Controversial Jewish Defence League to open new Canadian chapters in wake of violent protests over Gaza
Colleen De Neve/Postmedia NewsPro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters confront each other in Calgary on July 18, 2014. The Jewish Defence League's national director in Canada says incidents like this “should be a wake-up call.
The Jewish Defence League (JDL) said it plans to open branches in Calgary, Montreal and, potentially, Ottawa and Vancouver as tensions continue to rise in the shadow of the conflict in Gaza.
Protests against Israel’s offensive have sometimes taken on a violent and anti-Semitic edge. In France, pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested after Jewish-owned stores were targeted by rioters.
In Calgary two weeks ago, several pro-Israeli protesters were bruised and beaten when they were swarmed by protesters near city hall, a brawl that prompted TV commentator Ezra Levant to host a peaceful pro-Israel rally Thursday.
The city is also the hometown of several Islamic extremists who have died in conflicts in the Middle East, raising fears of radicalization and militancy being nurtured in Alberta.
Incidents like these have encouraged the JDL to expand its organization, said Meir Weinstein, the group’s national director in Canada.
“[They] should be a wake-up call because the level of anti-Semitism in France is unprecedented. You have a large [number] of Jews in France who are very concerned and they’re leaving and moving to Israel because of the level of violence in that community,” he said, comparing the protests to the persecution faced by Jews before the Holocaust.
The Calgary chapter will have several aims, including exposing anti-Semitic Islamic groups, protecting pro-Israeli protestors and — possibly — offering Jewish people self-defence classes.
The JDL is not without controversy itself.
In its 2000-01 report on terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation described the group’s U.S. wing as a “violent extremist Jewish organization.” Members have been linked to numerous violent acts in the U.S. and Israel since the JDL was founded in 1968. In 2001, its leader was arrested and charged for a plot to bomb a mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman.
Meir Kahane, the JDL’s founder, was assassinated in 1990 by an Arab, who was later connected to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York.
According to international media, the French government is considering banning the JDL after reports the organization was inciting violence during the protests in support of Gaza.
Mr. Weinstein called these reports worrisome. Prohibiting a group that had dedicated itself to the protection of Jewish protesters was further proof of growing anti-Semitism, he said.
He added each JDL group is independent. JDL Canada is not considered a terrorist organization.
However, Kahane Chai, which was also founded by Mr. Kahane, has been listed as a terrorist group by Public Safety Canada since 2005.
In Canada, the JDL has focused its efforts on protests.
The group opposes Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, which has become a fixture at Toronto Pride Parades.
Last month, several JDL members were allegedly assaulted by Palestinian supporters in Mississauga, Ont., after protests there turned violent. Police have charged two people.
Mr. Weinstein said the JDL had been inundated with calls in the past few weeks asking him to expand the organization. JDL officials will meet interested parties in Montreal this weekend and hope to come to Calgary within the month.
“First we’ll come up there and assess, but we’d like to provide more safety and security to the Jewish community,” he said.
The JDL had a chapter in Calgary in the 1980s that concentrated on rooting out a cell of white supremacists led by Jim Keegstra, an infamous Holocaust denier.
National Post
• Email: jgerson@nationalpost.com |
Protests against Israel’s offensive have sometimes taken on a violent and anti-Semitic edge. In France, pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested after Jewish-owned stores were targeted by rioters.
In Calgary two weeks ago, several pro-Israeli protesters were bruised and beaten when they were swarmed by protesters near city hall, a brawl that prompted TV commentator Ezra Levant to host a peaceful pro-Israel rally Thursday.
Incidents like these have encouraged the JDL to expand its organization, said Meir Weinstein, the group’s national director in Canada.
“[They] should be a wake-up call because the level of anti-Semitism in France is unprecedented. You have a large [number] of Jews in France who are very concerned and they’re leaving and moving to Israel because of the level of violence in that community,” he said, comparing the protests to the persecution faced by Jews before the Holocaust.
The Calgary chapter will have several aims, including exposing anti-Semitic Islamic groups, protecting pro-Israeli protestors and — possibly — offering Jewish people self-defence classes.
Colleen De Neve/Postmedia NewsViolence broke out between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters in Calgary on July 18, 2014.
In its 2000-01 report on terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation described the group’s U.S. wing as a “violent extremist Jewish organization.” Members have been linked to numerous violent acts in the U.S. and Israel since the JDL was founded in 1968. In 2001, its leader was arrested and charged for a plot to bomb a mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman.
Meir Kahane, the JDL’s founder, was assassinated in 1990 by an Arab, who was later connected to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York.
According to international media, the French government is considering banning the JDL after reports the organization was inciting violence during the protests in support of Gaza.
Adriana D'Arcy/YouTubeMembers of the Jewish Defence League and supporters of the Palestine House were blamed by police for violence at a protest in Toronto early in July.
He added each JDL group is independent. JDL Canada is not considered a terrorist organization.
However, Kahane Chai, which was also founded by Mr. Kahane, has been listed as a terrorist group by Public Safety Canada since 2005.
In Canada, the JDL has focused its efforts on protests.
The group opposes Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, which has become a fixture at Toronto Pride Parades.
Mr. Weinstein said the JDL had been inundated with calls in the past few weeks asking him to expand the organization. JDL officials will meet interested parties in Montreal this weekend and hope to come to Calgary within the month.
“First we’ll come up there and assess, but we’d like to provide more safety and security to the Jewish community,” he said.
The JDL had a chapter in Calgary in the 1980s that concentrated on rooting out a cell of white supremacists led by Jim Keegstra, an infamous Holocaust denier.
National Post
• Email: jgerson@nationalpost.com |
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