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