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Lehava

Lehava ( "Flame," ''LiMniat Hitbolelut B'eretz HaKodesh''; Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land) is an Israeli far-right and Jewish supremacist organization based in Israel that strictly opposes Jewish assimilation, objecting to most personal relationships between Jews and non-Jews. It is opposed to the Christian presence in Israel. It has an anti-intermarriage focus, denouncing marriages between Jews and non-Jews forbidden by Orthodox Jewish law. The group has over 10,000 members. In 2024, the United States placed Lehava and its leader, Bentzi Gopstein, on a sanctions list for their ro

Key facts

Organization.logo: Lehava_logo.png
Organization.formation: 2005
Organization.purpose: Anti-intermarriage
Organization.headquarters: Jerusalem
Organization.leader_name: Bentzi Gopstein
Organization.key_people: Michael Ben-AriBentzi GopsteinBaruch MarzelItamar Ben-Gvir
Organization.affiliations: Otzma YehuditHemla
Organization.name: Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land
Organization.abbreviation: Lehava
Organization.founder: Bentzi Gopstein
Organization.membership: 10,000

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Article

9 sections

Contents

Etymology
Prominent members and supporters
Activities
Opposition to interfaith marriages
Calls for segregation
Anti-LGBT
Opposition to Christianity in Israel
Opposition to Lehava
References

Lehava ( "Flame," ''LiMniat Hitbolelut B'eretz HaKodesh; Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land) is an Israeli far-right and Jewish supremacist organization based in Israel that strictly opposes Jewish assimilation, objecting to most personal relationships between Jews and non-Jews. It is opposed to the Christian presence in Israel. It has an anti-intermarriage focus, denouncing marriages between Jews and non-Jews forbidden by Orthodox Jewish law. The group has over 10,000 members. In 2024, the United States placed Lehava and its leader, Bentzi Gopstein, on a sanctions list for their role in fomenting Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, labeling Lehava "the largest violent extremist organization in Israel."

==Etymology== Lehava () is an acronym for the Hebrew phrase LiMniat Hitbolelut B'eretz HaKodesh'' (For the Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land). It is also the Hebrew word for "flame", implying a keeping of the flame or faith, giving the phrase a double meaning.