Gert Wilders Found Not Guilty of Hate Speech

June 23 2011 - 4:47:42:am by JDL

In a great victory for all believers in freedom of speech and all those concerned about Muslim encroachment on those freedoms globally, outspoken anti-Muslim Dutch politician Gert Wilders has been acquitted on all five counts of anti-Islamic hate speech. This hopefully marks the beginning of a reversal of a very negative, anti-speech trend in which speech critical of Islam or Muslims has been repressed in some quarters.

Countries with strong democratic protections of freedom of speech must not carve out narrow exceptions to their free speech protections for certain categories of people. Muslim interests have sought out such free speech carve outs to give their religion protection from criticism - both legitimate or illegitimate. Muslim pressure groups in western countries have tried to squelch anti-Islamic speech, to pressure individuals, corporations and governments to censor speech they deem offensive to Islam. Hypocritically, much of these forces believe Muslims should have the open, unrestricted free speech right to denigrate the religions of others. Various forms of media have been wrongfully censored. Of course, radical Muslims sometimes haven’t stopped with non-violent forms of speech repression. Dutch cartoonist Theo Van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim terrorist for exercising his right to criticize Islam.

JDL leaders were confident that Wilders would be acquitted of these charges. JDL Canada has held solidarity rallies in support of Wilders. JDL doesn’t agree with Wilders general anti-religion stance, but we respect his right to believe what he wishes to believe and speak honestly about his beliefs. It’s a very good sign for free speech globally, and it sends the right message to the enemies of free speech. Muslims who don’t understand free speech need to realize that their religion neither deserves nor has entitlement to special exemptions shielding it from criticism.

JDL NY Gets Nazi Fundraising Pulled Again

June 14 2011 - 1:02:36:pm by JDL

The Jewish Defense League of New York is proud to announce that it has once again shut down Nazi activities online. The National Socialist Movement’s (NSM) Wisconsin Chapter was supposedly fundraising for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis on the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) website and building a team to participate in a benefit walk in Milwakee. JDL NY took the opportunity to notify the CCFA that Neo-Nazi’s were attempting to fundraise and gather support on its website. They swiftly took action, and removed the fundraising capability of the NSM Wisconsin page on their website as well as removed them from the June 5th walk. Our sincere appreciation goes out to the CCFA for their cooperation and all of the those who suffer from this disease. This victory comes several weeks after we shut down NSM WI activities in a similar situation with the American Cancer Society.

JDL NY is currently seeking a new chairman to replace its interim leader, who is stepping down within the coming months. We are also always looking for new members. Email us at

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The previous article (posted May 5 2011):

The Jewish Defense League of New York is proud to announce it has once again shut down Nazi activities. The National Socialist Movement’s (NSM) Wisconsin Chapter was fundraising online, supposedly for Breast Cancer research, with the American Cancer Society. JDL NY took the opportunity to notify the American Cancer Society that Neo-Nazi’s were attempting to fundraise on its website. They swiftly took action, and removed the NSM Wisconsin page from their website. Our sincere appreciation goes out to the American Cancer Society.

Beck Stands With Israel; JDL Stands With Him

June 02 2011 - 2:18:58:pm by JDL

Standing boldly, unabashedly with Am Yisrael, Glenn Beck sent out a call weeks ago to stand with Israel this summer and specifically to join him for a rally in Jerusalem this August. Beck has his critics in nearly every circle and even among right-wing Jews, but JDL finds little of substance to be critical of regarding him. We believe his impassioned, emotional oratory to be genuine, and we can’t see any valid reason to spurn his support in any respect. The most common reason why a Jew would be critical of a Christian’s support of Israel would be because of Christian eschatology (end-times beliefs), which can possess some Christians to support Israel not genuinely but based instead on ulterior motives. Even though it’s perfectly reasonable to skeptical of his support because of his Christian eschatological views, his personal religious beliefs that conflict with ours are not sufficient grounds to reject his assistance to the Jewish people and the Jewish state. In this debate, we often make the point that if a Christian wants to support us, it doesn’t matter if he or she has ulterior motives based on eschatological beliefs that are antithetical to Judaism. Their end-times beliefs are inconsequential to us because we know their expectations will not be fulfilled, but their support of Israel is of consequence and should not be summarily dismissed.

On another front, some right-wing Jews have chosen to attack Glenn using the same hollow arguments as those put forth by the Left, including calling Beck a Jew-hater because he often criticizes high-profile left-wingers who happen to have been born Jewish, like George Soros or Edward Bernays. The League believes that anyone on the Right who espouses left-wing talking points against Beck is being used as a tool by leftists, leftists who in truth are much more substantially anti-Jewish and anti-Israel than Beck any day of the week. And yes, we are also aware that a while ago on his TV show Beck made some inappropriately sectarian Christian comments that denigrated Jews for rejecting the Christian deity, but we think he’s come along way since then. He’s more respectful toward Judaism, ostensibly, and he even recently admitted that there’s a good chance that Judaism could be right and Christianity wrong. Perhaps Glenn is only pandering to Jews in recent times, but even if that were true, it doesn’t negate all the positive things he does publicly for Jews and Israel. That solid track record of support can’t be denied.

Beck is broadcasting right now, as this article is being written, with extreme emotion over the Holocaust, the plight of the Jewish people generally and the evil forces amassing to battle us today. One would have to be extremely cynical to presume that his apparent heartfelt emotion is an act of deception. To the contrary, the presumption must be that Glenn is a stalwart ally of ours, a righteous non-Jew beloved by G-d. JDL is looking at options to join him in Yerushalayim in August, although with the short notice we may have trouble allocating the resources to be there with him. Either way, we call on our members and supporters to be there with him spiritually and to stand with Israel wherever we are on August 24th. To be bold in confronting the haters who are looking to make the push to damage, if not destroy, the state of Israel this year, C"V. At this dangerous juncture we all must echo Beck’s call to be resolute and courageous in standing in defense of Am Yisrael. Ultimately HaShem is in control of His creation and will do with us as He chooses, but we will not be held blameless if we fail in our task to fight evil and sanctify HaShem in the face of the nations and even fellow Jews who wish to eradicate us.

Happy Israel Independence Day

May 10 2011 - 5:01:40:pm by JDL

JDL extends a heartfelt Chag Yom Ha’atzmaut - Happy Israel Independence Day - to our brethren in Israel and to all of Am Yisrael. All decent Jews, no matter what their level of connection to our homeland may be, should be thankful that we have the opportunity to celebrate the 63rd year of Jewish sovereignty over a portion of our G-d given land. And even if we are far away from our land geographically, we should feel acute longing for the holy land of Israel, distinguished above all other real estate on the earth. We know that the fate of the state of Israel has existential ramifications for all Jews and also has a profound effect on the non-Jewish world as well.

The commemoration of Israeli independence should serve as a special occasion to sharpen our resolve over the mutual defense and betterment of all our people, whether they are still in Galut (exile outside of our homeland) or have the great blessing to reside in our homeland.  We must continually commit to the defense of our people, which unquestionably includes defending the Jewish state, and we should pray with renewed vigor to Hashem for the final redemption - the full ingathering of our exiles, the full restoration of our sovereignty over Eretz Yisrael, the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple) and the restoration of the line/monarchy of David HaMelech, as prophesied. May it happen speedily, in our days and with minimal hardship.

New JDL contact address for JDL leaders

April 25 2011 - 11:48:12:pm by JDL

For months now JDL has been getting so much mail to its venerable email address, hundreds of messages a week, that it’s been difficult to deal with the load. We realized that we would have to close our address and find a different contact solution. To that end we are in the process of installing a powerful email ticketing support system to ensure that all correspondence is properly attended to. While that is being set up, we will be posting in this article a short term new address for JDL leadership to use to contact the Int’l headquarters. We will post a link to that address in this article this week. After that, once our new support system is set up, we will phase out this new address and use the new system for managing all forms of contact with the League.

Washington Times Mocks SPLC Report

March 04 2011 - 12:31:31:pm by JDL

 The Washington Times, one of the most trustworthy newspapers on the planet, recently ran a short piece lampooning the latest Southern Poverty Law Center report on hate groups; the Times piece notably carried a positive mention of JDL:

The Southern Poverty Law Center releases a new report Wednesday detailing “the explosive growth of extremist organizations — particularly militias and other anti-government ‘patriot’ groups — over the past year.” The nonprofit civil rights group’s mission is “fighting hate and bigotry, and seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society.” Previous reports, incidentally, have named the Family Research Council, the Traditional Values Coalition and the Jewish Defense League among the nation’s “hate” groups. (Emphasis added)

We sincerely thank the Times and the author of “Inside the Beltway” for the recognition of the SPLC’s past unjust labeling of JDL as a hate group. JDL combats hatred; JDL works to defend our own people primarily but also works to aid decent non-Jews of all backgrounds. It’s clear that the SPLC has a problem with the political views of conservative organizations. By putting JDL, the Family Research Council the Traditional Values Coalition and most likely other decent organizations on the same list as truly reprehensible hate entities it tracks, the SPLC debases the value of its own work.

It should also be noted that SPLC founder Morris Dees thanked in writing JDL and our late Int’l Chairman Irv Rubin, ז״ל הי״ד, for contributions made in combating a true hate group taken on by both JDL and the SPLC in the mid-1990s.

Obama’s Rabbi Calls for Pollard Pardon

February 15 2011 - 1:07:27:am by JDL

A family member close to President Obama, dubbed by the New York Times as “Obama’s rabbi” has reportedly joined the ranks of those calling for the pardon of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. As reported by IsraelNN:

“As Americans and Israelis besiege the White House with calls for freedom for Jonathan Pollard, an individual who might have a little more “pull” than the rest of us had gotten on board: Rabbi Capers Funnye is the first cousin of Michelle Obama, once removed, and he in recent days sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting that Pollard be released.“

Proponents of Pollard’s release (a group that has included JDL for decades now) have often had high hopes for a presidential pardon that have gone unfulfilled in successive administrations, despite the strong case for Pollard’s release. Could a personal connection to the case make a difference with this president? Let’s hope so.

FNC Pundit Michael Scheuer a Rabid Israel Basher

February 03 2011 - 3:34:27:am by JDL

Frequent Fox News Channel guest pundit Michael Scheuer outed himself as a rabid Israel basher at the end of an interview segment on yesterday’s Glenn Beck show. Scheuer, a former CIA operative and the author of a recent book on Osama bin Laden, declared that Americans would soon realize that the United States must sell the Jewish state out for the sake of appeasing the forces of radical Islam that are currently contributing to the toppling of many relatively pro-Western Middle East dictatorships. The righteous Muslim anti-terrorism activist Zuhdi Jasser (narrator of the excellent documentary The Third Jihad) was clearly shocked by Scheuer’s comment and spoke out against it vehemently in the remaining moments of the segment. We trust that Glenn will also address Scheur’s filthy comment on his next broadcast.

JDL’s message to Scheuer: Shame on you, Scheuer. Throwing Israel to the wolves for some supposed short term gain for the US is a shameful, disgusting proposal and one doomed to failure. Scheuer apparently failed to uncover an obvious fact about radical Islam in the course of his multi-year study of Osama bin Laden: Islamists don’t hate the United States just because the US supports Israel. Rather, radical Muslims hate the US because it is the strongest opponent in the way of their aspiration to institute Islamic rule across the globe. They call the US the “Great Satan” regardless of the existence of an independent Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael. The only thing Scheuer accomplishes with such outrageous rhetoric (other than to draw the ire of pro-Israel activists) is to give additional verbal ammunition and support to other Jew-haters who also spread the lie that Israel is to blame for the virulent hatred and terrorism against America coming from Islamic terrorists and their sympathizers. After this ludicrous outburst, JDL has to question Michael Scheuer’s judgment as well as his sanity.

Caught in the Crosshairs - In Defense of Palin

January 27 2011 - 3:20:50:am by JDL

By Fern Sidman

As our nation still collectively recoils in horror over the shocking assassination attempt of Rep. Gabriella Giffords (D) of Arizona and the murder of six others by deranged gunman Jared Loughner, it appears that fierce finger pointing and political acrimony have taken center stage in the tendentious debate over who is actually responsible for this heinous act.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragic shooting, liberal pundits and left wing celebrities came racing out of the proverbial woodwork to excoriate Tea Party activists for creating such a bellicose environment in which such a horrific deed of this kind could take place. Having prevailed in the 2010 mid-term elections, Rep. Giffords was considered a “Blue Dog Democrat”; the kind that Republicans could work with on paramount legislation. While her positions on health care reform and illegal immigration were sources of attention for those opposed to her candidacy, and while she has been a recipient of criticism from various conservative groups, it is nonetheless the zenith of hypocrisy to assign blame for this horrific act on her detractors.

Said Amy Kremer, chair of the California-based Tea Party Express: “Spirited debate is desirable, but it only should be the clash of ideas. An attack on anyone for political purposes, if that was a factor in this shooting, is an attack on the democratic process. We join with everyone in vociferously condemning it.“

Without allowing ample time for facts to surface about the background of the shooter, those fomenting further polarization of the nation took aim at former Alaska governor, Tea Party icon and spiritual mentor, Sarah Palin for her purported “responsibility” for the reprehensible machinations of a lone gunman. Facts are summarily dismissed by those who tout a partisan agenda and that appears to be true in this case. It matters very little to the denizens of the “progressive” camp that reports have revealed Loughner’s left wing proclivities. According to his own admission on his blog, his favorite books are Karl Marx’s, “The Communist Manifesto” and Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”. Need we say more?

Among those jumping on the liberal exploitation bandwagon of this devastating tragedy was Paul Krugman, New York Times op-ed columnist, who blamed Palin for the shooting because she placed Giffords and 19 other Democrats on a hitlist of districts, each shown as being in crosshairs on her web site. Here’s where the double standard begins and ends. While the liberal dominated mainstream media regularly features left wing politicos who seize every chance they have to spew forth vitriol and ad hominem attacks against those who stand in staunch opposition to President Obama’s domestic agenda, somehow those interpreting the political scene have deemed that right-wing innocuous symbolism is way more ominous.

Accusing Palin of provoking an attempted assassination by insinuating that her use of this imagery during the 2010 campaign is somehow responsible for this shooting is mind-boggling. Clearly, this is simply another opportunity for the far left to bash Sarah Palin, who is possibly going to throw her hat in the ring as a 2012 GOP contender for the White House.

Palin shot back by stating that she was the target of an orchestrated campaign of “blood libel”. Condemnations of Palin’s assessment were fast and furious as liberal Jewish organizations lined up to take turns hurling invective at her by accusing her of anti-Semitism, as blood libel canards have historically referred to accusations that began in the Middle Ages claiming that Jews used the blood of murdered Christian children to make matzah for Passover. Truth be told, Palin’s political influence has grown exponentially since the 2008 presidential election and she is viewed by some as a genuine threat. Palin had no choice but to defend her innocence against the litany of irrational and egregious accusations made by those desperate souls who wish to slake their desire to cling to their waning political power.   

“Blood libel obviously means being falsely accused of having blood on your hands, and in this case that’s exactly what was going on,“ Palin told FOX News host Sean Hannity in a recent interview. We agree. If anyone can relate to this, it is the Jewish people. Let us reserve judgment and refrain from the fashionable trend of scapegoating innocents who some perceive as an implied threat to the political status quo.

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Fern Sidman served as JDL National Director from 1984-1985.

Apology for recent site outage

January 13 2011 - 9:52:03:am by JDL

JDL apologizes for the recent outage of jdl.org for around a week as a result of a billing error on our end and a difficult personal period for our primary webmaster. Site updates will resume today, and we have a strong agenda for website and League advancement in the secular new year. Thank you for your continued support.

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