote and distributed Darka Shel Torah (“The Way of the Torah”), a series of weekly Torah portion sheets and related commentaries on holidays and current issues. These pieces combined close reading of the weekly parsha with reflections on Jewish history, faith, and the challenges facing the Jewish people in Israel. Collections of this material were later published. His writing style was often characterized by admirers as methodical and rooted in traditional sources rather than purely polemical.

Assassination

On December 31, 2000 (5 Tevet 5761), Binyamin and Talia Kahane were driving from Jerusalem back to their home in Kfar Tapuach after spending Shabbat with family. Minutes earlier they had dropped off their son Meir at school in Beit El. Near the settlement of Ofra, on Road 60 (the Ramallah bypass road), approximately 15 km north of Jerusalem, Palestinian gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on their vehicle.

Binyamin, who was driving, was fatally shot. The van went out of control and crashed. Talia was critically wounded and died in the ambulance on the way to hospital in Jerusalem. Five of the couple’s six children were in the vehicle; they were injured (one seriously) but survived. The attack was attributed to Palestinian militants, with early reports linking it to members of Force 17 (an elite PLO unit). Israeli authorities later arrested individuals in connection with the killings. The couple was buried in Jerusalem. Their six children were left orphaned and were subsequently raised by family (including Talia’s sister and her husband).

Binyamin Ze’ev Kahane was 34 years old at the time of his death. He held dual American-Israeli citizenship. His life was devoted to the study, teaching, and political application of the ideology developed by his father, carried out under conditions of legal restriction, security pressure, and ongoing conflict. His writings and the institutions he helped lead continued to circulate among followers after his death.

Benyamin Zeev Kahane

Born 3 October 1966

NEW YORK CITY , U.S.

Died 31 December 2000 (aged 34)