Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, announced here last night that he was resigning as its chairman. He said he was quitting because there was “too little of the right people, too little talent and too little money” to carry out the JDL program. He said he would continue to advance the JDL ideology through the “Center of Jewish Consciousness” which he has set up in Jerusalem.
Kahane, who is awaiting trial on several criminal charges, made his announcement at a press conference during which he castigated Israel’s leadership and the Jewish leadership abroad as “bankrupt” and “cowardly.” He said the JDL in its present form could not succeed because its ideas “are too big, too genuine, too Jewish and too daring for the narrow-minded and the cowards.” He claimed, however, that the JDL philosophy was “the only hope for the Jewish nation in this chaotic hour.”
According to reliable sources, Kahane believes that the JDL which he founded in the mid-60s to defend poor Jews in deteriorating New York City neighborhoods, was presently laden with many “provocateurs” allegedly planted by various opposing bodies who were hampering its activities. Without Kahane, the JDL has no future, the sources said. Kahane’s future is also clouded. He has been indicted by Israeli courts on charges of arms smuggling, inciting against the Arab population and acts to disrupt friendly relations between Israel and the U.S.
JDL WILL CONTINUE ACTIVITIES IN U.S.
(In New York, David Fisch, national executive director of the Jewish Defense League, said today that the JDL will continue its activities despite Kahane’s resignation. Speaking at a press conference, Fisch said that his organization will continue fighting all manifestations of anti-Semitism and contended that Kahane will still maintain a position with the JDL as a “spiritual adviser.”
Fisch said that Kahane will continue “to smuggle letters telling us what to do.” He disclosed that Kahane’s recent urgings to the JDL “to demonstrate against Israeli targets in the U.S.” were rejected by the JDL. He said this was the only disagreement between Kahane and the JDL head-quarters here. Fisch denied that Kahane’s resignation had anything to do with a deal between Kahane and Israeli authorities regarding the return of his American passport which Israeli authorities confiscated. Fisch said that the JDL is strong enough to continue operating presently without Kahane, something, he noted, that was not true two years ago.)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
