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Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a far-right political organization in the United States and Canada. Its stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"; it has been classified as "right-wing terrorist group" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 2001,[needs update] and is also designated as hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. According to the FBI, the JDL has been involved in plotting and executing acts of terrorism within the United States. Most terrorist watch groups classify the group as inactive as of 2015.
Founded by Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, the JDL's self-described purpose was to protect Jews from local manifestations of antisemitism. Its criticism of the Soviet Union increased local support for the group, transforming it from a "vigilante club" into an organization with a stated membership numbering over 15,000 at one point. The group took to bombing Arab and Soviet properties in the United States while assassinating a variety of alleged "enemies of the Jewish people" ranging from Arab-American political activists to neo-Nazis. A number of JDL members have been linked to violent, and sometimes deadly, attacks in the United States and in other countries, including the murder of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee regional director Alex Odeh in 1985; the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in 1994; a plot to assassinate U.S. Representative Darrell Issa in 2001; and a plot to bomb the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, California. In 1990, Kahane was assassinated by an Egyptian-American gunman, El Sayyid Nosair, at a hotel in New York City.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the JDL consists only of "thugs and hooligans" and Kahane "preached a radical form of Jewish nationalism which reflected racism, violence, and political extremism," attitudes that were replicated by his successor Irv Rubin.
In 1968, while Kahane served as the associate editor for The Jewish Press, the paper's office began receiving numerous calls and letters about crimes being committed against Jews and Jewish institutions. Violence in the New York City area was on the rise, with Jews making up a disproportionately large percentage of the victims. Elderly Jews were being harassed and mugged, storeowners were held up and Jewish teachers were assaulted while Jewish synagogues were defaced and Jewish cemeteries desecrated.
After discussing the matter with a few congregants, Kahane put out an ad in The Jewish Press on May 24, 1968, which read: "We are talking of JEWISH SURVIVAL! Are you willing to stand up for democracy and Jewish survival? Join and support the Jewish Defense Corps." Shortly after, Kahane renamed the group the "Jewish Defense League," fearing that "Corps" would be construed as too militant. The group's declared purpose was: "to combat anti-Semitism in the public and private sectors of life in the United States of America." Kahane stated that the League was formed to "do the job that the Anti-Defamation League should do but doesn't."
Shortly afterwards, the Jewish Defense League put out a four-page manifesto which stated: "America has been good to the Jew and the Jew has been good to America. A land founded on the principles of democracy and freedom has given unprecedented opportunities to a people devoted to those ideals" yet now finds itself threatened by "political extremism" and "racist militancy." Furthermore, the manifesto stated that the organization rejects all hate and illegality, believes firmly in law and order, backs police forces and will work actively in the courts to strike down all discrimination. When asked about Jewish Defense League members breaking the law, Kahane responded: "We respect the right and the obligation of the American government to prosecute us and send us to jail. No one gripes about that."
The group adopted the slogan "Never Again!" which was originally used by the Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw ghetto. While the phrase is usually interpreted to mean that the Nazi Holocaust of six million Jews will never be permitted to recur, Kahane claimed that his intention was to declare that Jews should never again be caught by surprise or lulled into a foolish trust in others.
The first Jewish Defense League demonstration took place on August 5, 1968, at New York University with some 15 members chanting: "No Nazis at NYU, Jewish rights are precious too."
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Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a far-right political organization in the United States and Canada. Its stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"; it has been classified as "right-wing terrorist group" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 2001,[needs update] and is also designated as hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. According to the FBI, the JDL has been involved in plotting and executing acts of terrorism within the United States. Most terrorist watch groups classify the group as inactive as of 2015.
Founded by Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, the JDL's self-described purpose was to protect Jews from local manifestations of antisemitism. Its criticism of the Soviet Union increased local support for the group, transforming it from a "vigilante club" into an organization with a stated membership numbering over 15,000 at one point. The group took to bombing Arab and Soviet properties in the United States while assassinating a variety of alleged "enemies of the Jewish people" ranging from Arab-American political activists to neo-Nazis. A number of JDL members have been linked to violent, and sometimes deadly, attacks in the United States and in other countries, including the murder of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee regional director Alex Odeh in 1985; the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in 1994; a plot to assassinate U.S. Representative Darrell Issa in 2001; and a plot to bomb the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, California. In 1990, Kahane was assassinated by an Egyptian-American gunman, El Sayyid Nosair, at a hotel in New York City.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the JDL consists only of "thugs and hooligans" and Kahane "preached a radical form of Jewish nationalism which reflected racism, violence, and political extremism," attitudes that were replicated by his successor Irv Rubin.
In 1968, while Kahane served as the associate editor for The Jewish Press, the paper's office began receiving numerous calls and letters about crimes being committed against Jews and Jewish institutions. Violence in the New York City area was on the rise, with Jews making up a disproportionately large percentage of the victims. Elderly Jews were being harassed and mugged, storeowners were held up and Jewish teachers were assaulted while Jewish synagogues were defaced and Jewish cemeteries desecrated.
After discussing the matter with a few congregants, Kahane put out an ad in The Jewish Press on May 24, 1968, which read: "We are talking of JEWISH SURVIVAL! Are you willing to stand up for democracy and Jewish survival? Join and support the Jewish Defense Corps." Shortly after, Kahane renamed the group the "Jewish Defense League," fearing that "Corps" would be construed as too militant. The group's declared purpose was: "to combat anti-Semitism in the public and private sectors of life in the United States of America." Kahane stated that the League was formed to "do the job that the Anti-Defamation League should do but doesn't."
Shortly afterwards, the Jewish Defense League put out a four-page manifesto which stated: "America has been good to the Jew and the Jew has been good to America. A land founded on the principles of democracy and freedom has given unprecedented opportunities to a people devoted to those ideals" yet now finds itself threatened by "political extremism" and "racist militancy." Furthermore, the manifesto stated that the organization rejects all hate and illegality, believes firmly in law and order, backs police forces and will work actively in the courts to strike down all discrimination. When asked about Jewish Defense League members breaking the law, Kahane responded: "We respect the right and the obligation of the American government to prosecute us and send us to jail. No one gripes about that."
The group adopted the slogan "Never Again!" which was originally used by the Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw ghetto. While the phrase is usually interpreted to mean that the Nazi Holocaust of six million Jews will never be permitted to recur, Kahane claimed that his intention was to declare that Jews should never again be caught by surprise or lulled into a foolish trust in others.
The first Jewish Defense League demonstration took place on August 5, 1968, at New York University with some 15 members chanting: "No Nazis at NYU, Jewish rights are precious too."