Terrorist Organization Profile:
EYAL (Fighting Jewish Organization)

EYAL became active shortly after the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords; their main aim was to disrupt the ongoing peace process and to oppose steps taken by then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to hand back the West Bank to the Palestinians. In September 1995, EYAL claimed initial responsibility for the shooting death of a Palestinian in the West Bank town of Halhoul, but later denied any involvement. Another small Jewish extremist group "Sword of David" also claimed responsibility for the attack, and other sources indicate that the shooting could have been a criminal affair.

In November 1995, Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist named Yigal Amir. Although it is not conclusive that Amir was a member of EYAL, he certainly had ties to the organization and it's founder, Avishai Raviv. In a bizarre twist, it later emerged that Raviv was actually an agent for the Israeli Shin Bet, investigating right-wing groups. While some speculate Shin Bet actually founded EYAL to spy on other extremists, the Shin Bet denies this claim vehemently. In any case, EYAL dissipated shortly after Raviv was found to be a collaborator, and the remaining members most likely joined the Kach movement and its affiliate Kahane Chai.

Learn more about these U.S. Department of State classifications:

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)

Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL)