Kahane Defends Alliance with Italian Group; Vows Harassment of Syrian, Iraqi Officials

Rabbi Meir Kahane, national chairman of the Jewish Defense League, yesterday defended his alliance with the Italian-American Civil Rights League. “My alliance,” he said, “is not with Joe (Joseph) Colombo (League president), but with the tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of Italians.” Rabbi Kahane, addressing some 300 delegates attending what the JDL billed as the “1971 Convention of the International JDL,” warned that his organization would launch a program of harassment of Syrian and Iraqi officials in this country in order to win freedom for the Jews in those nations and declared that the JDL would fight the “continuing reverse discrimination” that is being practised against Jews in New York by doing “what other groups do, burn the city down.” Focusing on the JDL’s alliance with the Italian-American Civil Rights League which was officially announced by the leaders of both groups on May 13, Rabbi Kahane stated:

“I’ll march with anyone if I think I can help a Jew. On Italian-American Unity Day, June 28, 100,000 people will be at Columbus Circle. I’ll speak on Soviet Jewry and get these people, who Nixon depends on for his support, to help us with Soviet Jewry. So let organized Jews make fun of us. I want to help Jews and they (the Civil Rights League) can help us and I will use them.” Rabbi Kahane declared that the JDL will fight the “reverse discrimination” being practiced in New York City where Jews are being denied their rights and face quotas in school and civil service advancement. “Jews are being made to pay the WAP’s debts to the black people,” he said, added. “If racism in reverse is continued to be practiced against us, we will use the same tactics used by everyone else. We will burn the city down.”