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U.S. embassy concerned over possible Kahane memorial in Knesset
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Knesset, Rabbi Meir Kahane 

The U.S. embassy asked Knesset Chairman Reuven Rivlin whether he intends to permit Knesset members to hold a ceremony in the plenum in memory of Rabbi Meir Kahane.

Michael Pearlstein, the embassy's second secretary in Tel Aviv, wrote to Moshe Stern, a Rivlin adviser, to clarify the matter for U.S. special envoy Sen. George Mitchell and his staff.

We "would like to know if the speaker has made a decision and, if so, what it is," Pearlstein wrote to Stern. "This is something Senator Mitchell and his team are following with some concern," Pearlstein wrote.
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Israeli media reported that MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) was planning to hold a plenum session in honor of former MK Kahane, around the Hebrew anniversary of the former Kach leader's assassination.

These reports sparked American concern.

Rivlin refused to authorize Ben Ari's plan when it was initially proposed.

"We are talking about a provocation. The man and his outlawed [extremist] movement cannot be separated. This is an attempt to bring the Kach movement into the Knesset through the back door," said Rivlin.

Ben Ari appealed Rivlin's decision, and gained the support of several Knesset members. In a House Committee meeting Thursday, chairman MK Yariv Levin (Likud) announced he intended to mediate between Rivlin and Ben Ari, to see whether some form of ceremony could be held, despite Rivlin's initial opposition.

Rivlin told Levin he was standing by his refusal, but was willing to accept any House Committee decision.

Rivlin adviser Stern responded in writing to the American Embassy, stating that the Knesset chairman had no intention of allowing any event commemorating Kahane to take place in the Knesset building, but that Rivlin could not prevent parliamentary manipulations by other MKs.

Ben Ari slammed the American inquiry Thursday.

"I was elected by the citizens of the independent state of Israel. Mitchell's gross intervention crosses a red line. Its acceptance amounts to a genuflection by the chairman of the Knesset, which is supposed to be [a] sovereign [entity].

"The weakness broadcast by Rivlin has turned the Knesset into a doormat. It's amazing to see how American government officials are trying to get involved in the daily workings of the Knesset," he said.

Ben Ari had planned to fly to the U.S. on business Thursday, but remained in Israel after the U.S. Embassy refused to issue him a visa.
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  1.   The tipping point 04:56  |  Meir Weinstein 13/11/09
  2.   Didn`t Kach come into the Knesset through the front door 06:32  |  jim the mechanic 13/11/09
  3.   The Greatness of Rabbi Kahane 09:21  |  Michael Gorinsky 13/11/09
  4.   Whats wrong with commemorating Rabbi Kahane? 09:41  |  Chaim Ben Kahane 13/11/09
  5.   The Greatness of Rabbi Kahane 09:44  |  Michael Gorinsky 13/11/09
  6.   Personally... 09:48  |  Yosemite 13/11/09
  7.   Chaim Ben Kahane - Nothing to do with USA 10:21  |  Mark of Lewiston 13/11/09
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