Summary
Yosef Shapira, a Gush Emunim figure within the National Religious Party who became the party’s second cabinet minister under Hammer in 1986, and who in October 1987 publicly proposed paying Arabs $20,000 each to leave Israel and the territories permanently (For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel).
Details
- Shapira, long identified with the Bnei Akiva movement and with Gush Emunim, joined Hammer as the National Religious Party’s second cabinet minister after Hammer’s 1986 return to the party leadership (For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Chapter 6, lines 8237-8330).
- At the end of October 1987, Minister without Portfolio Yosef Shapira, described as an influential figure within Gush Emunim, publicly suggested that the Transfer of Arabs from both Israel and the territories be accomplished by paying $20,000 to each Arab willing to leave permanently (For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Chapter 7, lines 9129-9400).
- In defence of his proposition Shapira cited a survey his party conducted among rabbis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip: asked “What is your opinion regarding the emigration of gentiles from the country?”, 62 percent responded “We must force them to do so by any means at our disposal and see in it an exchange of populations”, 13 percent favored encouragement of voluntary emigration, and 10 percent said “this is not the time to discuss the question” (For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Chapter 7, lines 9129-9400).
- The poll was conducted by the Tzomet Institute; of 120 questionnaires distributed, fifty-two (43 percent) were returned, with full results in Nekuda, no.115, November 1987, p.37 (For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Chapter 7 note 2, lines 9401-9498).
- Several of Shapira’s National Religious Party colleagues joined him in the ensuing debate over voluntary, semivoluntary and forcible transfer schemes, alongside Rehavam Ze’evi, Mikhael Dekel, Ariel Sharon, Gideon Altschuler, Geula Cohen and Yuval Neeman (For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Chapter 7, lines 9129-9400).
Related pages
For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Transfer, National Religious Party, Gush Emunim