Shabtai Ben-Dov

Shabtai Ben-Dov (Hebrew: שבתי בן דב‎; 31 May, 1924 – 29 December, 1978) was a member of Lehi and a philosopher.[1] His work has been influential on several right-wing Israeli messianic groups.

Personal life

Ben-Dov was born in Vilnius, then part of Second Polish Republic in 1924 and moved to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1935.[1][2] He joined the Irgun, which was fighting the British for control of the region.[3] When Lehi split from Irgun, Ben-Dov joined the former to continue fighting the British, who he didn't think were doing enough to try and stop the Holocaust.[3] He was caught, imprisoned, and eventually exiled to Africa by the British.[1][4] He returned to Israel after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and fought in the IDF's 89th battalion.[1]

After the Six-Day War in which Israel captured the Temple Mount, but allowed the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf to control it, Ben-Dov sued the government. He demanded that the Temple Mount be controlled by those who would "protect it as a Jewish holy place".[4][5]

Philosophy

Ben-Dov believed in a theory of active redemption: that the Mashiach would only come through a bloody national conquest, and that Jews who believed non-violent means could bring about the end of days were naive.[6] He thought that Israel should be a theocratic state instead of a democratic one in order to keep the people focused on the cause of conquest.[4] The establishment of the Third Temple would speedily bring about a world government based on Jewish values governed by a Sanhedrin.[7]

Although his philosophy did not catch on, he did win over Yehuda Etzion to whom he served as a mentor. Etzion later become a member of the Gush Emunim Underground and a revered figure in the Third Temple movement.[4][8] Ben-Dov's philosophy was influential on the group Hai Vekayam, as well as many Gush Katif leaders.[9][10] Etzion would later devote himself to publishing Ben-Dov's writings, of which several volumes have been published.[8][11]

Books

Ben-Dov is the author of:[12]

  • The Redemption of Israel in the Crisis of the State
  • Prophecy and Tradition in Redemption
  • After the Six Day War: From the Six Day Victory On

References
  1. בן דב שבתי. Jewish Encyclopedia Daat (in Hebrew). Herzog College.
  2. Ben-Dov, Shabtai. מהלח חיי (PDF).
  3. Shragai, Nadav (1995). הר המריבה. ISBN 9789650705152.
  4. Gorenberg, Gershom (2002). The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount. p. 116. ISBN 9780195152050.
  5. "בג"ץ 223/67".
  6. New, David S. (2002). Holy War: The Rise of Militant Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Fundamentalism. McFarland. p. 143. ISBN 9780786413362. shabtai ben dov.
  7. Shindler, Colin (2002). The Land Beyond Promise: Israël, Likud and the Zionist Dream. ISBN 9781860647741.
  8. Shragai, Nadav (January 26, 2005). "Third Temple culture". Haaretz.
  9. Berger, Marshall J. (June 2002). Jerusalem: A City and Its Future. p. 308. ISBN 9780815629139.
  10. Yishai, Yael (1987). Land Or Peace: Whither Israel?. ISBN 9780817985233.
  11. "יהודה עציון במשימת חייו". Arutz Sheva. February 19, 2007.
  12. "Shabtai Ben-Dov". saveisrael.com.
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