Editing Meir Kahane (section)

==Personal life==
Meir Kahane was born in [[Brooklyn]], New York, to an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] family.<ref name="mart">{{Cite book |url={{Google books |id=yhejdNH9nMkC |page=141 |plainurl=yes}} |title=When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry |isbn=978-0-5475-0443-8 |last1=Beckerman |first1=Gal |year=2010}}</ref> Kahane was a member of an established rabbinic family, including his father, who was head of the Flatbush Board of Rabbis.<ref name=JoB>{{cite book |url={{Google books |id=ydmtk2HGrcAC?hl |page=287 |plainurl=yes}} |editor-first1=Ilana |editor-last1=Abramovitch |editor-first2=Seán |editor-last2=Galvin |title=Jews of Brooklyn |date=November 1, 2001 |publisher=Brandeis University Press |location=Hanover, NH |isbn=9781584650034 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{rp|287}} His father, Yechezkel Shragei (Charles) Kahane (1905–1978), was the rabbi of a large synagogue in Brooklyn, author of the interpretive [[Torah]] translation ''Torah Yesharah'', and a strong supporter of the [[Revisionist Zionism|Revisionist Zionist]] movement.<ref>Yosef Lindell, [https://seforimblog.com/2023/03/when-meir-kahanes-father-translated-the-torah/ When Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Father Translated the Torah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330074041/https://seforimblog.com/2023/03/when-meir-kahanes-father-translated-the-torah/ |date=March 30, 2023 }}</ref> Kahane's grandfather was Nachman Kahane (1869–1937), a leading rabbinic scholar in [[Safed]], who was the son of Baruch David Kahane (1850–1925), the author of ''Hibat ha-Eretz'', and a disciple of [[Chaim Halberstam|Chaim Halberstam of Sanz]]. Baruch David was a direct descendant of [[Simcha Rappaport]] (1650–1718), of the [[Rappaport family|Rappaport rabbinic family]], who were allegedly able to trace their ancestry back to [[Eleazar ben Azariah]], a 1st-century sage in the [[Land of Israel]]. Baruch David immigrated to [[Ottoman Palestine]] from Poland in 1873.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenstein|first=Neil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGpmAAAAMAAJ|title=The Unbroken Chain: Biographical Sketches and the Genealogy of Illustrious Jewish Families from the 15th–20th Century|publisher=CIS Publishers|year=1990|isbn=978-0-9610578-4-8|volume=3|pages=43|language=en}}</ref> Kahane's father was born in Safed while his mother Sonia was born in [[Latvia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.haayal.co.il/story_1541 |title=הרבה נכתב על הרב כהנא המנוח במשך השנים. דמותו ותורתו השנויה במחלוקת עוררו תגובות אוהדות מחד, ונזעמות מאידך. חלק ראשון מתוך שניים. |access-date=November 18, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822025008/http://www.haayal.co.il/story_1541 |url-status=live }}</ref> An uncle of Kahane's was killed in Safed during the [[1929 Palestine riots]].<ref>[[Shaul Magid]], [https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/kahane-won  'Kahane Won:How the radical rabbi’s ideas and disciples took over Israeli politics, and why it’s dangerous,'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521212336/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/kahane-won |date=May 21, 2022 }} [[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]] March 15, 2019</ref>

As a teenager, Kahane became an ardent admirer of [[Eri Jabotinsky]] and [[Peter Bergson]], who were frequent guests in his parents' home. He joined the [[Betar]] (Brit Trumpeldor) youth wing of Revisionist Zionism. He was active in protests against [[Ernest Bevin]], the [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|British Foreign Secretary]] who maintained restrictions on the emigration of Jews, even [[Holocaust survivors]], to Palestine after the end of the [[Second World War]]. In 1949, Kahane was arrested for throwing eggs and tomatoes at Bevin, who was disembarking at Pier 90 on a visit to New York. A photo of his arrest appeared in the ''[[New York Daily News]]''.<ref>[[Robert I. Friedman|Friedman, Robert I]]. ''The false prophet – Rabbi Meir Kahane – from FBI informant to Knesset member'', New York, 1990, p.9. {{ISBN|1-55652-078-6}}</ref> In 1954, he became the Mazkir (Secretary) of Greater New York City's 16 [[Bnei Akiva]] chapters.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Kahane's formal education included [[Yeshiva of Flatbush]] for elementary school and  [[Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy|Brooklyn Talmudical Academy]] for high school.<ref>also see [[talk:Meir Kahane#High school stunt]]</ref> Kahane received his [[Semicha|rabbinical ordination]] from the [[Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn)|Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn]], where he was especially admired by the head Rabbi [[Avraham Kalmanowitz|Abraham Kalmanowitz]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Libby Kahane |title=Rabbi Meir Kahane: His Life and Thought (Vol. 1) |quote=Rabbi Abraham Kalmanowitz had a great love for Meir... [He once told Meir:] 'Because you sanctified G-d's name... your name and fame shall spread far and wide.' |page=50}}</ref> He was fully conversant in the [[Tanakh]] (Jewish Bible), the [[Talmud]], the [[Midrash]] and [[Halakha|Jewish law]]. Subsequently, Kahane earned a B.A. in [[political science]] from [[Brooklyn College]] in 1954, a Bachelor of Law – LL.B. from [[New York Law School]], and an M.A. in International Relations from [[New York University]].<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Meir-Kahane |title=Meir Kahane: Israeli political extremist and rabbi |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=November 1, 2019 |access-date=December 25, 2019 |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027001806/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Meir-Kahane |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Libby Kahane, "Rabbi Meir Kahane: His Life and Thought" vol. 2, chap 6, note 3 p. 577.</ref>

In 1956, Kahane married Libby Blum, with whom he had four children:<ref name=carrying>{{cite news|last=Nathan-Kazis|first=Josh|title=Carrying a torch|journal=Haaretz|date=January 6, 2009|url=https://www.haaretz.com/2009-01-06/ty-article/carrying-a-torch/0000017f-f651-d318-afff-f7739b920000|access-date=July 29, 2022|archive-date=July 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729124133/https://www.haaretz.com/2009-01-06/ty-article/carrying-a-torch/0000017f-f651-d318-afff-f7739b920000|url-status=live}}</ref> Tzipporah,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/231514|title=Tzipi Kaplan, daughter of Rabbi Kahane, passes away|publisher=Arutz Sheva|first=Eliran|last=Aharon|date=June 25, 2017|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=September 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927144343/https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/231514|url-status=live}}</ref> Tova, Baruch, and [[Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane|Binyamin]].<ref name=carrying /><ref>{{cite web|last=Miskin|first=Maayana|title=Kahane Family Sues as Radio Ads Pulled over Peace Now Pressure|date=November 30, 2010|publisher=[[Arutz Sheva]]|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140933#.U6g_AtJdUuc|access-date=June 23, 2014|archive-date=December 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222163336/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140933#.U6g_AtJdUuc|url-status=live}}</ref> Binyamin became an Orthodox Jewish scholar, rabbi, and far-right political leader aligned with Kahane's political movement, and was later killed in 2000.

In 1966, Kahane, under the alias of Michael King and while already married, had an affair and became engaged to marry the 21-year-old model Gloria Jean D'Argenio (who used the stage name Estelle Donna Evans).<ref name="weinman">{{cite web |title=The Woman on the Bridge |url=https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/the-woman-on-the-bridge.html |first=Sarah |last=Weinman |work=[[New York (magazine)#The Cut|The Cut]] |date=April 12, 2020 |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415135136/https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/the-woman-on-the-bridge.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kahane sent a letter to D'Argenio in which he unilaterally ended their relationship. D'Argenio was never aware of Kahane's real identity and at the time she received the letter, she had been expecting him to marry her in two days and had recently learned she was pregnant by him.<ref name="weinman"/> Upon receiving the letter, D'Argenio jumped off the [[Queensboro Bridge]] and died of her injuries the next day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/06/weekinreview/remembering-kahane-and-the-woman-on-the-bridge.html?src=pm|url-access=subscription|title=Remembering Kahane, and the Woman on the Bridge|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 6, 1994|first=Michael T.|last=Kaufman|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=October 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005115606/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/06/weekinreview/remembering-kahane-and-the-woman-on-the-bridge.html?src=pm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hewitt |first1=Bill |last2=Podolsky |first2=J.D. |last3=Avrech |first3=Mira |title=After a Career of Preaching Hatred for Arabs, Rabbi Meir Kahane Is Cut Down by An Assassin's Bullet |url=https://people.com/archive/after-a-career-of-preaching-hatred-for-arabs-rabbi-meir-kahane-is-cut-down-by-an-assassins-bullet-vol-34-no-20/ |access-date=January 5, 2020 |work=People |date=November 19, 1990 |language=en |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212002136/https://people.com/archive/after-a-career-of-preaching-hatred-for-arabs-rabbi-meir-kahane-is-cut-down-by-an-assassins-bullet-vol-34-no-20/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2008, Kahane's wife dismissed the incident as lacking proof.<ref name="jpost">{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/Never-Again-Indeed-Extract|last=Gross|first=Netty C.|title=Never Again, Indeed (Extract)|work=The Jerusalem Report|date=September 1, 2008|access-date=January 5, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308210824/https://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/Never-Again-Indeed-Extract|url-status=live}}</ref>

After D'Argenio's death, Kahane started the Estelle Donna Evans Foundation in her name.<ref name="weinman"/><ref name="jpost"/> Kahane claimed D'Argenio had been his former secretary in his failed consulting operation, had died of cancer, and that her "well-to-do" family had endowed the foundation.<ref name="weinman"/> In reality, the money was used to fund the JDL, including supplies for bombings and Kahane's lavish travel.<ref name="weinman"/>