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JDL Chief In Alleged Mosque Bomb Plot
· Jewish Defense League Chairman,
Follower, Arrested In L.A.
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12, 2001
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AP (file)
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Irv Rubin
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(CBS) 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.
The complaint against Rubin and Krugel 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.
CBS News Corespondent Sandra Hughes reports Members of the
Muslim Public Affairs Council said a two-foot pipe bomb was found at
Kruger's home.
"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.
"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."
The raid was conducted by a multi-agency antiterrorism task force,
according to video camera operators on the scene.
A neighbor, Rod Colson, said Krugel had lived there more than 20
years. He said he heard Krugel's dog barking at about 10 p.m. and
went outside, where he saw people carrying out boxes.
"I saw a lot of agents in the back yard taking photos," he
said.
The screen door of the red brick home was broken and part of the
fence had been knocked down. A menorah, the Jewish candelabra used
for Hanukkah, was visible through a window and there was an American
flag on the mailbox.
Matthew McLaughlin, an FBI spokesman in Los Angeles, declined to
discuss the alleged target but said physical evidence was found.
"The tools might have been in place to do this thing," he
said. "We don't put people in (custody) just for superficial
impressions. We put people in place for their physical actions."
Rubin's wife, Shelley, said in a telephone interview that her husband
and Earl "are completely innocent of anything. They are
law-abiding, good people."
A relative of one of the men told reporters he thought the arrests
were connected to the 1985 assassination in Santa Ana, Calif., of
Alexander Odeh, regional director of the American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Odeh was killed when he opened the door to his office and a bomb
exploded. The night before he had appeared on television defending
the Palestine Liberation Organization. A $1 million reward was offered
in 1996 for information leading to the discovery of Odeh's killers.
Rubin has said the JDL played no role in Odeh's death, but added he
shed "no tears" over the slaying.
Originally formed by Meir Kahane to mount armed response to
anti-Semitic acts in New York City, 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.
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