Israel. PATRIOTS BARUCH MARZEL, MICHAEL BEN ARI CREATE A NEW RIGHT-WING MOVEMENT

Two ultranationalists are planning to found a new political party to outflank their former partner, far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir, from an even more extremist position.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Baruch Marzel and Michael Ben Ari, who have both previously been disqualified by the High Court from running in Knesset elections, are jointly launching the party.

The outlet said activists collected signatures required for the establishment of a party at a memorial event for Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the racist Kach party, held in the coastal city of Bat Yam on Wednesday evening.

It was unclear if they reached the 100-signature threshold.

Ben Ari and Marzel were founding members of Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, alongside other extremist figures such as Bentzi Gopstein, head of the radical right-wing anti-LGBT and anti-miscegenation Lehava organization.

Ben Ari was a previous leader of Otzma Yehudit but was disqualified by the High Court of Justice from running ahead of the April 2019 elections due to his repeated incitement against Arabs. He previously served in the 18th Knesset (2009-2013) as a member of the National Union alliance of far-right political parties.

Marzel and Gopstein were banned from running in August 2019 over racist statements.

Earlier this year, Marzel criticized Ben Gvir, saying that his former ally was “ideologically flexible.” He told The Times of Israel last week he did not vote for Otzma Yehudit in the recent election.

Marzel led the Kach party after its founder was assassinated in 1990, and has long been identified with the faction’s goal of forcibly cleansing the country of Arabs. The party formally disbanded in 1994 after the Israeli government declared it a terror group.

Last year, Facebook said it permanently banned Ben Ari and Marzel from Facebook and Instagram, citing “their ongoing support for Kach and Kahane Chai — groups deemed to be terror organizations by US and Israeli law.”

Ben Gvir attended a memorial to Kahane last week where he was booed after saying that although he admired the racist leader, he would not advance legislation that would expel all Arabs from Israel and the West Bank or create a regime of ethnic segregation, as Kahane advocated.

Remarks he made vowing to expel terrorists from the country were, however, cheered by the crowd, and Ben Gvir also extolled Kahane’s virtues and praised him for many of his activities.

Ben Gvir as a lawyer, he represented for free numerous Jewish citizens, soldiers and policemen, patriots who were accused by the State of Israel of using self-defense in attacks on them by Arab terrorists.