Jewish Defense League

The Jewish Defense League or JDL is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary". While the group asserts that it "unequivocally condemns terrorism", and claims to have a "strict no-tolerance policy against terrorism and other felonious acts," it was characterized as "a right-wing terrorist group" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2001, and as a hate group involved in "anti-Arab terrorism" by the Southern Poverty Law Center . According to the FBI, the JDL has been involved in plotting terrorist attacks within the United States . . Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, JDL's self-described purpose was to protect Jews from local manifestations of antisemitism. Its criticism of the Soviet Union garnered support for the group, transforming it from a "vigilante club" to an activist organization with membership numbering over 15,000. The group took to bombing Arab and Soviet properties in the United States, and targeting various alleged "enemies of the Jewish people", ranging from Arab-American political activists to neo-Nazis , for assassination. A number of JDL members have been linked to violent, and sometimes deadly, attacks in the United States, including the killing of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee regional director Alex Odeh in 1985, and a plot to kill U.S. The 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs Massacre , in which dozens of Palestinians at prayer were massacred by a gunman in the West Bank city of Hebron , was perpetrated by a one-time JDL member who had emigrated from the United States, Baruch Goldstein . The JDL maintains, on its website, "we are not ashamed to say that Goldstein was a charter member of the Jewish Defense League." Many Jewish groups have long been hostile to the group. According to one Anti-Defamation League official, the group consists only of "thugs and hooligans".

The Jewish Defense League ( JDL ) is a Jewish far-right religious-political organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary". While the group asserts that it "unequivocally condemns terrorism " and states that it has a "strict no-tolerance policy against terrorism and other felonious acts", it was classified as "a right-wing terrorist group" by the FBI in 2001 and is considered a 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 . Founded by Rabbi 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 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, and targeting various alleged "enemies of the Jewish people", ranging from Arab-American political activists to neo-Nazis , for assassination. 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, and a plot to assassinate Congressman Darrell Issa in 2001. The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism 's database of identified terrorist organizations, which is compiled by official contractors and consultants to the United States government and is supported by the Department of Homeland Security , identifies the JDL as a "former terrorist organization". The JDL's website states that it rejects terrorism. According to the Anti-Defamation League , the JDL consists only of "thugs and hooligans". The group's founder, Meir Kahane, "preached a radical form of Jewish nationalism which reflected racism , violence and political extremism," attitudes that were replicated by Irv Rubin , the successor to Kahane. In 2002, the Southern Poverty Law Center added the Jewish Defense League to its list of watched hate groups for the JDL's "long history of bombing, assaulting and threatening its perceived enemies" such as "the Soviet Union, neo-Nazi activists, Palestinian leaders, prominent black Americans and even Jewish moderates" as well as other Jewish radicals, and stated that the JDL "claims to have 13,000 members, but apparently has a few dozen at best." In 1994, the JDL's sister movements Kach and Kahane Chai were both outlawed in Israel as terrorist organizations posing a threat to state security; they are also banned in the United States and the European Union. "JDL Canada" remains legal, despite sharing the ideology, goals and identical logo of the banned organization. However, the French branch of the JDL, the Ligue de Défense Juive (LDJ), is not illegal in France. Several JDL members and leaders died violent deaths, including Kahane himself. The Times of Israel .

Jewish far-right organization The Jewish Defense League ( JDL ) is a Jewish religious-political organization in the United States, whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary ". It is classified as "a right wing terrorist group" by the FBI since 2001, and has been designated a 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 terrorism watch groups classify the group as inactive. Founded by Rabbi 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 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, and targeting various alleged "enemies of the Jewish people", ranging from Arab-American political activists to neo-Nazis , for assassination. 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, and a plot to assassinate Congressman Darrell Issa in 2001. Several JDL members and leaders died violent deaths, including Kahane himself, who was assassinated by an Arab-American gunman. According to the Anti-Defamation League , the JDL consists only of "thugs and hooligans". The group's founder, Meir Kahane, "preached a radical form of Jewish nationalism which reflected racism , violence and political extremism," attitudes that were replicated by Irv Rubin , the successor to Kahane. Rubin and his organization have a long history of promoting, provoking and engaging in racist violence directed against Blacks, Arabs, fellow Jews, as well as reactionary violence and provocations against anti-war and anti-intervention activists, Latinos, and lesbians and gays.[...]The L.A. leader of the JDL, Earl Krugel, was recently involved in the harassment of gay and lesbian demonstrators picketing to protest Catholic Church policies against gays and women[...]In 1993, a group of JDL members who came to a Los Angeles demonstration against the Pope, on the occasion of his visit to Denver, spent most of their time harassing and name-calling gay and feminist picketers, and Irv Rubin subsequently left anti-gay messages on the JDL hotline.

The Jewish Defense League ( JDL ) is a Jewish far-right religious-political organization in the United States and Canada , whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary ". It has been classified as "a right wing terrorist group" by the FBI since 2001, and is designated a 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 terrorism watch groups classify the group as inactive. Founded by Rabbi 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 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, and targeting various alleged "enemies of the Jewish people", ranging from Arab-American political activists to neo-Nazis , for assassination. 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, and a plot to assassinate Congressman Darrell Issa in 2001. Several JDL members and leaders died violent deaths, including Kahane himself, who was assassinated by an Arab-American gunman. According to the Anti-Defamation League , the JDL consists only of "thugs and hooligans". The group's founder, Meir Kahane, "preached a radical form of Jewish nationalism which reflected racism , violence, and political extremism ," attitudes that were replicated by Irv Rubin , the successor to Kahane. "JDL group profile from National Consortium for the Study of Terror and Responses to Terrorism " .

Far-right Jewish political organization 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, 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 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 . The New York Times . "JDL group profile from National Consortium for the Study of Terror and Responses to Terrorism " .