Posted on 12/13/2001 1:50:03 AM PST by newzjunkey
Wednesday December 12 8:03 PM ET
Jewish Militant Arrested in L.A. Bomb Plot
By Sarah Tippit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The chairman of the militant [TERRORST] Jewish Defense League and a follower have been arrested in an alleged plot to bomb a major Los Angeles area mosque and the office of a Republican California congressman, among other targets, federal officials said on Wednesday.
JDL Chairman Irv Rubin, 56 and group member Earl Krugel, 59, who were arrested on Tuesday night, were charged with conspiring to bomb the King Fahd Mosque in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City, the offices of Southern California Congressman Darrell Issa, who is the [CHRISTIAN] grandson of Lebanese immigrants and the Muslim Public Affairs Council office in the Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles.
``Last night's arrests confirm that we meant what we said: if you cross the line from expressing your political or religious beliefs to committing violent acts against those whose beliefs are offensive to you, then you will likely end up facing federal prosecution on charges carrying extremely long prison sentences,'' said John Gordon, U.S. Attorney for California's Central District.
The two men face one count each of conspiring to destroy a building by means of an explosive and possession of a destructive device during and in relation to a violent crime, according to an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. If convicted each could face 35 years in prison.
THIRD MAN TURNED INFORMER
Officials said the two men plotted with a third, a former JDL member, to make and detonate bombs. The third man, who was approached last October told authorities of the plot, officials said. No bombs were detonated and no one was injured.
A complaint against the two men said that Krugel told the informant the bombings were necessary because ``Arabs need a wake-up call.'' At that meeting Rubin added that the JDL needs to let people know they are ``alive in a militant way.''
The complaint added that the unnamed source was asked to photograph the Muslim Public Affairs Council and help purchase bomb components and that Krugel said he would build the bombs at his residence. The source would then place the explosives.
When the source asked Krugel how the bombings might affect human beings, he allegedly said: ``C'est la vie,'' Gordon said.
``The affidavit makes clear their primary motivation was to ... terrorize Muslims or Arabs and alert the national if not the local community to JDL's commitment to attack those targets,'' Gordon said.
The source told officials he was led to believe one bomb was to be placed in the offices of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). He arrived at Jerry's Famous Deli in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino with 5 pounds (2.2 kg) of explosive powder in his vehicle ready for delivery to Krugel.
The MPAC, which also has a Washington, D.C. office, describes itself as a public service agency working for the civil rights of American Muslims.
TARGETS CHANGED AT MEETING
However at the deli meeting the two men said they had changed their targets and bombs were instead to be placed at the Culver City mosque and Issa's office. Gordon said he believed Issa, a Christian American of Lebanese descent, was targeted because he made statements the JDL disagreed with.
There was no specific time frame for when the bombs were to be detonated, however they were expected to be set off ``in the near future. Things were fluid,'' Gordon said.
Issa was not made aware of the plot because authorities only learned of it moments before the arrests, Gordon said.
Because the informant wore a wire when he met the two men, federal agents followed and arrested them a short time later. A search of Krugel's Reseda, California house turned up bomb making materials including caps, pipes and fuses and a dozen firearms. The bombs were adequate to cause ``considerable damage'' to the areas where they were to be detonated and possibly death to people in the vicinity, officials said.
Issa, who appeared at a press conference Wednesday flanked by several Jewish congressmen, thanked law enforcement officials for their quick action and said he had ``no way of knowing'' why he had been a target of the JDL. ``Like most Americans, my hope and wish is for a peaceful resolution to the Middle East conflict. Unfortunately, there are extremists on both sides who oppose a peaceful resolution.''
``I describe myself as an American,'' he said, when asked about his ethnic background. ``I'm an American, somebody who served in the military both as an enlisted man and as an officer, who does have an Arabic surname.'' He said he had grown up in a Jewish neighborhood.
Several Jewish congressmen stood by him and denounced the Jewish Defense League and urged prosecution of the suspects.
``This is a small group of wackos,'' said Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat. ``They get more attention than they deserve but they can't get more punishment than they deserve.''
The JDL was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was assassinated in New York in 1990. Prior to his death he founded the extremist KACH party in Israel which advocated the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel and Israeli-occupied territories. The party was later outlawed.
09:25) JDL members face jail in Calif. bombing plot By Melissa Radler
NEW YORK-A bomb plot against a Los Angeles mosque and an Arab-American congressman has landed the chairman and another member of the Jewish Defense League in jail, each facing up to 35 years behind bars.
A stash of weapons, explosive powder and bomb components was seized during the Tuesday night arrest of Irv Rubin, 56, who chairs the JDL, an anti-Arab group founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, and Earl Krugel, 59, a member.
Rubin and Krugel were charged yesterday with conspiracy to destroy a building with an explosive and possession of a destructive device after a plot to bomb the King Fahd Mosque and the office of Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican of Lebanese descent, was uncovered by a JDL member turned federal informant, US Attorney John Gordon told The Associated Press.
Both men are being held without bail and face up to 35 years in prison.
A preliminary hearing has been set for Dec. 27.
In court papers, Krugel was secretly taped during a JDL meeting saying Arabs need a "wake-up call," and calling on members to act against a "filthy" mosque, AP reported. Meanwhile, attorneys for the two accused the government of entrapment and overreacting to the events of September 11.
Jewish leaders here immediately condemned the JDL as an "extreme fringe" group, and Jewish members of Congress stood in solidarity with Rep. Issa in Washington yesterday as he reacted to the news.
"All agree this was an unusual act by a small band" of people, said Issa.
"Perhaps in another country, we would be adversaries. We're not going to be divided by ethnic backgrounds," he said.
Most not have had a good handbook.
Duh. Reams and reams of "handbooks" available on the net. Good ones, too. And you don't need a "handbook" to blow something up - even the retard palies manage that straight out of kindergarden, so to speak. Just dynamite and nails. And one should make bombs out of gunpowder, which really isn't much useful for that? More, have gunpowder delivered by some shadowy henchman when both gunpowder (and dynamite, i think) can be bought over the counter?
Nah. The whole thing reeks. It reeks of Clinton holdovers in the FBI, and it reeks of "Jihad Darrel".
Maybe it's a small mosque
Lol. Sounds like it would have to be a doll-house mosque.
I haven't made a bomb so I can't judge the method
Hehe. Not even dynamite fishing? You've missed out on something :).
NEWS FROM:
CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA
Serving California's 48th District
1725 Longworth House Office Building, Washington,
DC 20515 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: DALE NEUGEBAUER 202-225-3906
November 28, 2001
ISSA DENOUNCES FALSE TEHRAN TIMES STORY
Propaganda Designed to Undermine Anti-Terror Mission
WASHINGTON, DC - Representative Darrell Issa today denounced as false a recent Tehran Times story (11/19/01) sourced to the Iranian government news agency (IRNA), that claimed the lawmaker had said the Iranian backed terrorist group Hezbollah was "legitimate" and had never committed terrorist acts. Issa recently led an official delegation of U.S. lawmakers to the region to solicit support for the U.S. War on Terrorism and to explore opportunities for progress in the Middle East Peace effort.
"The story printed in the Tehran Times is an outright lie," Issa declared. "They made it up. Our message was just the opposite. We repeatedly called on Hezbollah's state sponsors to pressure the group to renounce terrorism."
The three major western news services, Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France Press all reported Issa's call for Hezbollah to renounce terrorism, which was repeated as the group's visit to several Middle East countries progressed.
Issa made the statements in response to concerns raised by heads of state in Syria and Lebanon who objected to the United States listing Hezbollah as a terrorist organization of global-reach. "We made it very clear that renouncing terrorism was a requirement for removal from the target list," Issa explained. Excerpts from the wire service articles appear below:
Headline: Hezbollah must renounce terrorism:
US Congressman US Congressman Darrell Issa called here on Saturday for Lebanon's fundamentalist Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group to give up "terrorism." "Hezbollah must renounce terrorism," Issa, a Republican from California, said on a visit to Damascus with a congressional delegation. Hezbollah, which is sponsored by both Syria and Iran, was slapped on a US State Department list of terrorist organisations on November 2, with the aim of freezing the movement's financial assets.
-- Agence France Presse, 11/17/01
U.S. congressmen ask Lebanon to rein in Hizbollah
BEIRUT, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. Congressional delegation urged Lebanon on Sunday to end a standoff with Washington over its Hizbollah guerrillas by reining the group in and ensuring it stays out of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
The comments follow a U.S. decision earlier this month to put Hizbollah on a list of groups subject to financial sanctions as part of the anti-terror campaign launched after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
From the Associated Press, 11/17/01
The delegation's leader, Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told reporters that for the United States to remove Hezbollah from its list of terrorist organizations, the Lebanese-based group must renounce terrorism and confine itself to its humanitarian and parliamentary activities.
Hezbollah, which receives Syrian support, was the principal guerrilla force opposing the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon until the Israelis withdrew last year. It continues to attack Israeli troops over a tiny parcel of disputed land on Lebanon's southern border. However, it also operates as a political party, with nine members in parliament, and provides social services to low-income people.
Issa believes the Tehran Times story was an attempt by Hezbollah's Iranian backers to discredit the U.S. delegation. "We were delivering a very tough message," Issa said. "They didn't like it, so they made up their own and put our names on it."
Issa led a four member congressional delegation to the region on a trip sponsored by the House International Relations Committee. The lawmakers met with heads of state and government leaders in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel as well as representatives of the Palestinian Authority.
"We worked closely with U.S. State Department and Embassy officials in each country to ensure that the message we delivered was consistent with U.S. foreign policy and our interests in the region," Issa explained. "As a result, we had a tremendously successful trip."
Thank you for dumping those thugs overboard and not trying to equivocate or make any excuses, or accuse anyone of entrapment or a vast anti-Israeli conspiracy. I don't think any more ink or effort needs to be wasted on their behalf. Nobody, but nobody, is going to get away with attacking a US Congressman, I don't care who they are or how lousy the congressman is. I don't think, however, that most Americans have quite given up the idea of a Palestinian state...not yet, anyway.
But I bet Arafat is shi**ing bricks right now--this is a new move on Israel's part, and I think even his European apologists aren't going to help him out. The Israelis haven't quite backed away from the peace talks yet, either, just Arafat.
WHAT terrorist attacks, please? Which mosque was bombed? Who got slapped? Did Issa's papers get blown out into the neighborhood? What?
plastique, what are those 2 little dots above your A? Which is your first language? Or second? Is that a special hateboard? Clouseau wants to know.
Mainstream Jewish groups applauded law enforcement for the arrests and denounced the JDL and its members.
"The Jewish Defense League is a tiny organization that employs tactics that are counter to the values of the Jewish community," said Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, a director of the American Jewish Committee.
In the wiretaps, Krugel and Rubin tell the informant that the bombings should strike buildings and not human targets -- "because they still had not heard the end of the Alex Odeh incident," a reference to the ongoing investigation into the 1985 murder in Santa Ana, Calif., of Alexander Odeh, regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Odeh was killed when a bomb delivered to his office blew up. A $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone connected with the Odeh bombing was announced today.
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