“The issue here is when they get to be part of the mainstream. I’m not scared of these Kahanists, I’m scared of how the mainstream relates to them.”
The chosen venue, opposite the Prime Minister’s residence, is to express dismay with Benjamin Netanyahu who brokered the controversial deal as well as with the political representatives of the religious-Zionist establishment who agreed to it.
“It’s not just about Jewish Home,” he said. “The minute Netanyahu more than gave his blessing, this became about value-based leadership, about the soul of the Jewish people.”
“It’s hugely important to me where the red lines are drawn,” he added.
Mr Goodman said that ever since he was a Bnei Akiva member in the UK, and then part of the movement’s professional team, he was concerned about a push to the right in Israel’s religious-Zionist establishment.
After making aliyah in 2002 he worked for World Bnei Akiva for a decade, and became increasingly worried.
He believes that the deal with Kahanists shows how far religious-Zionist leaders have strayed from their roots, and soon after hearing about it decided that the dovish religious-Zionist group that he helps to lead, Oz V’Shalom, needed to take a stand.
Within 24 hours of announcing the rally, more than 1,000 people said they wanted to attend.
“It is about creating a new discourse among religious-Zionists, and we’re going to see a wave, an avalanche of relies people coming out of the closet and saying: ‘I have progressive values and, while I have been quiet since Oslo, I’m not scared to share them.’ They will say this because they are seeing now where their silence has led things.”
He added: “It’s hugely healthy for the national discourse that you have religious people facing off against each other. The Kahanists are getting massive air time and there needs to be a voice standing against them.”
Mr Goodman rejects the argument that Jewish Home has only made a strategic or tactical alliance, as it is asking its supporters to use their votes to put Kahanists — who are mixed in with more moderate candidates on the joint list — into the Knesset.
“It’s the first time ever that the religious-Zionist establishment has given a hechsher to this ideology,” he said.
The Oxford-raised father-of-four wants to seize on the discussion about values prompted by the latest developments, and get more religious-Zionists distancing themselves from extremists and thinking instead about their potential to help social cohesion.
“I have a deeply held belief that there is so much good in the religious-Zionist community,” he said.
