Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, and presently a member of Israel’s Knesset, has announced his resignation as head of the JDL. He is currently on a visit to the United States.
He said he had named as his successor Irv Rubin, who lives in Los Angeles where he has been JDL West Coast coordinator. A splinter group, the Jewish Defense Organization, was formed here and has been hostile to Rubin and his followers.
Kahane, in announcing his resignation here, said he did so partly because he could not give enough time to the JDL and partly because he felt his resignation would make it easier for him to visit the United States, should he be required to give up his United States citizenship. He said legislation is under consideration in Israel declaring that no member of the Knesset can have dual citizenship.
The 54-year-old Brooklyn-born Orthodox rabbi moved to Israel in 1971 and later formed the Kach Party. He was elected to the Knesset last year on a platform of driving all Arabs out of Israel.
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