JDL/EDL Love-In Update!

The day after EDL (English Defense League) leader Tommy Robinson aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon addresses the Canadian branch of the Jewish Defense League (JDL), he'll be off to court for allegedly attacking another police officer! Meanwhile, two of his followers have just been convicted for murdering a guy back in the UK! Put the boots to him, inflicted over 40 different wounds upon him! The guy wasn't an Islamist, but he did have Aspergers, which almost half-rhymes with Islamist.

Meir Weinstein, leader of the Canadian chapter of the Jewish Defense League, you must be soooo proud.

Your Daily Nazi: Nazis, Crack-Heads, Murderers, Paedophiles...And The Jewish Defense League!

What English Defense League leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) said about EDL Member Richard Price last June:

“The EDL have only this ‘Leadership’ just for the record … Myself, Trevor Kelway, Marshy, Jack Smith, Joel Titus and Richard Price, we are the earliest founding members”.

Why this is a problem today:

Last night a hastily cobbled together statement was released by the EDL informing its members that Price was arrested by West Midlands police back in October 2009. Police seized his computer along with various other items and following analysis it was discovered Price had a number of indecent images of children held on his computer.

And the Canadian chapter of the Jewish Defense League still wants to consult with the EDL on the Jihadi menace. Go Meir Weinstein!

Peter Kent Distances Himself From JDL Leader

I admit, I didn't think Dawg's post outlining junior foreign minister Peter Kent's facebook relationship with Meir Weinstein, aka Meir Halevi, the Canadian Director of the Jewish Defense League, would amount to a whole lot. After all, facebook friends aren't like real friends, are they? They're just a tiny little picture stuck up on your personal web-page.

Maybe I was wrong, though, because Now Magazine has done a brief piece on the topic:

Tory MP Peter Kent

The Thornhill rep has ventured into some far-out places politically on the Middle East. Now, he’s popping up as a Facebook “friend” of the head of the Arab-phobic (and we’re being kind in our choice of words here) Jewish Defense League. With friends like these....

And, more importantly, it looks as though Kent himself is concerned enough about the apparent JDL link to have "defriended" Mr. Weinstein.

Before:

And after:

More evidence that the virtual world has become the real world, I guess.

News For Jews: Save The Canadian Jewish News And Pam Geller Gets Boot From Thornhill Synagogue

Bernie Farber writes of  the on-line petition to rescue the Canadian Jewish News, which will otherwise cease publication come June 20th:

Today for perhaps the first time in our young history as a Jewish community in Canada we may be without a trusted journalistic Jewish voice.

To be sure voices are being raised. To my utter delight and surprise the strongest of these voices seem to be emanating from a new younger generation of readers. Twenty-something folks like Rachel Singer and Alana Kayfetz (ironically the niece of one of Canada's most prolific Jewish journalists and community professionals from a day gone by, Ben Kayfetz Z"L) are putting words into action. Utilizing a 21st century communications device, the internet, they have developed a "Save the CJN" campaign" which has to date gathered more than 3000 digital signatures and close to 50,000 page views.

Playwright Arthur Miller once intoned "A good newspaper is a Nation talking to itself", indeed the CJN talked to a nation of Canadian Jews for over 40 years. To let it die without a bang would be a disservice to who we are as a people. Perhaps if we stood up this time and as my late father use to intone "open a mouth" we can save us from ourselves.

They are asking for electronic signatures and ideas.  I hope at some point somebody asks for money.

Meanwhile, Pam Geller will not be speaking at the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue in Thornhill:

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

[...]

Subsequent to his meeting with police, Kaplan cancelled Geller’s May 13 talk, which was sponsored by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) — a hard-line advocacy group that had rented space in Kaplan’s synagogue for the event.

Luckily for anyone who would still like to hear the "Queen of the Wingnuts", she will be appearing instead at the Toronto Zionist Center, protected by a security detail from the Jewish Defense League.

Your Daily Nazi: Jewish Defense League Gets Down With English Nazis

According to Shaidle's hubby, Meir Weinstein and Co. are staging a meet-and-greet (a "live Hookup") with EDL (English Defense League) leader Tommy Robinson on January 11th. Tommy's real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and he is:

...a former[BNP] British National Party member who has served 12 months’ imprisonment for assaulting an off-duty police officer.

The BNP has been described as an "openly Neo-Nazi" party, and its founder John Tyndal once stated that "Mein Kampf is my bible". So: strange bedfellows indeed.

PS. It looks like Tommy's BNP roots recently got him booted from the EDL:

After Searchlight’s exposé of Yaxley-Lennon, the EDL held a series of emergency meetings and discussions, while Yaxley-Lennon went into hiding and his parents threatened to throw him out. The group has begun using Ulster loyalist language and imagery and attempting to forge relationships with people from one of the notorious football hooligan gangs in the province.

It is also in the midst of a bizarre internal dispute, with one faction lined up behind a convicted German nazi terrorist with a black wife and his friend, a disgraced former loyalist terrorist. Rudderless for almost three weeks, the EDL finally issued a statement on 12 July, acknowledging growing grievances and announcing a new structure of regional organisers. The statement concluded that “the English Defence League is ready to move on to the next step in our counter Jihad fight”.

PPS. I am assuming "live hookup" means done over skype or by video feed. I doubt Mr. Robinson has the kind of dough to spring for a plane ticket to Toronto. His criminal record might also make travel difficult.

Toronto Rabbis Denounce Pam Geller

Excerpts from Toronto Board of Rabbis statement:

The Toronto Board of Rabbis (TBR) expresses its profound disappointment that a local Jewish organization has extended an invitation to Pamela Geller, a blogger who is known for her extreme criticism of Muslims in language that is intended to shock and ridicule.

The TBR is a strong supporter of freedom of speech for all,including Ms. Geller. Ms. Geller’s voice and message are already well known here in Canada and beyond. There was no sense in inviting her here to Toronto to speak before a Jewish audience.Sadly the only sure result of this event will be increasing tensions within the Jewish community and between Jews and Muslims in Toronto.

The rest is through the link.  Contains a mild shot at a "radical fringe Jewish group" that is presumably the Jewish Defense League.

Your Daily Nazi: News For Jews!

1) The Dykes and Trans People for Palestine aren't the Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, but they do plan to march during Pride week, and they will 

... be using the term "Israeli Apartheid" in our signs, banners, and messaging.

But they're not the QuAIA, who Rob Ford and others have condemned.  And the phrase "Israeli Apartheid" hasn't yet been defined as hate speech by the city.  Oooh!  Clever dykes!  What will be the result?  Will Pride lose is funding? 

We already know that Meir Weinstein and the JDL (Jewish Defense League) are pissed, and plan to confront the dissident dykes.  That might be fun.  Meir knows martial arts, though I hear his hip is starting to go and he can't do that patented IDF spin and kick move he's famous for.  How many dykes can he take down before he is overwhelmed?

2) Speaking of Meir, remember when he invited leaders from the English Defense League to an on-line confab with JDL hardcores?  Well, the EDL has now officially gone the full Nazi, embracing the Protocols of Zion and whatnot!  And you brought 'em to Canada (if only virtually), Meir and the JDL!  Hanging out with Holocaust Deniers!  You must be so damn proud.

PS. I have no idea why the font on this one looks so weird.  But I'm too tired to fix it now.

EDL/JDL Love Fest Attracts Counterprotests, and Hindu Nationalist Security Detail!

The English Defense League/ Jewish Defense League cross-Atlantic meet-&-greet, scheduled for tonight at the Torontio Zionist Centre, will see counter-protests. The ARA plans to be there, and there will be a candlelight vigil held outside the nearby subway station.

More ominously, or perhaps hilariously, Canadian Hindu Advocacy--a Hindu Nationalist outfit consisting almost entirely of Ron Banerjee and Naresh Patel, will not only be in
attendance, they will will

...be sending a special security team to join JDL and deter any ARA and Islamic disruptors.

...which will presumably consist of Ron Banerjee and Naresh Patel.

Things should get hopping in front of the Zionist Center tonight! Someone's specs might get busted!

Interestingly enough, Banerjee is a supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) whose leader in the state of Gujurat, Narendra Modi, is...wait for it...a huge admirer of Adolf Hitler, and history texts in that state glorify Hitler as a great nationalist while making no mention of The Holocaust. So when JDL leader Meir Weinstein writes "Never Again!" well, hey buddy, your pals support people who aren't so sure it happened the first time.

JDL History Rewritten

As I mentioned yesterday, the only official account of events by any of the participants in the Jewish Defense League/English Defense league meet-up on January 11th has come from Canadian Hindu Advocacy, a small Hindu Nationalist group allied with the JDL. In their original news release, the CHA strongly suggested that CHA/JDL members had physically confronted ARA protesters and "repelled" them. Furthermore, their release suggested that "security teams" from these two groups had "assisted Toronto Police in making a number of arrests as several masked attackers blocked roads and violently assaulted police."

After some poking around on my part, during which I suggested that this story might contradict the JDL's claim to have practiced strict non-violence at the event (and might also be bullshit), a second news release appeared on CHA's website. This one reads:

TUESDAY ARA VIOLENCE

On Tuesday evening, Toronto Police arrested numerous violent attackers who had congregated outside the Toronto Zionist Center with weapons and violent intentions.

A Canadian Hindu Advocacy delegation had joined with JDL security to assist. CHA and JDL assisted Toronto Police in maintaining order.

Our staff repelled the violent assault by pointing out to Toronto Police the location of the perpetrators of violence. Toronto Police then made lawful arrests, based partly on our valuable observation skills.

The assistance did not include ‘knocking heads’ or perpetrating violence or racism, as suggested by certain radical Islamist sources. Violence and aggression is the stock in trade of our Islamist and ARA opponents and is not perpetrated by our organizations.

CANADIAN HINDU ADVOCACY

So instead of fighting it out with the ARA, the JDL and CHA bravely pointed at the young people carrying banners and suggested that police go talk to them. Powerful stuff. And since I'm the only one that suggested heads might have been "knocked together", I guess I am the radical Islamist source noted in the release. Mom will be so proud.

WildRose Candidate Once Ran Afoul Of Human Rights Commision

After posting this on the 1999 meetup of Wildrose candidate Link Byfield and White Nationalist Paul Fromm, I got to thinking of an old on-line document I stumbled over once while doing something else.  This one in particular.  It pertains to a 2002 Alberta HRCC (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission) complaint brought by Harvey Kane of the Jewish Defense League against The Alberta Report and several of its employees, including Link Byfield and his brother Michael.  It concerns an article, A Canmore mall project ends in a bitter feud, which ran in The Report on October 13th of 1997, during which time Link Byfield served as the publication's editor.  Kane felt that the content of the article was anti-Semitic.  One can see his point; it concludes thusly:

One professional planner comments on the failed project: "North American commercial real estate is dominated by firms that often happen to be Jewish-owned [e.g., Oshawa and Canmore Development]. The retail sector is much the same. Like cliques everywhere, some of these people tend to deal with each other, and Mr. Schickedanz is an outsider."

Mr. Kane's complaint bounced around the Alberta legal system for awhile: if I am reconstructing the time-line correctly, it was dismissed, appealed, won by Mr. Kane, overturned, and I believe was due to be heard again before the trail of on-line documents goes dead.  In any case, during the to and fro, Mr. Byfield penned a classic of spittle-flecked fury to the chief commissioner of the AHRC:

...you have thus raised yourselves to a position of unprecedented power over social discussion. No one may now publicly offend the feelings of those whom you decide to see as "vulnerable": Natives, single moms, gays, drag queens, wiccans, immigrants, nerds, feminists, Muslim extremists, abortionists, overly emotional teachers, violent black rap singers, incompetent soldierettes, the overweight, anorexics, drug addicts, welfare recipients and vagrants, victims of transsexual mutilation...but rather than making us all guess, perhaps you could send us a list of stereotypical victims whose feelings may never be hurt.

Nor were these necessarily the weirdest things that made it into the The Report during Byfield's time at the helm.  In  its May 2000 B.C. edition Kevin Michael Grace penned "Is It Kosher?" (see page 116 through link), which contains a number of quotes from "an oddball Ukrainian Nationalist" named Lubomyr Prytulak.  For example:

Kosher labels, which are arcane and various, are authorized by various Jewish organizations. The costs to producers and consumers is largely secret, although a 1975 New York Times article cited by Mr. Prytulak claims that costs levied at that time ranged "from $250 for 'mom-and-pop' operations to $40,000 for a multi-plant corporation." Given that non-Jews consume most kosher food, Mr. Prytulak characterizes kosher labelling as a "Jewish tax." He adds, "I've got to admit that the kosher tax is unlike other taxes in more ways than one. For example, if the government levies a tax, then at least the consumer knows how large it is and can pretty much see what the tax revenue is being spent on, whereas he knows neither of these in the case of the kosher tax."

And:

Mr. Prytulak would be happy with what he calls "truth in labelling": "I simply advocate that the presently meaningless kosher labels be accompanied by the word 'KOSHER' and the Magen David or six-pointed star. Package labelling should inform all consumers, and not send a secret message to a small group."

This latter piece triggered a complaint by, of all people, Ezra Levant:

At first, the magazine stonewalled him. But in the end, he got his way. The editor printed a rebuttal, and even admitted publicly that publishing the Jew-tax article had been dumb.

So there you have it.

Jewish Defense League To Mark Steyn: Stop Attacking Friends Of Israel!

The following letter is from the JDL mailing list. I obviously have issues with the JDL, which I have documented on numerous occasions. I republish their letter only as part of my ongoing efforts to make Mark Steyn cry:

Dear Mr. Mark Steyn,

It pains me to write this letter to an important friend and ally. It is critical to reduce infighting and to focus on real threats.

JDL has not always agreed with Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) but one thing we do know, CJC is not the enemy far from it. It is for this reason that we are very disappointed with the May 3rd column you wrote in Maclean's.

Mr. Steyn, you have written and spoken about the demographic problems in the world and the spread of the Muslim Brotherhood Ideology. I get it. And I work for unity and have seen concrete results in the battle to expose and confront all groups that support the Muslim Brotherhood Ideology.

Mr. Steyn you are an important friend and ally who has defended our beloved Israel as has CJC and its CEO Bernie Farber.

And yes from time to time we can all make mistakes. A few weeks ago you made a mistake by attributing words to CJC that it never said. Indeed you did it in a manner that was disrespectful. MacLean’s apologized, sadly you have not only remained silent but chose to go on the attack against both Bernie Farber and CJC. And there is no need for that action.

Mr. Steyn, you responded to a CJC letter to the editor and attacked Farber for his work on behalf of Israel when last summer he led over 100 Jews both gay and straight in the Pride march in support of Israel. He did this to counter the anti-Semitic, pro Hamas, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid. [Note: Antonia Zerbisias has suggested that this bit from the JDL letter was defamatory, and I have removed it] Despite this Mr. Steyn, you decided to attack Farber and even claiming in your article that you supported Antonia Zerbisias [same with this bit] over Bernie Farber who defends Israel! I am writing this on behalf of JDL Canada to ask you to Stop! Stop attacking those who defend Israel and continue pointing your well known wit and critical faculties at those who would deny Jews, Israel and the free world legitimacy. Our energies must remain focused on the proxies of Radical Iran.

Thank You,

Meir Weinstein National Director Jewish Defence League of Canada

Please, on this one occasion, be nice to Mr. Weinstein in the comments. We must all stand together in our efforts to bring Mark Steyn to tears.

Jewish Defense League Plans To Crash "Women Won't Forget" Vigil

 ...do a little Muzzie bashing.  Why?  From their website:

 Marc Lepine’s father Liess Gharbi was an Algerian immigrant, a Muslim Extremist  who taught his boy how to hate women...

Dawg's  unpacked this formulation ages ago, so I'm not going to bother.  More to the point, the University of Toronto has discovered JDL's plan and asked them to nix it:

Dear JDL Canada,

It has come to our attention that your website indicates you are planning to host an event next Tuesday, December 6th in Philosopher's Walk. The property in question is owned by the University and is not available for groups to book. As well, Philosopher's Walk will be the site of the annual Women Won't Forget candlelight vigil on the same date at the memorial location.

I would kindly insist that you relocate your event and not use Philosopher's Walk.

Sincerely,
Steve Bailey

Steven Bailey
Director, Office of Space Management
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, 4th Floor
12 Queen's Park Crescent West
Toronto, ON
M5S 1S8

But, last I looked, Meir Weinstein still intends to go ahead with the JDL demonstration, which decision can only be characterized as depraved:

Dear Steve Bailey,

The Women Won't Forget candlelight vigil is a public event. I believe it is important for the public to attend. JDL is part of a multi faith coalition that respects and supports events for Dec 6th. The victims of Marc Lepine should be remembered. We are asking our supporters to attend and light a candle.

Sincerly

Meir Weinstein
National Director Jewish Defence League of Canada

Given the JDL's penchant for confrontation, though, what happens if one of the WWF people, quite justifiably outraged by the fact that their event is being used as a platform for race-baiting, tries to jam one of those candles up Meir Weinstein's ass.  Will we see that patented spin & kick move of his, that he hasn't used much lately since his hip went?  After all, he can't rely on the "security detail" from Canadian Hindu Advocacy; those two skinny hindi don't weigh 98 lbs together in a sack.

Kinsella Speaks To Jewish Defense League

I attended the JDL open meeting last night and wanted to report that there was a surprise special guest who came to check it out and speak briefly to the audience: WARREN KINSELLA. Mr Kinsella spoke about the Galloway affair, the disturbing escalation of antisemitism in Canada and around the world, and the connection between radicalization of societies coinciding with economic recessions. There was also a Liberal party MPP there. I highly recommend to those of you who live in the GTA region to come out to one of these meetings - you never know who might turn up!

WK hinted at this yesterday, and I am sure he knows what he is doing. But the JDL looks imho to be a gang of nutters, and their leader Meir Weinstein, well, a nutter with something of a dark streak.

Recent events have shown that I don't have a particularly deep insight into the Jewish character, nor into the interplay between and among the various groups/individuals interested in these issues, like WK, the CJC, BB, JDL and so forth.

Someone explain this to me, please.

Update: I am told this was NOT a JDL gathering, but a "public meeting at the Zionist Centre".

Update 2: Yariv from the comments:

The problem for the most part with the Canadian version of the JDL is that it wears the cloak of its American counterparts.

In the USA the JDL is seen as a terrorist group. It has no such history here. It is to be sure well right of centre but it has as well a curious Canadian type of history. For example back in the days of Zundel, Keegstar and the Heritage Front the Canadian JDL marched arm in arm with ARA in ridding Toronto streets of neo-Nazis.

Its just not that black and white BCL. So while I am no fan of the JDL, given the upsurge in anti-Semitism there are many Jews wanting to take more direct action than their mainstream representatives like the CJC. So a small but vocal group gravitate to the JDL. I have seen nothing to date that would label the Canadian version as extremist or racist in their latest incarnation. To be sure they are strongly Zionist very much on that bright flank of Zionism. But then again so are many other Jews. The JDL is only a loud and very vocal expression of that and if they cross over the line, even the mainstrema has spoken out.

Look at the time that someone at a JDL rally tried to compare Sid Ryan with Hitler (Ryan is many things but a Hitler?), the CJC went on record to denounce such a comparision.So while I may not have counseled WK to attend this meeting, that he has does not put him outside the pale in my view.

A Certain Poetry To It

Both the JDL Website and Meir Weinstein's personal FB Webpage have been Hacked.

FB administration have been contacted.

I hope within the week, the group, events and profile will be restored.

[...]

Meir Weinstein's account was hacked. He still has the "Free Palestine" collage as his picture. Don't talk to him through Facebook until you can talk to him in person and hear from him that his account is back in his hands

JDL = Jewish Defense League, the Jewish community group most likely to resort to vigilante tactics one day (and, of course, hyper-Pro-Israel). Meir Weinstein is their #1.

If anyone has a screenshot, please forward.

Meir Weinstein: His Decline Continues

The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is attempting to organize an April 15 protest at the offices of Pride Toronto (PT). “During the Nazi era, many high-ranking Nazis were gay,” the JDL Facebook invitation reads in part.

This, incidentally, is all to do with the decision finding Queers Against Israeli Apartheid not in violation of City of TO hate speech regs.

Jewish Defense League Gets Around

They did the parking for Geert Wilders Toronto appearance,  "clad in suits and wrap-around sunglasses".

Ezra On The Jewish Defense League

 Frankly, the JDL is pretty much one guy, Meir Weinstein...

You don't really have to read the rest.

Machetegate: A Quick Update

As of this moment, we have 40 MSM stories on the adventures of Nick Bergamini and Mark Klibanov and no new information. There is, however, this mysterious post on Mr. Klibanov's Facebook page:
The knife vs. machete distinction is not so important--but a three on three fight? Where did the third guy come from suddenly? He's definitely talking about the same incident; his link goes to Bergamini's original account.

PS. Tim Hudak has denounced the alleged attack, and the Jewish Defense League (JDL) is off to Ottawa to knock some heads together.

Your Daily Nazi: Did Harper Israel Trip Participant Help Arrange Meetup With English Neo-Nazis?

David Akin has published a list of the folks accompanying PM Stephen Harper to Israel.  As Hardy notes in the comments here, one the people on the list is Julius Suraski.  If you click on the image below, you can see that he is given as the  "events coordinator" for JDL-Canada, and indeed there are mentions and pics of him on-line in regards to various JDL-Canada activities.

Presumably, given his title, Julius helped arrange the  bringing of American hate-monger Pam Geller (recently banned in the UK) to Toronto.  Even more disturbingly, he seems to have been part of JDL Canada's outreach to Tommy Robinson, leader of the  English Defense League, an anti-Muslim Group with deep ties to UK Neo-Nazis, these ties noted here, for example.  The EDL (although not Robinson himself) also apparently had connections with Norwegian mass murderer Anders Brievik, a story I broke here, and which was then widely pursued by the UK press.  Also in The New Yorker.

So, nice company you keep, Mr. Harper.

PS. FWIW, it looks like Ezra's dad is also on the trip.

PPS. Just to provide a bit of context on the JDL/EDL connection.  Why, some might ask, would a Jewish group sidle up to this crowd?

Basically, Suraski and JDL hooked up with English Defence League because of the latters alleged opposition to "radical Islam"  But in fact the EDL was largely a spin-off from BNP (British National Party), which was openly Neo Nazi. To put it bluntly, EDL founders figured that post 9/11 it was easier to hate Muslims than Jews. So alot of them opportunistically dropped beliefs they had espoused only a few years earlier and adopted anti-Muslim/pro-Israel rhetoric instead. But the change never really went that deep.  And the JDL knew all this at the time.