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Watch this!-European Politician's warning to the United States about Islam...
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Actually Alex Odeh was killed by the JDL, being a high profile critic of Islam or any non Christian religion gets you into all kinds of hassle. Being a Christian in India and having a negative public and published opinion on Hinduism is pretty much a death sentence.Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
Become a high profile critic of pretty much anything islamist and see how safe you feel.
Quote from Dragons Teeth:
Actually Alex Odeh was killed by the JDL, being a high profile critic of Islam or any non Christian religion gets you into all kinds of hassle. Being a Christian in India and having a negative public and published opinion on Hinduism is pretty much a death sentence.
Nice of you to support the OP.
Gee, despite very wide-spread (in certain circles) anti-Israel sentiments, despite the existence of thousands of high profile critics of Israel you have to go 25 years back to find one example of an anti-Israel activist killed by a fringe militant/terrorist group. On the other hand it's easy to come up with dozens (if not hundreds) of examples of people threatened/murdered today for criticizing Islam. If that does not show you how weak your case is, how desperate you appear and how pathetic your attempts at moral equivalence are - nothing ever will. But rest assured you're not fooling anyone.Quote from Dragons Teeth:
Actually Alex Odeh was killed by the JDL, being a high profile critic of Islam or any non Christian religion gets you into all kinds of hassle. Being a Christian in India and having a negative public and published opinion on Hinduism is pretty much a death sentence.
Geert/a_pers/logic +1
Samantha 0
Samantha 0
Quote from a_person:
Gee, despite very wide-spread (in certain circles) anti-Israel sentiments, despite the existence of thousands of high profile critics of Israel you have to go 25 years back to find one example of an anti-Israel activist killed by a fringe militant/terrorist group. On the other hand it's easy to come up with dozens (if not hundreds) of examples of people threatened/murdered today for criticizing Islam. If that does not show you how weak your case is, how desperate you appear and how pathetic your attempts at moral equivalence are - nothing ever will. But rest assured you're not fooling anyone.
Quote from a_person:
Gee, despite very wide-spread (in certain circles) anti-Israel sentiments, despite the existence of thousands of high profile critics of Israel you have to go 25 years back to find one example of an anti-Israel activist killed by a fringe militant/terrorist group. On the other hand it's easy to come up with dozens (if not hundreds) of examples of people threatened/murdered today for criticizing Islam. If that does not show you how weak your case is, how desperate you appear and how pathetic your attempts at moral equivalence are - nothing ever will. But rest assured you're not fooling anyone.
LOL a-person! Are you sure?
January 17, 1976:
A pipe bomb exploded in front of the Polish Consulate on Madison Avenue near East 37th Street in Manhattan. After the explosion, a man called two wire services and the New York Post and claimed he represented "the voice of Jewish Armed Resistance. "
March 2, 1976:
The JDL issued a statement applauding the firing of several bullets into an apartment building in the Soviet UN Mission residence in the Riverdale section of New York, but denied any connection with the Jewish Armed Resistance, the group that claimed responsibility for the shootings.
March 9, 1976:
The Jewish Armed Resistance Strike Movement claimed responsibility for an explosion that destroyed part of the Fifth Avenue building housing the Soviet and Czechoslovak airlines. Condemning this bombing, Stanley Lowell, chairman of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, observed that "had the bomb injured or killed an innocent individual, the cause of Soviet Jewry would have been irreparably harmed." Lowell added, "those who continue these tactics and their supporters accomplish nothing. Terrorist acts can only hurt the cause of Soviet Jews. . ."
March 26, 1976:
The Jewish Armed Resistance claimed responsibility for a time bomb that was discovered at the Amtorg Trading Corporation, the Soviet trade agency, on Lexington Avenue in New York.
On March 28 1976, in an article titled "Anti-Soviet Violence Here Upsets Jews in Moscow" The New York Times reported that Soviet Jewish refuseniks had publicly criticized the JDL's actions: "A number of Jewish activists refused permission to emigrate... feel that lanti-Soviet] harassment in New York hurts their cause and may give Soviet authorities an excuse to become even more intransigent." The article also quoted several Jews awaiting exit visas in Moscow as expressing opposition to violent attacks upon Soviet personnel in New York, and concluded: "Another Jewish activist feared that such actions could make authorities more unwilling to relax emigration policies for fear of losing face."
Several days later, on April 6 1976, nine Moscow Jewish activists condemned as a "terrorist act" the shots fired at the Soviet Mission to the UN. In a statement released by the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, the nine activists stated: "Such actions constitute a danger for Soviet Jews... as they might be used by the authorities as a pretext for new repressions and for instigating anti-Semitic hostilities." The signers included Vladimir Slepak, Alexander Lerner, Anatoly Shcharansky, and losif Begun. A similar statement was also made by the Soviet Jewish scientist and "refusenik" Benjamin Levich.
April 12, 1976:
Seven JDL members mounted the roof of the Park East Synagogue across the street from the Soviet UN Mission and shouted insults at occupants of the Mission The rabbi of the synagogue described this activity as "harmful and irresponsible," and indicated that he would press charges of trespassing.' 95 A day after the demonstration. Kahane praised those who had been attacking Soviet diplomats and offices as "Jewish patriots."
May 3, 1976:
Five pipe bombs shattered windows and caused minor damage to two banks, a Russian book store, a subway exit near the UN and the national headquarters of the Communist Party. A caller to the Daily News stated that the bombs had been planted by the Jewish Armed Resistance Strike Unit, and supplied the location of a letter relating to the bombings, which was later found there by police.
Responding to the spate of violence against Soviet diplomatic personnel and property, six Orthodox rabbis and deans of Yeshivot (Jewish religious seminaries) issued a statement denouncing violence and terror by Jews against Russian officials and property in the United States as a transgression of Jewish law. The statement was released on May 14, 1976 by the Agudat Israel of America in the name of the Council of Torah Sages.
June 23, 1976:
Two vehicles were firebombed near the Pan Am cargo terminal at Kennedy Airport. An anonymous call told the New York Post that the Jewish Armed Resistance was responsible.'
August 19, 1976:
Four members of the JDL were charged with conspiring to direct violent attacks against foreign governments in the United States, including the Soviet and Iraqi Missions at the United Nations. In addition to conspiracy, the defendants were charged with interstate transportation of explosives and firearms, and with violating statutes that provide protection to foreign officials and their property.
The indictment referred to the following incidents: An attempted pipe bombing of the Iraqi Mission to the. United Nations on January 12, 1976; a shooting into the Soviet Mission to the UN on April 2, 1976; a pipe bombing of a New Jersey service station on August 17, 1975; and the shooting into the Soviet residential complex in Riverdale, NY on April 2, 1976. The four JDL members entered guilty pleas to the federal charges. (A fifth defendant who was a juvenile at the time of his arrest and whose arrest was not reported at the time also pleaded guilty.)
November 19, 1976:
Five JDL members staged a 5-hour sit-in at the office of U.S. Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut. The JDL objected to statements and positions on Israel by Ribicoff, who was described by Kahane earlier as a "far greater danger to Israel than any Arab army. "
November 24, 1976:
Kahane led a group of JDL members in a sit-in at the HIAS office to protest what they claimed was a decision by HIAS to stop providing aid to Soviet Jewish "dropouts." They carried signs and distributed leaflets urging HIAS not to "cave in to Israeli pressure" on the issue.
November 26, 1976:
The head of the Washington, DC area JDL was convicted of conspiring to shoot out the windows in the apartments of two Soviet Embassy officials.
December 16, 1976:
A JDL member was sentenced to three years in federal prison in New York following his guilty plea to charges of transporting a rifle across state lines. He had previously received a one-year suspended sentence following his 1975 conviction for threatening the life of PLO leader Yasir Arafat in 1974. Following that suspended sentence he had been placed on probation for four years.
December 16, 1976:
Two JDL members were sentenced to up to six years in federal prison following their guilty pleas to the federal indictment announced by the Justice Department on August 12. A third individual involved in that indictment had been sentenced earlier to a similar term. The fourth of those indicted was the individual sentenced to three years, as noted above. A fifth individual associated with that indictment was released on probation.
December 20, 1976:
The JDL announced that it had "declared war" against the Unification Church leader, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and "vowed that no Moon missionaries would walk the streets safely."
February 1, 1977:
Twelve JDL members disrupted a meeting sponsored by Breira, a Jewish group advocating Israeli recognition of the PLO, held at a Manhattan synagogue. As a result of this action, the meeting was canceled. A JDL spokesman warned: "Breira must be crushed once and for all, and those who aid and abet it will get lost in the crush as well."
February 14, 1977:
The former director of the Washington, D.C.-area JDL was sentenced to two years in federal prison, fined $12,000 and put on supervised probation for three years. He had been convicted of conspiracy relating to a plan to fire a rifle into a Maryland apartment rented by Soviet diplomats.
March 18, 1977:
Following a two-day siege against B'nai B'rith headquarters in Washington by a group of Hanafi Moslem terrorists, Kahane denounced the Hanafis as "Nazis" and sent a telegram to Hanafi headquarters demanding an apology for the terrorist action. In response, a statement by the Hanafis threatened "all Zionist Jews and their allies" with "bloodbaths."
June 8, 1977:
A telephone caller identifying himself as a member of the Jewish Armed Resistance claimed responsibility for the arson at a Boro Park bank as a political protest. Damage to the building was light. A JDL spokesman denied that the Jewish Armed Resistance was linked to the JDL, but applauded the action.
August 15, 1977:
The JDL claimed responsibility for the firebombing in Brooklyn of a vehicle used by the proselytizing organization Jews For Jesus.
February 17, 1978:
In a pre-recorded telephone message, the JDL offered $500 for every Nazi "lawfully killed during an attack on a Jew." Calls to the New York headquarters of the JDL activated the telephone message which also stated "We are calling for Jews to unite in an all-out war against Nazis and other Jew-haters." The message added "We are also advocating mass executions of Nazis in order to make their stay in this country an unhealthy one."
April 21, 1978:
A taped telephone message played to callers to the JDL office in Miami Beach urged Jews to own guns, with the words, "Every Jew, a .22."
June 1, 1978:
The JDL announced a campaign intended to force a Jewish attorney to end his legal representation of an accused Nazi war criminal living in New Jersey. Speaking of the attorney, a JDL official stated, "From here on there will always be the presence of the JDL in his area and wherever he goes, to make him resign..." The lawyer charged that his life had been threatened.
June 22, 1978:
A Canadian member of the JDL pleaded guilty to setting a bomb that exploded at the home of a Canadian neo-Nazi activist.
July 11, 1978:
Kahane and several associates broke into a Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem and sprayed black paint on the walls to protest the Soviet trial of Anatoly Shcharansly.
August 18, 1978:
An anonymous caller to the Associated Press claimed JDL responsibility for a fire at the Democratic Party's Southern California headquarters in Los Angeles. A JDL spokesman later refused to comment on any JDL role in the fire, but expressed sympathy with the perpetrators. The arson was assertedly to protest Carter Administration pressure on Israel.''
August 30, 1978:
A JDL member convicted of bombing a Los Angeles theater during a showing of Vanessa Redgrave's pro-PLO film, "The Palestinians," was sentenced to a three month "thorough psychological examination" with the California Youth Authority.
September 26, 1978:
A federal appeals court upheld the firearms conviction of a Washington, D.C.-area JDL official, but overturned his conviction on a conspiracy charge, due to an erroneous jury instruction from the trial judge.
November 20, 1978:
A group calling itself the "New Jewish Defense League" took responsibility for the attempted bombing of the home of an Egyptian UN diplomat in Queens. The device did not go off.
December 7, 1978:
A JDL member convicted earlier of a June bombing at a Los Angeles area theater showing a pro-PLO Vanessa Redgrave film, was sentenced to up to four years in the California Youth Authority. His sentence was credited with the nearly six months he had already spent in custody.
December 22, 1978:
Three JDL members were evicted from the West German Consulate offices in Miami after they occupied the office form more than an hour, in protest against Germany's announcement that it would cease prosecuting alleged Nazi war criminals after the next year. Those convicted were arrested and charged with trespassing, battery and false imprisonment.
December 29, 1978:
A JDL official pleaded no contest to causing a disturbance outside a local courtroom where an alleged Nazi war criminal was being tried. The JDL official was sentenced to sixty days probation.
1979:
Updated JDL Document: "Needed: An American Jewish Underground" -- this JDL document, circulated in 1979, advocated the formation of an armed Jewish American "underground" to "quietly and professionally eliminate those modern day Hitlers who are becoming an ever increasing threat to our existence.
"...I state emphatically, the JDL is not an 'underground.' It is an 'above-ground' organization, an activist, ideological movement which operates in full view of the public and police. Militant and sometimes violent? Yes, in the defense of Jews.
"But a void, a gap needs to be filled within the complex make-up of the American Jewish community today. As 1 stated above, what is needed is a secret, underground strike-force which will eliminate those individuals that threaten our very existence. The time is long overdue for the birth of such a group."
June 25, 1979:
JDL members swinging baseball bats disrupted meetings of neo-Nazi groups in two suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. There were no arrests.
September 5, 1979:
Two JDL members disrupted the first night performance of the Bolshoi Ballet in a Los Angeles auditorium. The disrupters were ejected by security guards.
September 20, 1979:
A California Appeals Court ruled that a JDL official could be prosecuted on charges of soliciting the murder of American neo-Nazis. The Court overturned a lower court ruling that the JDL official's public comments had been protected by the First Amendment. The official had waived five $100 bills in the air at a Los Angeles news conference and offered them to anyone who "kills, maims or seriously injures a member of the American Nazi Party."
November 5, 1979:
"The Jewish Defense League is urging American Jews to purchase firearms and know how to use them as part of the forty first observance of Kristallnacht, or 'Night of Broken Glass,' in which pogrom-like rioting was directed against the Jewish communities of Germany on November 9th and 10th, 1938.
"Saying that 'America closely resembles the Germany of the 1920s,' and that 'overt and physical Jew-hatred covers nearly the entire spectrum of American society today,' JDL national director Brett Becker announced the JDL would begin the 'Every Jew, A .22' campaign on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. "
November 19, 1979:
A "smoke bomb" went off inside Carnegie Hall during a performance by a Soviet orchestra. A caller identifying herself as a JDL member claimed JDL responsibility for setting the device.
January 27, 1980:
An anonymous caller claimed responsibility in the name of the JDL after a bomb exploded outside the San Francisco office of Bank Melli of Iran.
February 6, 1980:
Eight JDL members allegedly assaulted American Nazi leader Harold Covington outside NBC studios in New York. The neo-Nazis were protesting the broadcast of NBC's docu-drama "Holocaust."
June 9, 1980:
A JDL official in California, predicting a new Holocaust, urged Jews to arm themselves. The JDL was offering monthly weapons-training sessions in the area."
June 26, 1980:
Five JDL members took over the New York offices of Hebrew University and American Friends of Hebrew University
July 1980:
The "JDL Update" contained the following items:
JDL members disrupted speeches at Temple Sinai in Washington, D. C. given by Arab mayors recently expelled from Israel. (June 4).
Seven JDL members were arrested after invading the New York office of the Soviet line, Aeroflot (June 19).
JDL members in Los Angeles staged a weapons training class following KKK leader Tom Metzger's Congressional primary win (June 22).
Thirty JDL members in Miami demonstrated in protest against Kahane's detention in Israel (June 24).
July 18, 1980:
Four JDL members took over the offices of United Zionist Revisionists of America (Herut).
August 29, 1980:
Four JDL members took over the Israel Aliyah office in Queens, New York.
November 17, 1980:
Twenty JDL members staged a 3-day sit-in at the Israeli Consulate and Mission to the UN in New York.
January 25, 1981:
A bomb exploded in the early hours of the morning outside the Bank Melli Iran building in San Francisco. Windows were shattered on both sides of the street, but there were no injuries. A man who identified himself as a representative of the JDL telephoned United Press international and claimed responsibility, stating that the group's act of violence was taken to protest the "brutal persecution of Iranian Jewry " and demanded the release of "50,000 Jews held hostage" that he described as being held in Iran. Earl Krugel, director of the JDL in California, denied responsibility for the explosion but was reported as condoning the action.
January 30, 1981:
Twenty members of the JDL took over the offices of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York as a protest against the ACLU's legal defense of a neo-Nazi group in Buffalo. Over a period of four hours, the JDL commandeered the ACLU reception area and disrupted the work of its staff by chanting "Don't defend Nazis!" and "Six Million - Never Again!" No injuries or serious damage was reported.
February 2, 1981:
Three members of the Jewish Defense League were issued summonses for harassment after they verbally abused diplomats at the Soviet Mission to the UN. One of the three, Howard Perel, stated that he had "shouted and cursed" at the diplomats as they were leaving the mission and had shouted slogans referring to Anatoly Shcharansky.
February 6, 1981:
Eight members of the JDL wielding steel pipes attacked National Socialist Party of America leader Harold Covington on as he approached the NBC studios in New York. Covington and an aide were attired in full Nazi stormtrooper uniforms on their way to a taping of the "Tomorrow" show. Later in the evening, Covington appeared on the program heavily bandaged and declared that all Jews should be gassed."
The JDL announced a campaign intended to force a Jewish attorney to end his legal representation of an accused Nazi war criminal living in New Jersey. Speaking of the attorney, a JDL official stated, "From here on there will always be the presence of the JDL in his area and wherever he goes, to make him resign..." The lawyer charged that his life had been threatened.
June 22, 1978:
A Canadian member of the JDL pleaded guilty to setting a bomb that exploded at the home of a Canadian neo-Nazi activist.
July 11, 1978:
Kahane and several associates broke into a Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem and sprayed black paint on the walls to protest the Soviet trial of Anatoly Shcharansly.
August 18, 1978:
An anonymous caller to the Associated Press claimed JDL responsibility for a fire at the Democratic Party's Southern California headquarters in Los Angeles. A JDL spokesman later refused to comment on any JDL role in the fire, but expressed sympathy with the perpetrators. The arson was assertedly to protest Carter Administration pressure on Israel.''
August 30, 1978:
A JDL member convicted of bombing a Los Angeles theater during a showing of Vanessa Redgrave's pro-PLO film, "The Palestinians," was sentenced to a three month "thorough psychological examination" with the California Youth Authority.
September 26, 1978:
A federal appeals court upheld the firearms conviction of a Washington, D.C.-area JDL official, but overturned his conviction on a conspiracy charge, due to an erroneous jury instruction from the trial judge.
November 20, 1978:
A group calling itself the "New Jewish Defense League" took responsibility for the attempted bombing of the home of an Egyptian UN diplomat in Queens. The device did not go off.
December 7, 1978:
A JDL member convicted earlier of a June bombing at a Los Angeles area theater showing a pro-PLO Vanessa Redgrave film, was sentenced to up to four years in the California Youth Authority. His sentence was credited with the nearly six months he had already spent in custody.
December 22, 1978:
Three JDL members were evicted from the West German Consulate offices in Miami after they occupied the office form more than an hour, in protest against Germany's announcement that it would cease prosecuting alleged Nazi war criminals after the next year. Those convicted were arrested and charged with trespassing, battery and false imprisonment.
December 29, 1978:
A JDL official pleaded no contest to causing a disturbance outside a local courtroom where an alleged Nazi war criminal was being tried. The JDL official was sentenced to sixty days probation.
1979:
Updated JDL Document: "Needed: An American Jewish Underground" -- this JDL document, circulated in 1979, advocated the formation of an armed Jewish American "underground" to "quietly and professionally eliminate those modern day Hitlers who are becoming an ever increasing threat to our existence.
"...I state emphatically, the JDL is not an 'underground.' It is an 'above-ground' organization, an activist, ideological movement which operates in full view of the public and police. Militant and sometimes violent? Yes, in the defense of Jews.
"But a void, a gap needs to be filled within the complex make-up of the American Jewish community today. As 1 stated above, what is needed is a secret, underground strike-force which will eliminate those individuals that threaten our very existence. The time is long overdue for the birth of such a group."
June 25, 1979:
JDL members swinging baseball bats disrupted meetings of neo-Nazi groups in two suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. There were no arrests.
September 5, 1979:
Two JDL members disrupted the first night performance of the Bolshoi Ballet in a Los Angeles auditorium. The disrupters were ejected by security guards.
September 20, 1979:
A California Appeals Court ruled that a JDL official could be prosecuted on charges of soliciting the murder of American neo-Nazis. The Court overturned a lower court ruling that the JDL official's public comments had been protected by the First Amendment. The official had waived five $100 bills in the air at a Los Angeles news conference and offered them to anyone who "kills, maims or seriously injures a member of the American Nazi Party."
November 5, 1979:
"The Jewish Defense League is urging American Jews to purchase firearms and know how to use them as part of the forty first observance of Kristallnacht, or 'Night of Broken Glass,' in which pogrom-like rioting was directed against the Jewish communities of Germany on November 9th and 10th, 1938.
"Saying that 'America closely resembles the Germany of the 1920s,' and that 'overt and physical Jew-hatred covers nearly the entire spectrum of American society today,' JDL national director Brett Becker announced the JDL would begin the 'Every Jew, A .22' campaign on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. "
November 19, 1979:
A "smoke bomb" went off inside Carnegie Hall during a performance by a Soviet orchestra. A caller identifying herself as a JDL member claimed JDL responsibility for setting the device.
January 27, 1980:
An anonymous caller claimed responsibility in the name of the JDL after a bomb exploded outside the San Francisco office of Bank Melli of Iran.
February 6, 1980:
Eight JDL members allegedly assaulted American Nazi leader Harold Covington outside NBC studios in New York. The neo-Nazis were protesting the broadcast of NBC's docu-drama "Holocaust."
June 9, 1980:
A JDL official in California, predicting a new Holocaust, urged Jews to arm themselves. The JDL was offering monthly weapons-training sessions in the area."
June 26, 1980:
Five JDL members took over the New York offices of Hebrew University and American Friends of Hebrew University
July 1980:
The "JDL Update" contained the following items:
JDL members disrupted speeches at Temple Sinai in Washington, D. C. given by Arab mayors recently expelled from Israel. (June 4).
Seven JDL members were arrested after invading the New York office of the Soviet line, Aeroflot (June 19).
JDL members in Los Angeles staged a weapons training class following KKK leader Tom Metzger's Congressional primary win (June 22).
Thirty JDL members in Miami demonstrated in protest against Kahane's detention in Israel (June 24).
July 18, 1980:
Four JDL members took over the offices of United Zionist Revisionists of America (Herut).
August 29, 1980:
Four JDL members took over the Israel Aliyah office in Queens, New York.
November 17, 1980:
Twenty JDL members staged a 3-day sit-in at the Israeli Consulate and Mission to the UN in New York.
January 25, 1981:
A bomb exploded in the early hours of the morning outside the Bank Melli Iran building in San Francisco. Windows were shattered on both sides of the street, but there were no injuries. A man who identified himself as a representative of the JDL telephoned United Press international and claimed responsibility, stating that the group's act of violence was taken to protest the "brutal persecution of Iranian Jewry " and demanded the release of "50,000 Jews held hostage" that he described as being held in Iran. Earl Krugel, director of the JDL in California, denied responsibility for the explosion but was reported as condoning the action.
January 30, 1981:
Twenty members of the JDL took over the offices of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York as a protest against the ACLU's legal defense of a neo-Nazi group in Buffalo. Over a period of four hours, the JDL commandeered the ACLU reception area and disrupted the work of its staff by chanting "Don't defend Nazis!" and "Six Million - Never Again!" No injuries or serious damage was reported.
February 2, 1981:
Three members of the Jewish Defense League were issued summonses for harassment after they verbally abused diplomats at the Soviet Mission to the UN. One of the three, Howard Perel, stated that he had "shouted and cursed" at the diplomats as they were leaving the mission and had shouted slogans referring to Anatoly Shcharansky.
February 6, 1981:
Eight members of the JDL wielding steel pipes attacked National Socialist Party of America leader Harold Covington on as he approached the NBC studios in New York. Covington and an aide were attired in full Nazi stormtrooper uniforms on their way to a taping of the "Tomorrow" show. Later in the evening, Covington appeared on the program heavily bandaged and declared that all Jews should be gassed."
April 6, 1981:
Two members of the JDL were arrested in Torrance, California at a demonstration outside the offices of the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust revisionist organization. Willis Car-to, the director of the Institute, was assaulted by one JDL member after he began to write down car license plate numbers. Another member of the group was arrested after he was seen placing a loaded semi-automatic pistol in the trunk of a car.
May 31, 1981:
Two JDL members were arrested for throwing rocks, bottles and eggs at the offices of the Soviet airline Aeroflot in New York. The two, Avigdor Eskin and Alex Khaves, were charged with starting a riot, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief. Both had recently emigrated to the U.S. from the Soviet Union.
June 1, 1981:
Two JDL members were arrested after allegedly vandalizing the Aeroflot office in Manhattan.
August 30, 1981:
Four gasoline firebombs were hurled at the home of an accused Nazi war criminal, Boleslavs Maikovskis, in Mineola, Long Island at 2:30 a.m. There were no injuries, but slight damage to the house was reported. Within minutes of the firebombing attack, a representative of the JDL telephoned the New York Post and took responsibility for the attack.
September 1, 1981:
At his deportation hearing, alleged Nazi criminal Boreslavs Maikovskis was punched and knocked down by a member of the JDL who shouted, "You Nazi bastard! " The JDL member was later identified as Mark [Mordechai] Levy, who was removed from the courtroom and charged with five misdemeanors.
September 2, 1981:
Two JDL members were issued summonses after they allegedly harassed Soviet diplomatic personnel on a New York bus.
September 3-4 1981:
Six unexploded bombs were discovered near the Soviet Mission to the United Nations on September 3. On September 4, a small bomb exploded under an unoccupied car with diplomatic license plates parked near the Soviet Mission. No one claimed responsibility for these incidents.
September 6, 1981:
A small bomb exploded at the Four Continent Bookstore at 1:40 a.m., causing damage to the display window of the store. The Four Continent Bookstore, which sold literature published in the Soviet Union, was targeted by what a caller identified as the "Thunder of Zion" which claimed to be a "militant faction" of the JDL. The caller stated, "Within the next two weeks they [Soviet Jews, including refuseniks Anatoly Shcharansky and Maria Tlemkin] had better be released or Russian blood will flow on New York streets. There will be blood up to your knees, including [Soviet foreign minister Andrei] Gromyko's." Arno Weinstein, the national director of the JDL, in an interview with the New York Post, said, "We do not take responsibility for this, but we applaud it. I am very happy that Jews are finally taking some action."
September 9, 1981:
Fifteen members of the JDL take over the offices of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in New York, forcing the organization's employees to leave their offices and barricading the doors behind them with desks and office furniture. The JDL members occupied the office for two hours and demanded that HIAS send messages to Ethiopia calling for the emigration of Jews from that country. At the offices of the World Zionist Organization (WZO), another group from the JDL chained and padlocked the front doors of the organization's offices. The WZO offices continued to function normally in spite of the JDL's attempts at disruption.
October 25, 1981:
Two firebombs severely damaged the Egyptian Government Tourist Office at Rockefeller Center in New York at 4:18 a.m. There were no injuries. An anonymous caller to the New York Daily News claimed responsibility for the bombing at 4:35 a.m., stating, "This is the JDL. We have just firebombed the Egyptian government offices. We demand that the Camp David Accords be buried with Anwar Sadat, in solidarity with those against the retreat from the Israeli-liberated lands - the Sinai. Shalom. Never again!" A spokesman for the JDL later denied responsibility for the bombing, but "if this bombing was done to expose the fallacy of the Camp David Accords, we support the act. " Kahane himself was quoted by the New York Post as saying, "it could have been members of the JDL and it could have been anyone. "249 At a press conference on October 26, Kahane stated, "I would not be particularly anxious to be an Egyptian in New York City." He continued, "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." In response to a question regarding the possibility of other such attacks, Kahane replied, "1 would not be surprised. It might very well be."
One day later, an anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL after the October 25 fire-bombing at the Egyptian Government Tourist Office in New York. A JDL spokesman later denied his group's involvement, adding "We support the act."
November 15, 1981:
Twelve bullets were shot into the sitting room in the home of the Soviet Union's ambassador to the United Nations in Glen Cove, Long Island. There were no injuries. An unidentified caller telephoned United Press International and claimed responsibility in the name of the JDL. Meir Kahane, in an interview with the New York Daily News while on a speaking tour of the U.S. stated, "We have no exact knowledge of who fired into the home, but we have no doubt it is the work of Jewish activists." Describing the shooting as an "unlawful act," he went on to praise it by saying, "We applaud it." At a press conference 15 hours after the shooting, Kahane "proudly announce[d]" and "heartily applauded" the act, predicting an "escalation" of attacks against Soviet representatives in the future. "Jews don't walk freely in the streets of Moscow," he said, warning, "Russians won't walk freely here."
December 25, 1981:
Two houses are spray-painted with Stars of David and slogans during the night, apparently in retaliation for earlier acts of vandalism carried out by two sixteen year-olds against two synagogues in East Meadow and Mineola, Long Island. Nine Stars of David were painted on the house of Donald Ostrandez, and one on a car parked in front of house. Atthe house of Joseph McCloskey, all the tires on the two cars parked in the driveway had their tires slashed. Stars of David and the slogan "Never Again!" were painted on the house. A caller to several news organizations claimed responsibility for the act in the name of the JDL
January 29, 1982:
Forty JDL members seized the offices of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC).
February 19, 1982:
For the third time in as many months, JDL vandals spray-painted the homes of individuals recently convicted of anti-Semitic vandalism. After denying involvement a JDL official then admitted to his group's "revenge" action.
Two members of the JDL were arrested in Torrance, California at a demonstration outside the offices of the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust revisionist organization. Willis Car-to, the director of the Institute, was assaulted by one JDL member after he began to write down car license plate numbers. Another member of the group was arrested after he was seen placing a loaded semi-automatic pistol in the trunk of a car.
May 31, 1981:
Two JDL members were arrested for throwing rocks, bottles and eggs at the offices of the Soviet airline Aeroflot in New York. The two, Avigdor Eskin and Alex Khaves, were charged with starting a riot, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief. Both had recently emigrated to the U.S. from the Soviet Union.
June 1, 1981:
Two JDL members were arrested after allegedly vandalizing the Aeroflot office in Manhattan.
August 30, 1981:
Four gasoline firebombs were hurled at the home of an accused Nazi war criminal, Boleslavs Maikovskis, in Mineola, Long Island at 2:30 a.m. There were no injuries, but slight damage to the house was reported. Within minutes of the firebombing attack, a representative of the JDL telephoned the New York Post and took responsibility for the attack.
September 1, 1981:
At his deportation hearing, alleged Nazi criminal Boreslavs Maikovskis was punched and knocked down by a member of the JDL who shouted, "You Nazi bastard! " The JDL member was later identified as Mark [Mordechai] Levy, who was removed from the courtroom and charged with five misdemeanors.
September 2, 1981:
Two JDL members were issued summonses after they allegedly harassed Soviet diplomatic personnel on a New York bus.
September 3-4 1981:
Six unexploded bombs were discovered near the Soviet Mission to the United Nations on September 3. On September 4, a small bomb exploded under an unoccupied car with diplomatic license plates parked near the Soviet Mission. No one claimed responsibility for these incidents.
September 6, 1981:
A small bomb exploded at the Four Continent Bookstore at 1:40 a.m., causing damage to the display window of the store. The Four Continent Bookstore, which sold literature published in the Soviet Union, was targeted by what a caller identified as the "Thunder of Zion" which claimed to be a "militant faction" of the JDL. The caller stated, "Within the next two weeks they [Soviet Jews, including refuseniks Anatoly Shcharansky and Maria Tlemkin] had better be released or Russian blood will flow on New York streets. There will be blood up to your knees, including [Soviet foreign minister Andrei] Gromyko's." Arno Weinstein, the national director of the JDL, in an interview with the New York Post, said, "We do not take responsibility for this, but we applaud it. I am very happy that Jews are finally taking some action."
September 9, 1981:
Fifteen members of the JDL take over the offices of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in New York, forcing the organization's employees to leave their offices and barricading the doors behind them with desks and office furniture. The JDL members occupied the office for two hours and demanded that HIAS send messages to Ethiopia calling for the emigration of Jews from that country. At the offices of the World Zionist Organization (WZO), another group from the JDL chained and padlocked the front doors of the organization's offices. The WZO offices continued to function normally in spite of the JDL's attempts at disruption.
October 25, 1981:
Two firebombs severely damaged the Egyptian Government Tourist Office at Rockefeller Center in New York at 4:18 a.m. There were no injuries. An anonymous caller to the New York Daily News claimed responsibility for the bombing at 4:35 a.m., stating, "This is the JDL. We have just firebombed the Egyptian government offices. We demand that the Camp David Accords be buried with Anwar Sadat, in solidarity with those against the retreat from the Israeli-liberated lands - the Sinai. Shalom. Never again!" A spokesman for the JDL later denied responsibility for the bombing, but "if this bombing was done to expose the fallacy of the Camp David Accords, we support the act. " Kahane himself was quoted by the New York Post as saying, "it could have been members of the JDL and it could have been anyone. "249 At a press conference on October 26, Kahane stated, "I would not be particularly anxious to be an Egyptian in New York City." He continued, "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." In response to a question regarding the possibility of other such attacks, Kahane replied, "1 would not be surprised. It might very well be."
One day later, an anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL after the October 25 fire-bombing at the Egyptian Government Tourist Office in New York. A JDL spokesman later denied his group's involvement, adding "We support the act."
November 15, 1981:
Twelve bullets were shot into the sitting room in the home of the Soviet Union's ambassador to the United Nations in Glen Cove, Long Island. There were no injuries. An unidentified caller telephoned United Press International and claimed responsibility in the name of the JDL. Meir Kahane, in an interview with the New York Daily News while on a speaking tour of the U.S. stated, "We have no exact knowledge of who fired into the home, but we have no doubt it is the work of Jewish activists." Describing the shooting as an "unlawful act," he went on to praise it by saying, "We applaud it." At a press conference 15 hours after the shooting, Kahane "proudly announce[d]" and "heartily applauded" the act, predicting an "escalation" of attacks against Soviet representatives in the future. "Jews don't walk freely in the streets of Moscow," he said, warning, "Russians won't walk freely here."
December 25, 1981:
Two houses are spray-painted with Stars of David and slogans during the night, apparently in retaliation for earlier acts of vandalism carried out by two sixteen year-olds against two synagogues in East Meadow and Mineola, Long Island. Nine Stars of David were painted on the house of Donald Ostrandez, and one on a car parked in front of house. Atthe house of Joseph McCloskey, all the tires on the two cars parked in the driveway had their tires slashed. Stars of David and the slogan "Never Again!" were painted on the house. A caller to several news organizations claimed responsibility for the act in the name of the JDL
January 29, 1982:
Forty JDL members seized the offices of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC).
February 19, 1982:
For the third time in as many months, JDL vandals spray-painted the homes of individuals recently convicted of anti-Semitic vandalism. After denying involvement a JDL official then admitted to his group's "revenge" action.
February 21, 1982:
Following the explosion of two bombs outside the Washington, D.C. office of Aeroflot, an anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL. He added that there would be further actions would continue.
April 2, 1982:
Kahane and about thirty followers seized the offices of the Herut Party in New York as a protest against Israeli withdrawal from Sinai.
April 9, 1982:
Kahane and twenty-five followers took over the main floor of the Israeli Consulate in New York.
July 6, 1982:
An anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL after pipe-bombs were set off outside both the French and Lebanese Consulates in New York. Later, a JDL official denied the claim but added that the JDL did "applaud those actions."
December 20, 1982:
Thirteen JDL demonstrators chanted obscenities and disrupted services at a church where accused Nazi war criminal Valerian Trifa was to appear.
January 26, 1983:
Five JDL members, on a "deprogramming mission," abducted a 22-year-old woman walking on a New York street. The woman had been active in the Jews for Jesus movement. One of her abductors was apprehended by police."
March 3, 1983:
A JDL leader, surrounded by 25 heavily armed supporters, announced plans to create vigilante squads that would mete out "Jewish justice" to "Jew haters." This action was criticized by New York police and by ADL associate national director Abraham Foxman, who noted: "The JDL has a history of violence and extremism and a knack for exacerbating tensions."
November 10, 1983:
Following Jesse Jackson's announced candidacy for President, a JDL spokesman vowed that his organization would disrupt Jackson rallies and meetings.
February 23, 1984:
An anonymous caller from the "Jewish Direct Action" took responsibility for the fire-bombing of a car in the Soviet compound. A spokesman for the group later denied the group's responsibility. However, the group stated in a press release that it would "launch a 'war' that will wreck Soviet-American relations" and would stage "major acts of violence that will seriously endanger" Soviet diplomats.
February 28, 1984:
An anonymous caller claiming to be a JDL member took responsibility for spray-painting the homes of local sponsors of a Soviet film series. A JDL spokesman denied his group's involvement, but did admit that the perpetrators may have been JDL members.
March 13, 1984:
An anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL in the planting of a practice grenade in the Greenburgh, N.Y. town hall during the showing of a Soviet film. A JDL official denied responsibility, but then admitted that it was "possible the people who perpetrated this may be JDL members."
October 11, 1985:
The West Coast headquarters of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is bombed, killing its Palestinian-American director, Alex Odeh and injuring 7 others. A JDL spokesman declared that Odeh "got exactly what he deserved."
December 1985:
A bomb was placed under the car of Walter Berk, then the acting chairman of the JDL in New York, who was involved in a dispute with other members of the group over mailing lists and finances. In 1987 it was revealed that another JDL member, Jay Cohen, had planted the bomb. No injuries were reported.
March 1986:
Another bomb was placed under the car of JDL chairman Walter Berk by a rival member of the JDL. No injuries were reported.
April 28, 1986:
A member of the JDL placed a firebomb under a loading dock at a Pan Am building at Kennedy International Airport in protest of the airline's flights to Russia.
September 2, 1986:
A tear gas grenade was thrown into the opening performance of the Soviet Moiseyev Dance Company at the Metropolitan Opera. Twenty people were sent to the hospital for treatment, including the Soviet Ambassador, Uri Dubinin. 4000 others were evacuated from the building. JDL members Jay Cohen, Sharon Katz and JDL leader Victor Vancier were arrested in 1987 for carrying out the incident. (See October 27 1987)
November 26, 1986:
Victor Vancier, [aka Chaim Ben Yosef] the "self-proclaimed leader" of the JDL in New York, was arrested outside the Penta Hotel with a tear gas grenade after a fire broke out in the tunnels under the hotel where the Soviet Moiseyev Dance Company, was staying. Vancier was charged with a federal weapons violation. (See October 27 1987)
February 9, 1987:
Two JDL members disrupted the performance of Soviet pianist Lazar Berman at Carnegie Hall in New York by chanting, "Free Soviet Jews, Communist Nazis." Both were removed from the hall and charged with disorderly conduct.
April 1, 1987:
Murray Young, a "suspected JDL member," was arrested for his involvement for two violent attacks that took place at the Metropolitan Opera and Avery Fisher Hall. Police confiscated "a cache of weapons and documents" from Young's home. Included among the weapons were: a semi-automatic machine gun, handguns, rifles and two stun guns, as well as ammunition, tear gas canisters, explosive powder, stink bombs and "detailed records about bombings directed at organizations affiliated with the Soviet Union." Young was charged with possession of a pistol silencer without a serial number, and later received a 5-year prison term. (See October 27 1987.)
May 8, 1987:
Jay Cohen, Sharon Katz and Victor Vancier, all JDL members, are arrested in connection with six incidents, including the 1984 firebombing a car at the Soviet diplomatic residence in Rive rdale, the 1985 and 1986 fire and pipe bombings of cars owned by a rival JDL member in Howard Beach, the 1986 firebombing at the stage door of Avery Fisher Hall before the performance of the Soviet State Symphony, and the detonation of a tear gas grenade at the Metropolitan Opera in September 1986. Authorities stated that with the arrests of the three, they had "solved all the significant JDL terrorist acts in the New York area. " (See October 27 1987.)
May 20, 1987:
An arrest warrant for disorderly conduct was issued for Kahane in Overland Park, Kansas after he failed to appear at a hearing examining those charges in connection to a shoving match that Kahane had with two Arab men who attended a lecture he gave on November 18 1986. One of the men, Musa Shoucair, filed a civil suit against Kahane for $10,000 in damages for "assault, battery and outrageous conduct resulting in emotional stress" as the consequences of the incident."
May 31, 1987:
Eight JDL members disrupt the Womens' Olympic Volleyball match in Florida between the U.S. and Soviet teams by sitting in the middle of the volleyball court and chanting, "One, two three, four, open up the iron door, five, six, seven eight - let our people emigrate." They were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct."
June 30, 1987:
The outer shell of a grenade wrapped in aluminum foil and connected to four batteries and a clock was found in a garbage can at Lincoln Center in New York hours before the Bolshoi Ballet was to perform. Minutes before the device was discovered, an unidentified caller telephone United Press International and said: "Bomb. Lincoln Square Plaza. Death to Soviet dancers," and referred to JDL founder Meir Kahane.
October 27, 1987:
Victor Vancier, the former National Chairman of the JDL, was sentenced to ten years in prison for bombing attacks at the Soviet diplomatic residence in New York and at Soviet cultural performances. A JDL co-defendant in the case, Jay Cohen, committed suicide on September 6 in his hotel room in the Catskill Mountains. Two other JDL members who were sentenced in the same case were Murray Young, described as a "bomb maker," who received a five-year term because he co-operated with prosecutors after his arrest. Young told the sentencing judge that he had engaged in violence because his grandfather had been beheaded in Russia. Sharon Katz was sentenced to six months house arrest and five years probation, and a $5000 fine for detonating a tear gas grenade. The three were sentenced for an incident in October of 1986 in which the opening night performance of the Soviet Union's Moiseyev Dancers was tear gassed. Vancier had previously justified the JDL's violence by saying that Jews must take extreme measures because "crazy Jews live longer.
Following the explosion of two bombs outside the Washington, D.C. office of Aeroflot, an anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL. He added that there would be further actions would continue.
April 2, 1982:
Kahane and about thirty followers seized the offices of the Herut Party in New York as a protest against Israeli withdrawal from Sinai.
April 9, 1982:
Kahane and twenty-five followers took over the main floor of the Israeli Consulate in New York.
July 6, 1982:
An anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL after pipe-bombs were set off outside both the French and Lebanese Consulates in New York. Later, a JDL official denied the claim but added that the JDL did "applaud those actions."
December 20, 1982:
Thirteen JDL demonstrators chanted obscenities and disrupted services at a church where accused Nazi war criminal Valerian Trifa was to appear.
January 26, 1983:
Five JDL members, on a "deprogramming mission," abducted a 22-year-old woman walking on a New York street. The woman had been active in the Jews for Jesus movement. One of her abductors was apprehended by police."
March 3, 1983:
A JDL leader, surrounded by 25 heavily armed supporters, announced plans to create vigilante squads that would mete out "Jewish justice" to "Jew haters." This action was criticized by New York police and by ADL associate national director Abraham Foxman, who noted: "The JDL has a history of violence and extremism and a knack for exacerbating tensions."
November 10, 1983:
Following Jesse Jackson's announced candidacy for President, a JDL spokesman vowed that his organization would disrupt Jackson rallies and meetings.
February 23, 1984:
An anonymous caller from the "Jewish Direct Action" took responsibility for the fire-bombing of a car in the Soviet compound. A spokesman for the group later denied the group's responsibility. However, the group stated in a press release that it would "launch a 'war' that will wreck Soviet-American relations" and would stage "major acts of violence that will seriously endanger" Soviet diplomats.
February 28, 1984:
An anonymous caller claiming to be a JDL member took responsibility for spray-painting the homes of local sponsors of a Soviet film series. A JDL spokesman denied his group's involvement, but did admit that the perpetrators may have been JDL members.
March 13, 1984:
An anonymous caller claimed responsibility for the JDL in the planting of a practice grenade in the Greenburgh, N.Y. town hall during the showing of a Soviet film. A JDL official denied responsibility, but then admitted that it was "possible the people who perpetrated this may be JDL members."
October 11, 1985:
The West Coast headquarters of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is bombed, killing its Palestinian-American director, Alex Odeh and injuring 7 others. A JDL spokesman declared that Odeh "got exactly what he deserved."
December 1985:
A bomb was placed under the car of Walter Berk, then the acting chairman of the JDL in New York, who was involved in a dispute with other members of the group over mailing lists and finances. In 1987 it was revealed that another JDL member, Jay Cohen, had planted the bomb. No injuries were reported.
March 1986:
Another bomb was placed under the car of JDL chairman Walter Berk by a rival member of the JDL. No injuries were reported.
April 28, 1986:
A member of the JDL placed a firebomb under a loading dock at a Pan Am building at Kennedy International Airport in protest of the airline's flights to Russia.
September 2, 1986:
A tear gas grenade was thrown into the opening performance of the Soviet Moiseyev Dance Company at the Metropolitan Opera. Twenty people were sent to the hospital for treatment, including the Soviet Ambassador, Uri Dubinin. 4000 others were evacuated from the building. JDL members Jay Cohen, Sharon Katz and JDL leader Victor Vancier were arrested in 1987 for carrying out the incident. (See October 27 1987)
November 26, 1986:
Victor Vancier, [aka Chaim Ben Yosef] the "self-proclaimed leader" of the JDL in New York, was arrested outside the Penta Hotel with a tear gas grenade after a fire broke out in the tunnels under the hotel where the Soviet Moiseyev Dance Company, was staying. Vancier was charged with a federal weapons violation. (See October 27 1987)
February 9, 1987:
Two JDL members disrupted the performance of Soviet pianist Lazar Berman at Carnegie Hall in New York by chanting, "Free Soviet Jews, Communist Nazis." Both were removed from the hall and charged with disorderly conduct.
April 1, 1987:
Murray Young, a "suspected JDL member," was arrested for his involvement for two violent attacks that took place at the Metropolitan Opera and Avery Fisher Hall. Police confiscated "a cache of weapons and documents" from Young's home. Included among the weapons were: a semi-automatic machine gun, handguns, rifles and two stun guns, as well as ammunition, tear gas canisters, explosive powder, stink bombs and "detailed records about bombings directed at organizations affiliated with the Soviet Union." Young was charged with possession of a pistol silencer without a serial number, and later received a 5-year prison term. (See October 27 1987.)
May 8, 1987:
Jay Cohen, Sharon Katz and Victor Vancier, all JDL members, are arrested in connection with six incidents, including the 1984 firebombing a car at the Soviet diplomatic residence in Rive rdale, the 1985 and 1986 fire and pipe bombings of cars owned by a rival JDL member in Howard Beach, the 1986 firebombing at the stage door of Avery Fisher Hall before the performance of the Soviet State Symphony, and the detonation of a tear gas grenade at the Metropolitan Opera in September 1986. Authorities stated that with the arrests of the three, they had "solved all the significant JDL terrorist acts in the New York area. " (See October 27 1987.)
May 20, 1987:
An arrest warrant for disorderly conduct was issued for Kahane in Overland Park, Kansas after he failed to appear at a hearing examining those charges in connection to a shoving match that Kahane had with two Arab men who attended a lecture he gave on November 18 1986. One of the men, Musa Shoucair, filed a civil suit against Kahane for $10,000 in damages for "assault, battery and outrageous conduct resulting in emotional stress" as the consequences of the incident."
May 31, 1987:
Eight JDL members disrupt the Womens' Olympic Volleyball match in Florida between the U.S. and Soviet teams by sitting in the middle of the volleyball court and chanting, "One, two three, four, open up the iron door, five, six, seven eight - let our people emigrate." They were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct."
June 30, 1987:
The outer shell of a grenade wrapped in aluminum foil and connected to four batteries and a clock was found in a garbage can at Lincoln Center in New York hours before the Bolshoi Ballet was to perform. Minutes before the device was discovered, an unidentified caller telephone United Press International and said: "Bomb. Lincoln Square Plaza. Death to Soviet dancers," and referred to JDL founder Meir Kahane.
October 27, 1987:
Victor Vancier, the former National Chairman of the JDL, was sentenced to ten years in prison for bombing attacks at the Soviet diplomatic residence in New York and at Soviet cultural performances. A JDL co-defendant in the case, Jay Cohen, committed suicide on September 6 in his hotel room in the Catskill Mountains. Two other JDL members who were sentenced in the same case were Murray Young, described as a "bomb maker," who received a five-year term because he co-operated with prosecutors after his arrest. Young told the sentencing judge that he had engaged in violence because his grandfather had been beheaded in Russia. Sharon Katz was sentenced to six months house arrest and five years probation, and a $5000 fine for detonating a tear gas grenade. The three were sentenced for an incident in October of 1986 in which the opening night performance of the Soviet Union's Moiseyev Dancers was tear gassed. Vancier had previously justified the JDL's violence by saying that Jews must take extreme measures because "crazy Jews live longer.