washingtonpost.com
JDL Chairman Accused in Bomb Plot
By Linda Deutsch
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, December 12, 2001; 3:53 PM
LOS ANGELES –– The chairman of the militant Jewish Defense League and a follower have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to blow up a Los Angeles mosque and the office of an Arab American congressman, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Irv Rubin, 56, and a member of the group, Earl Krugel, 59, both of Los Angeles, were arrested Tuesday night after the last component of the bomb – explosive powder – was delivered to Krugel's home, U.S. Attorney John S. Gordon said.
Other bomb components and weapons were seized at Krugel's home.
Authorities said the plot targeted a mosque in Culver City and the office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
Issa is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants.
Rubin and Krugel were expected to appear in court later Wednesday. The complaint against them quotes Krugel as making a comment during a meeting that Arabs "need a wakeup call."
Authorities were tipped off by a government source about a series of meetings where the scheme to bomb the King Fahd Mosque and Issa's office was hammered out, Gordon said.
The original target was to be the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, but the target was changed during a meeting last weekend.
"Prior to last night's arrest, the source delivered explosive powder, the last component required to begin construction of the bomb, to Krugel's residence," the U.S. attorney's office said.
It wasn't immediately clear when the alleged plot began.
"Irv Rubin never had anything to do with explosives," said Rubin's attorney, Peter Morris. "It seems to us that, given the timing ... the government's action is part of an overreaction to the Sept. 11 events."
Rubin's wife, Shelley, said her husband and Earl "are completely innocent of anything. They are law-abiding, good people."
Originally formed by Meir Kahane to mount armed response to anti-Semitic acts in New York, the JDL gained notoriety when its members were linked to bombings, most of them aimed at Soviet targets in retaliation for the way that country treated its Jewish population.
Kahane left the JDL in the 1980s. A power struggle ensued, with Rubin among the contenders for its leadership.
Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990. El Sayyid Nosair, 36, an Egyptian-born Muslim, was convicted in connection with the shooting.
Rubin has made a career out of confrontation, challenging white supremacists to fistfights, or burning a Confederate flag outside a courthouse. By his own count he has been arrested more than 40 times. In 1980, he was tried and found innocent of soliciting the murders of Nazis in the United States.
A suit filed by Rubin resulted in a court decision last year banning prayer during Burbank City Council meetings.
© 2001 The Associated Press |
