20 - 26 December 2001
Issue No.565
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 20 - 26 December 2001 Issue No.565 |
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'Wake-up call'
A foiled plot by a militant Jewish organisation to target Islamic institutions in the US has energised calls by Muslim American groups for authorities to turn their attention to non-Muslim militant organisations, reports Anayat Durrani in Washington
Federal authorities last week charged the chairman of the US- based Jewish Defense League (JDL) and the West Coast coordinator of the militant group of plotting to blow up Arab and Muslim American institutions in Southern California. One of the men involved in the plot was quoted as saying that Arabs needed "a wake-up call."
The two men, Irv Rubin, 56, and Earl Krugel, 59, have been under investigation by the FBI since October. They were taken into custody after the last bomb-making materials were allegedly delivered to Krugel's home and consequent raids uncovered weapons and bomb-making components at one residence.
The FBI foiled a plot by the two men to attack the office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, the King Fahd mosque in the LA suburb of Culver City and the offices of an Arab American Congressman, Representative Darrell Issa. Rubin said they planned the bombings to show that the Jewish Defense League is "alive in a militant way."
The militant Jewish Defense League is based in Los Angeles, but was originally founded in Brooklyn in 1968 by the late radical Rabbi Meir Kahane. Kahane was also the founder of Kach and Kahane Chai, which are both on the US State Department's list of terrorist organisations. Rubin succeeded Kahane as chairman of the organisation in 1985. The group boasts thousands of members throughout the US and worldwide and advocates a policy of using "all means necessary -- even strength, force and violence" to achieve its goals of safeguarding Jewish interests.
The group was tied to the 1985 assassination of Alex Odeh, southern California regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Odeh was killed in a pipe bomb explosion when he opened the door to his office. Rubin was quoted as saying that Odeh "got what he deserved." Following the attack, the FBI identified three suspects believed to be associated with the Jewish Defense League. They fled to Israel and were granted Israeli citizenship. One was eventually extradited to the US to serve a life sentence for a bombing plot in an unrelated case. The Odeh case remains unsolved.
More recently, the Jewish Defense League applauded the malicious work of Israeli terrorist Baruch Goldstein, who in 1994 massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Goldstein was a "charter member" of the Jewish Defense League and is described by the group as a "brilliant surgeon, a mild-mannered Yeshiva-educated man who was promoted to the rank of major in the IDF [Israeli Defence Force]." The statement went on: "We understand his motivation, his grief and his actions."
Following the arrest of the two JDL members, the American Muslim community responded with praise and appreciation for the FBI, relieved that the agency had prevented the attack. But American Muslim groups are still demanding that the same anti- terrorism policies being applied to Muslim groups be applied to non-Muslim groups as well.
The Holy Land Foundation, the Global Relief Fund and Benevolence International Foundation have all had their assets frozen and their offices shut down by federal agents for their alleged links to international terrorism. The actions came days before the Eid holiday, when Muslims make most of their annual charitable contributions. No evidence has been produced supporting allegations against any of the three charities. Citing the actions taken against the three major American Muslim charities in the past two weeks, American Muslims have called on the US Justice Department to freeze the assets of the Jewish Defense League.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council, whose executive director was targeted in the attack, released a statement saying that the Jewish Defense League "has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is a domestic terrorism threat. ... Their terrorist cells are spread throughout our nation. The longer they are open for 'business' the longer these cells add to a climate of fear and insecurity for all Americans."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, said an "atmosphere of Islamophobia" incited the bomb plot against Arab and Muslim institutions. The organisation blames right-wing and pro-Israel extremists who they say have fanned an "ongoing anti-Islamic smear campaign" since the 11 September tragedy. "We call on President Bush to condemn all those who may have been involved in the plot. We request that law enforcement authorities offer added protection for mosques nationwide and investigate the possibility that other JDL terrorist cells may exist," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
The Jewish Defense League denies the allegations. A message on the group's Web site says, "We are the last people to be involved in any attempt to harm innocent people." The group said their members were being "persecuted by the US government" and called the arrest of its chairman and member a "governmental appeasement of the Muslim community."
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