ARTICLE Fighting intermarriage in the Holy Land: Lehava and Israeli ethnonationalism Ari Engelberg Hadassah Academic College Behavioral Sciences and Social Work, departments ABSTRACT Lehava is an Israeli extreme right-wing organization dedicated to fighting intermarriage and especially preventing Arab men from courting Jewish women. This article presents the results of an ethno- graphic research on Lehava. The organization is examined in the context of growing Jewish ethno-nationalism in Israel and the con- tingent development of new urban extreme right-wing movements. The research presents an initial foray into this field. Lehava brings together traditional Mizrahim, teenagers from the margins of Haredi society, and the extreme right-wing fringes of Religious Zionism. The elements that attract members of these various groups are described, especially the patriarchal notion that religious and national honor is lost when Jewish women have sexual relations with Arab men. Lehava’s positioning between extreme right-wing movements and religious organizations is explained. It is suggested that local ele- ments including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israeli ethnic and class relations play a role in shaping this phenomenon, and that it is also comparable to similar cases occurring in the context of post- colonial national and religious struggles. ARTICLE HISTORY Accepted 24 April 2017 KEYWORDS Lehava; intermarriage; extreme-right-wing movements; ethnonationalism Introduction Lehava is an extreme right-wing religious organization. Its name, which literally means “flame,” is an acronym of “For the prevention of intermarriage in the Holy Land.” Chiefly, the organization attempts to prevent Arab men from courting Jewish women; other activities include attacks on alleged Christian missionaries, and demonstrations against the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem. The organization’s founder and leader, Bentzi (Ben-Zion) Gopstein, is an extreme right-wing political activist and a follower of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose political party Kach was declared racist and outlawed by the Israeli Knesset in the late 1980s. 1 Established in 2009, Lehava seems to be growing, with new branches opening up throughout the country; its official membership is probably in the hundreds. 2 As the survey of social media conducted for this research indicates, however, it draws the support of wider circles. Lehava and Gopstein often attract media attention; mainstream journalists regularly portray Lehava as racist – an accusation its leaders staunchly deny. Who are the supporters of Lehava? How do they view their activity? What motivates them? What role does religion play in their world view? This article will address these CONTACT Ari Engelberg ari.engelberg@mail.huji.ac.il Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article. JOURNAL OF ISRAELI HISTORY https://doi.org/10.1080/13531042.2018.1466468 © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group