FBI Arrests JDL Chairman, Follower



By Associated Press

December 12, 2001, 11:24 AM EST



LOS ANGELES -- The chairman of the Jewish Defense League was arrested in connection with a failed bombing plot, federal authorities said.

Irv Rubin, 56, and a member of the militant group, Earl Krugel, 59, were booked early Wednesday at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, detention center spokeswoman Donna Davis said.

The arrests late Tuesday were in connection with a bombing plot, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. He would not describe the alleged scheme except to say, "The bombing was not carried out."

Criminal charges should be filed later Wednesday, Mrozek said.

Law enforcement agencies raided a home identified by television stations as Krugel's late Tuesday night. Footage showed officers carrying out weapons and cardboard boxes.

Calls to the FBI, U.S. Customs and the JDL were not immediately returned.

The Jewish Defense League was originally formed by Meir Kahane to mount armed response to anti-Semitic acts in New York City. It gained notoriety when its members were linked to bombings, most of them aimed at Soviet targets in retaliation for the way that country treated its Jewish population.

Kahane left the JDL and moved to Israel. A power struggle ensued, with Rubin among the contenders for its leadership.

Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990. El Sayyid Nosair, 36, an Egyptian-born Muslim, was convicted in connection with the shooting.

Source: Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press

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[Poster's Note: It now appears a southern CA Muslim congressman was one of the intended targets.]