Victor Vancier (born December 25, 1956), commonly referred to by his Hebrew name, Chaim Ben Pesach ( Hebrew : חיים בן פסח ) or as Chaim Ben Yosef is an American political activist and the founder and director of the United States–based Kahanist organization, Jewish Task Force (JTF) and the former National Chairman of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) in the United States. In 1987, he was convicted on charges related to a series of terrorist bombings conducted during his time with the JDL to protest Soviet treatment of Jews. He served five and a half years in federal prison for his involvement in 18 bombings in New York and Washington.
62-967: Pesach was the National Chairman of the Jewish Defense League , but resigned in December 1978 after he went to jail for bombing Egyptian targets in an effort to stop the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula . After his release and upon the completion of his probation in July 1983, Meir Kahane again appointed Pesach to be National Chairman of the JDL. On May 8, 1987, Pesach was arrested along with Jay Cohen and Sharon Katz in relation to multiple bombings in New York, including
124-534: A "disgusting, ugly lesbian " and continued: The God of Israel will not tolerate homosexuality or lesbianism. It is an abomination onto the Lord... I have a cure for AIDS that doesn't cost one penny. Stop being fags! Pesach has described Baruch Goldstein , who perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre , as "a great hero". Pesach has referred to Nelson Mandela as a "Black Nazi ", Yasser Arafat as
186-562: A LDJ propaganda video called for "five cops for every Jew, 10 Arabs for each rabbi." In June 2014, two LDJ supporters were sentenced to prison in France for targeting the car of Jonathan Moadab, the Jewish co-founder of the blog "Cercle des Volontaires (Circle of Volunteers)", with a home-made bomb in September 2012. African-Americans Too Many Requests If you report this error to
248-542: A London-bound plane armed with four loaded guns and a live hand grenade. The two intended to hijack a United Arab Airlines plane and divert it to Israel. On October 6, the JDL is suspected of bombing the New York office of the Palestine Liberation Organization after the PLO hijacked four airliners the previous month. United Press International reported that an anonymous caller phoned in about
310-712: A bombing outside of the Soviet cultural center in Washington, D.C. was followed by a phone call including the JDL slogan "Never again." A JDL spokesperson denied the group's involvement in the bombing, but refused to condemn it. On January 17, in response to JDL tactics against Soviet personnel being condemned by the Israeli Cabinet and American Jewish leaders, eight former Soviet Jews living in Israel sent cables to American Jewish leaders denouncing their condemnation of
372-602: A group calling itself the "Jewish Armed Resistance Movement" claimed responsibility; according to the Toronto Sun , the group had ties to the JDL and to Kahane Chai . The leader of the Toronto wing of the Jewish Defense League, Meir Halevi , denied involvement in the attack, although, just five days later, Halevi was caught trying to break into Zündel's property, where he was apprehended by police. Later
434-507: A half hour before the explosion and proclaimed the JDL slogan, "Never again." On December 20, during a march to protest the treatment of Soviet Jewry, JDL members attempted to take over the Soviet Mission headquarters. The members were arrested after inciting demonstrators to break through police lines. On December 27, the JDL launched a 100-hour vigil for Soviet Jewry. Demonstrators tried to break through police barricades to reach
496-662: 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
558-753: A one-year prison sentence. On December 31, 1975, 15 members of the League seized the office of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in protest for Pope Paul VI 's policy of support of Palestinian rights. The incident was over after one hour, as the activists left the location after being ordered to do so by the local police, and no arrests were made. On April 6, 1976, six prominent refuseniks – including Alexander Lerner , Anatoly Shcharansky , and Iosif Begun – condemned
620-569: A possible maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Pesach said at that time that he felt personally responsible for Cohen's death. The JDL, as overseen by Pesach, is also believed to be responsible for the 1982 fire set at the Tripoli Restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, which destroyed it, killing one person and injuring seven. An anonymous caller claiming to represent the JDL telephoned news organizations to take credit for
682-522: A press conference: "I'm not going to say that the JDL bombed that office. There are laws against that in this country. But I'm not going to say I mourn for it either." The next day, after an anonymous caller claimed responsibility on behalf of the JDL, the group's spokesman later denied his group's involvement, but said, "we support the act." JDL members had often been suspected of involvement in attacks against neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers and antisemites. On October 11, 1985, Alex Odeh , regional director of
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#1732791017080744-447: A prime suspect in the attack; both were members of the JDL. Rochelle's jury deadlocked, and after the mistrial , she left for Israel to join her husband. Robert Manning was extradited from Israel to the U.S. in 1993. He was subsequently found guilty of involvement in the killing of the secretary of computer firm ProWest, Patricia Wilkerson, in another, unrelated mail bomb blast. In addition, he and other JDL members were also suspected in
806-422: A safety razor and jumped out of a third story window. Rubin's suicide would be contested by his widow and the JDL, particularly after his co-defendant pleaded guilty to the charges and implicated Rubin in the plot. On February 4, 2003, Krugel pleaded guilty to conspiracy and weapons charges stemming from the plot, and was expected to serve up to 20 years in prison. The core of the evidence against Krugel and Rubin
868-924: A series of bomb attacks against the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, California, and the San Clemente office of Arab-American Congressman Darrell Issa , in the wake of the September 11 attacks . Rubin, who also was charged with unlawful possession of an automatic firearm, claimed that he was innocent. On November 4, 2002, at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles , Rubin slit his throat with
930-579: A series of coordinated actions against Soviet property in Manhattan and at Kennedy Airport intended to protest the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union . Several youths painted slogans on a Soviet airliner, two of them handcuffed themselves to the airliner, while others daubed the words "Am Yisroel Chai" (the Nation of Israel Lives) on the plane's doors. A similar slogan was painted on the walls of
992-550: A string of other violent attacks through 1985, including the bombing of Boston ADC office that seriously injured two police officers, the bomb killing of suspected Nazi war criminal Tscherim Soobzokov in Paterson, New Jersey , and a bombing in Long Island , which was targeted at suspected Nazi war criminal Elmars Sprogis and maimed a bystander. William Ross, another JDL member, was also found guilty for his participation in
1054-583: A tear gas attack on a performance of the Moiseyev Dance Company , after an anonymous former member of the JDL cooperated with police to capture them. He said he did this in the hopes of influencing the Soviet Union to allow Jewish emigration. Pesach's court-appointed lawyer Thomas Concannon said that it is "fair to say he's a little bit nuts". The judge Israel Leo Glasser regarded Pesach as "a danger to this community". One of his accomplices, 24-year-old Jay Cohen, committed suicide after facing
1116-533: A week-long march from Philadelphia to Washington on behalf of Soviet Jewry, concluding with a rally at Lafayette Park urging President Nixon to "stand tall and firm in the Middle East as you have done elsewhere." In response, Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. , a congressional candidate from Montgomery County (Md.), said he would sponsor a House resolution on Soviet Jewry. On September 27, two JDL members were arrested at Kennedy Airport while attempting to board
1178-692: 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
1240-528: The American Jewish Committee both condemned the murder. Four weeks after Odeh's death, FBI spokesperson Lane Bonner stated the FBI attributed the bombing and two others to the JDL. In February 1986, the FBI classified the bombing that killed Alex Odeh as a terrorist act. Rubin denied JDL involvement: "What the FBI is doing is simple. ... Some character calls up a news agency or whatever and uses
1302-697: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), was killed in a mail bombing at his office in Santa Ana, California . Shortly before his killing, Odeh had appeared on the television show Nightline , where he engaged in a tense dialogue with a representative from the JDL. Irv Rubin immediately made several controversial public statements in reaction to the incident: "I have no tears for Mr. Odeh. He got exactly what he deserved. ... My tears were used up crying for Leon Klinghoffer ." The Anti-Defamation League and
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#17327910170801364-528: The Anti-Defamation League . Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League ( JDL ) is a far-right religious and 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
1426-620: The Long Island residence of the Soviet Mission to the United Nations . In 1972, a smoke bomb was planted in the Manhattan office of music impresario Sol Hurok , who organized Soviet performers' U.S. tours. Iris Kones, a Jewish secretary from Long Island, died of smoke inhalation, and Hurok and 12 others were injured and hospitalized. Jerome Zeller of the JDL was indicted for the bombing and Kahane later admitted his part in
1488-601: 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
1550-479: 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
1612-521: The "Arab Hitler " and a " Muslim terrorist pedophile who died of AIDS ". He has also targeted former First Lady and senator Hillary Clinton and former U.S. President George W. Bush on his website, calling Clinton "Hillary Sodom Arafat" and Bush "Jorge Wahabi Bush" whom he calls a "low, disgusting traitor" and "excrement". He also uses language such as schvartze when referring to African-Americans and " kike " for Jews he considers to be traitors. JTF's messages have been condemned for "racism" by
1674-661: The "Negro section of New York" and blame it on the JDL. On January 25, JDL members staged anti-Soviet demonstrations at a concert of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra in Brooklyn College's auditorium. JDL members "danced, sang and yelled" while trying to prevent people from entering the auditorium. On March 23, JDL members staged a sit-in in the office of the president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York to demand that
1736-560: The 1985 and 1986 pipe bombings of rival JDL members' cars, the 1986 firebombing at a hall where the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra was performing, and two 1986 detonations of tear gas grenades to protest performances by Soviet dance troupes. In a 1984 interview, the JDL leader Meir Kahane admitted that the JDL "bombed the Russian mission in New York, the Russian cultural mission here [Washington] in 1971,
1798-517: The Federation allocate more funds for Jewish education and Jewish defense, assist institutions threatened by violence, and arrange for "popular" election of Federation officials. As a result, the Federation agreed to form a special committee to consider the request for additional funds for Jewish education, while other groups continued to demonstrate. On April 7, the JDL held memorial services on behalf of civilian victims of "Arab terrorism during
1860-533: The JDL and denying that the JDL's acts endangered Soviet Jews. The cables said they were convinced that the JDL's "policy and activities are most effective." The group also attacked Israeli authorities for alleged softness in fighting the Soviet Union on the issue of Jewish rights. One of the signatories, Dov Sperling , claimed that the recent cancellation of the Bolshoi Ballet's scheduled American tour
1922-585: The JDL sent members to Passaic , New Jersey, to protect Jewish merchants from anti-Jewish rioting which had swept the area for days. On November 25, the JDL was invited to the Boston area by Jewish residents in response to a mounting wave of crime directed primarily against Jews. On December 3, JDL members attacked the Syrian Mission in New York . On December 31, 13 JDL members were arrested after
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1984-497: The JDL's anti-Soviet activities as terrorist acts, stating that their "actions constitute a danger for Soviet Jews ... as they might be used by the [Soviet] authorities as a pretext for new repressions and for instigating anti-Semitic hostilities ." On March 16, 1978, Irv Rubin , chairman of the JDL, said about the planned American Nazi Party march in Skokie, Illinois : "We are offering $ 500, that I have in my hand, to any member of
2046-474: The JDL. The FBI launched a money laundering investigation, on the presumption that the JDL was extorting money from Ruthless Records and several rap artists, including Tupac Shakur and Eazy-E . Heller has speculated that the FBI did not investigate these threats because of the song " Fuck Tha Police ". Heller said, "It was no secret that in the aftermath of the Suge Knight shake down incident where Eazy
2108-499: 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,
2170-573: 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
2232-530: The Jews and a condemnation of the militant group by the French Jewish umbrella group CRIF ; as of 2013, there have been least 115 violent incidents were attributed to LDJ "soldiers" since the group's registration in France in 2001, including many vigilante reprisals to antisemitic attacks. Earlier that year, two LDJ members were sentenced for an attack at a pro-Palestinian bookstore that injured two people and
2294-804: The Panthers. On May 19, the JDL issued a statement attacking American Jewish organizations which opposed the Vietnam War , accusing them of doing more to destroy the State of Israel "than all the Arab armies." On May 20, thirty-five JDL members took over the Park East Synagogue , opposite the Soviet Mission, and barricaded the entrances in order to hold a "liberation seder " for Soviet Jewry . On June 23, about forty JDL members seized two floors of an office building in New York housing Amtorg ,
2356-636: The Soviet Mission to the UN to protest the sentencing of Jews in Leningrad . Several arrests were made. On December 29, an estimated 100 JDL members demonstrated in front of the offices of the New York Board of Rabbis , challenging them to get arrested "for Jews, as well as for blacks." Later that day, several JDL members scuffled with police outside the office of Aeroflot-In tourist, the official Soviet tourist agency, while JDL leader Meir Kahane demanded
2418-677: The Soviet trade offices." The attacks, which caused minor diplomatic crisis in relations between the U.S. and the USSR, prompted the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to infiltrate the group and one undercover officer discovered a chain of weapon caches across Brooklyn , containing "enough shotguns and rifles to arm a small militia." On October 26, 1981, after two firebombs damaged the Egyptian tourist office at Rockefeller Center , JDL Chairman Meir Kahane said at
2480-596: 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
2542-505: The arson, justifying the attack by stating the restaurant was the undercover headquarters in New York City of the Palestine Liberation Organization , though JDL officials denied having any involvement in the attack. He served five and a half years for the bombings. Pesach is the current head of the Jewish Task Force, a Kahanist organization in the United States. Pesach created JTF in 1991. The Jewish Task Force raises money for
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2604-405: The attack. JDL activities were condemned by Moscow refuseniks who felt that the group's actions were making it less likely that the Soviet Union would relax restrictions on Jewish emigration. In 1973, threatening phone calls made to the home of Ralph Riskin , one of the producers of Bridget Loves Bernie , resulted in the arrest of Robert S. Manning, described as a member of the JDL. Manning
2666-549: The bombing that killed Wilkerson. Rochelle Manning was re-indicted for her alleged involvement, and was detained in Israel, pending extradition, when she died of a heart attack in 1994. When Ruthless Records recording artist and former N.W.A member Dr. Dre sought to work instead with Death Row Records , Ruthless Records executives, Mike Klein and Jerry Heller were fearful of possible physical intimidation from Death Row Entertainment executives including chief executive officer Suge Knight and requested security assistance from
2728-554: The claimed purpose of funding Jewish settlers in the West Bank and runs a website with the stated goal of saving Israel , the United States, and the West. Pesach is banned from entering Israel because of his terrorist acts and his Kahanist associations, which are outlawed in Israel. The Jewish Task Force is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center . The Jewish Task Force program aired on public access television in
2790-555: The community ... who kills, maims or seriously injures a member of the American Nazi Party." Rubin was charged with solicitation of murder but was acquitted in 1981. During the 1980s, past-JDL member Victor Vancier (who later founded the Jewish Task Force), and two other former JDL members were arrested in connection with six incidents: 1984 firebombing of an automobile at a Soviet diplomatic residence,
2852-485: The company's president in the near future. On January 20, JDL national chairman Rabbi Meir Kahane announced that JDL will conduct "non-violent actions" against organizations engaged in cultural exchange programs with the Soviet Union and that there had been "unofficial contacts" between his group and "some Jewish establishment organizations" which were welcomed. In 1972, two JDL members were arrested and convicted of bomb possession and burglary in an attempt to blow up
2914-509: 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
2976-587: The mid-1990s, in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Pesach became known for his criticisms of African American culture that included resorting to racial slurs and offensive stereotypes, as well as his views on homosexuality, and he was criticized in local magazines and newspapers as a result. During the 1994 New York State Comptroller election , while Pesach extolled Herbert London as "a real Jewish man", he derided London's opponent, African American Carl McCall , as "a low, Jew-hating, Jew-killing cockroach". He further described attorney general candidate Karen Burstein as
3038-585: The office of Tass, the Soviet news agency, in Rockefeller Plaza , which was invaded by Rabbi Kahane and four other JDL members. The rest of the demonstrators were taken into custody after invading the midtown offices of the Soviet tourist bureau. Initially, the League was connected to a series of violent attacks against the Soviet Union's interests in the United States, protesting the former country's repression of Soviet Jews , who were often jailed and refused exit visas . The JDL decided that violence
3100-445: The official Soviet Union trade office, and evicted the personnel in what the JDL deemed retaliation for the arrests of Jews and raids on Jewish homes in the Soviet Union. On June 28, 150 JDL members demonstrated over attacks against the Jews of Williamsburg in reprisal for the accidental killing of a black girl by a Jewish driver. Clashes broke out with other minority groups and arrests were made. On August 16, 400 JDL members began
3162-611: The past half century" in front of the United Arab Republic Mission to the United Nations . On April 9, nine JDL members occupied the principal's office of Leeds Junior High School in Philadelphia after school authorities had allegedly failed to crack down on school violence. The JDL hoped to present six "suggestions" for protecting students from assault and theft by "troublemakers," including committing them to disciplinary schools, stationing policemen in
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#17327910170803224-448: The phrase Never Again ... and on that assumption they can go and slander a whole group. That's tragic." In 1987, Floyd Clarke , then assistant director of the FBI, wrote in an internal memo that key suspects had fled to Israel and were living in the West Bank urban settlement of Kiryat Arba . In 1988, the FBI arrested Rochelle Manning as a suspect in the bombing, and also charged her husband, Robert Steven Manning, whom they considered
3286-465: 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." On August 7,
3348-426: The public schools and replacing "weak administrators." On April 20, fifteen JDL members were arrested after chaining themselves to the fence in front of the Soviet Mission to the UN to protest against the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union . On May 8, about fifty JDL members demonstrated outside the Black Panther Party headquarters in Harlem due to an alleged "outrageous explosion of anti-Semitic hatred" by
3410-404: The right to purchase two tickets to Israel for two Russian Jews who were sentenced to death. About 75 JDL members marched near the office, chanting slogans such as "Freedom Now" and "Let My People Go." On December 30, several hundred JDL members participated in a rally for Soviet Jewry in Foley square , chanting "Let My People Go," "Open Up the Iron Door" and "Never Again!" On January 8, 1971,
3472-431: The same month Zündel was the recipient of a parcel bomb that was detonated by the Toronto police bomb squad. In 2011, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had launched an investigation against at least nine members of the JDL in regards to an anonymous tip that the JDL was plotting to bomb the Palestine House in Mississauga . On December 12, 2001, JDL leader Irv Rubin and JDL member Earl Krugel were charged with planning
3534-424: Was forced by the JDL and hailed it as the first public surrender by Soviet authorities to Jewish pressure. Herut leader Menachem Begin also declared support of acts of harassment against Soviet diplomatic establishments abroad. On January 19, twenty JDL members had conducted a half-hour sit-in at the offices of Columbia Artists Inc. in Manhattan, leaving only after they were assured a meeting would be set up with
3596-418: Was forced to sign over Dr. Dre, Michel'le and The D.O.C. , that Ruthless was protected by Israeli trained/connected security forces." The FBI documents refer to the JDL death threats and extortion scheme but do not make a direct connection between the group and the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur . In 1995, when the Toronto residence of the Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel was the target of an arson attack,
3658-493: Was in a number of conversations taped by an informant, Danny Gillis, who was hired by the men to plant the bombs but who turned to the FBI instead. According to one tape, Krugel thought the attacks would serve as "a wakeup call" to Arabs. Krugel was subsequently murdered in prison by a fellow inmate in 2005. In 2002, in France, attackers from Betar and Ligue de Défense Juive (LDJ) violently assaulted Jewish demonstrators from Peace Now , journalists, police officers (one of whom
3720-441: Was later indicted on separate murder charges, and fought extradition to the United States from Israel, where he had moved. In 1975, JDL leader Meir Kahane was accused of conspiracy to kidnap a Soviet diplomat, bomb the Iraqi embassy in Washington , and ship arms abroad from Israel. A hearing was held to revoke Kahane's probation for a 1971 incendiary device -making incident. He was found guilty of violating probation and served
3782-404: Was necessary to draw attention to their plight, reasoning that Moscow would respond to the strain on Soviet–US relations by allowing more emigration to Israel . In 1970, according to Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin , agents of the Soviet KGB forged and sent threatening letters to Arab missions claiming to be from the JDL to discredit it. They also were ordered to bomb a target in
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#17327910170803844-440: Was stabbed), and Arab bystanders. At least two of the suspects in the 2010 murder of a French Muslim Saïd Bourarach appeared to have ties to the French chapter of the JDL. In 2011, Israeli daily Haaretz reported members of the "French branch of Jewish terror group coming to Israel 'to defend settlements '." In 2013, a French Arab man was critically injured in a "revenge attack" by LDJ, sparking calls for further attacks against
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