JDL declares L.A. arrests ‘a political prosecution’

JDL Chairman Irv Rubin and JDL member Earl Krugel issued a statement Sunday that was played on a JDL office telephone message, recorded by an unidentified male voice.

The pair supported their statements by referring to a New York Times Internet article Sunday that said, in part, "Federal officials in Los Angeles said the case [against Rubin and Krugel] should put to rest complaints that the authorities have been singling out Arabs and Muslims in their terrorism investigations since the attacks of Sept. 11."

The recorded statement also called the case "a political prosecution."

Rubin and Krugel were charged Dec. 12 in federal court for allegedly plotting to bomb a Culver City mosque and the office of Lebanese-American Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), whose district includes parts of Orange and San Diego counties.

Authorities say they were tipped to the alleged plan in October by an unidentified informant who was a longtime JDL member.

Rubin and Krugel are expected to plead innocent to the charges at a Dec. 31 arraignment and could face more than 30 years in prison if convicted.

Even before grabbing national headlines last week when his offices were the target of an alleged bombing plot by Jewish extremists, Issa had gained the attention of the American Jewish community.

He spent a week in the Middle East last month meeting with Arab leaders, including Syrian President Bashar Assad, and dined with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

When word reached home of his meetings -- including apparently misquoted comments in which Issa appeared to say that Hezbollah was not participating in terrorist acts -- he was lambasted.

Those comments apparently are what caught the attention of the militant JDL. On its Web site, the JDL says one of its principles is "to help Jews everywhere and to change the Jewish image through sacrifice and all necessary means -- even strength, force and violence."

In the name of fighting anti-Semitism, the JDL has used violence and intimidation ever since it was formed in 1968 by Rabbi Meir Kahane to mount an armed response to anti-Semitic incidents in New York City. Its symbol is a raised fist inside a Star of David.

The group has been implicated in hundreds of violent or provocative incidents, according to Gail Gans, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Civil Rights Information Center. Its leaders were also jailed in San Francisco after a 1975 assault at the Jewish Community Federation. Four people were attacked, including a disabled Holocaust survivor. "They didn't like our allocations," Louis Weintraub, a former executive vice president, said in a 1997 Bulletin interview. "It was the JDL's invasion of our office that finally caused us to bulletproof the reception area leading to our offices."

After last week's arrests, Jewish lawmakers and leaders of American Jewish organizations, who have battled with Issa over Middle East legislation, rallied behind the freshman lawmaker, condemning the JDL's alleged plans. "AIPAC is particularly disturbed by the reports of the JDL's intent to harm Darrell Issa, a democratically elected member of the House of Representatives," said Howard Kohr, executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. "There is absolutely no place in our democracy for such reprehensible behavior and blatant disregard for freedom of speech and human life."

Despite their unwavering defense of Issa's personal security, Jewish officials are cautious in their approach to him.

A first-year congressman who serves San Diego and Orange counties, Issa calls himself "staunchly pro-Israel." He has, however, made it clear through his actions and words that he will criticize Israeli policies and what he calls America's unilateral support for Israel.

He is seen as an important player, serving on the Middle East subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, key committees that deal with issues of concern to Jewish groups.

Some Jewish activists see him as an emerging leader within the Arab-American community, comparing him to Spencer Abraham, the former Michigan senator and current secretary of energy.

"He has a fire in his belly on these issues," said an official with an American Jewish organization. "He's going to be for his community what Tom Lantos is for the Jewish community."

Issa, who grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, describes himself as a product of a Jewish neighborhood. His first after-school job was delivering kosher chickens for a rabbi, he said.

As a Lebanese-American Christian, Issa says he has a unique perspective on both sides of the Middle East conflict, and that he wants to work to bring about peace. He says his perspective has been welcomed by colleagues on the Mideast subcommittee, a panel overflowing with advocates for Israel.