Editing Jewish Defense League (section)

==Organization==

===Chapters===
{{Main|Jewish Defense League chapters}}

===Chairs===
According to the organization's official list of Chairmen or Highest Ranking Directors:<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.jdl.org/index.php/about-jdl/leadership/list-chairmen/|title=Official List of JDL Chairmen|publisher=jdl.org|access-date=2011-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219223739/http://www.jdl.org/index.php/about-jdl/leadership/list-chairmen/|archive-date=2012-02-19}}</ref>
* 1968–1971 – Rabbi [[Meir Kahane]], International Chairman. Assassinated in 1990 by Islamic militant [[El Sayyid Nosair]], who was later convicted in Terrorism Conspiracy.<ref name="nytimes120113">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/nyregion/el-sayyid-a-nosair-killer-of-rabbi-kahane-is-denied-new-trial.html?_r=0|title=Man Convicted in Terrorism Conspiracy Is Denied New Trial|last=Benjamin Weiser|date=January 13, 2012|newspaper=nytimes.com|access-date=7 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426180713/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/nyregion/el-sayyid-a-nosair-killer-of-rabbi-kahane-is-denied-new-trial.html?_r=0|archive-date=26 April 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* 1971–1973 – David Fisch, a religious [[Columbia University]] student, who later wrote articles for Jewish magazines and the book ''Jews for Nothing''.
* 1974–1976 – Russel Kelner, originally from [[Philadelphia]]. Formerly a U.S. Army lieutenant trained in counter-guerrilla warfare, he moved to [[New York City]] to direct the JDL's [[paramilitary]] summer camp JeDeL located in [[Wawarsing, New York]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19710111&id=bBQfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4497,2287126 |title=Jewish Defense League an Ultra-Militant Group |date=January 11, 1971 |work=Tuscaloosa News |access-date=April 29, 2013 |archive-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606033541/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19710111&id=bBQfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4497%2C2287126 |url-status=live }}</ref> and later to run the national office as chairman.
* 1976–1978 – Bonnie Pechter.
* 1979–1981 – Brett Becker, originally from [[South Florida]], came to New York City to become chairman.
* 1981–1983 – Meir Jolovitz, originally from [[Arizona]], also came to New York City.
* 1983–1984 – Fern Sidman, Administrative Director.
* 1985–2002 – [[Irv Rubin]], International Chairman. Arrested on terrorism charges; died in jail awaiting trial.
* 2002–present – [[Shelley Rubin]], Administrative Director (2002–2006); Chairman/CEO (2006–present).
* 2017–present – [[Meir Weinstein]], North American co-ordinator (2017–present); Canadian Chairman (1979–present)

===Schism===
After Rubin's death in prison in November 2002, Bill Maniaci was appointed interim chairman by Shelley Rubin. Two years later, the Jewish Defense League became mired in a state of upheaval over legal control of the organization. In October 2004, Maniaci rejected Shelley Rubin's call for him to resign; as a result, Maniaci was stripped of his title and membership. At that point, the JDL split into two separate factions, each vying for legal control of the associated "intellectual property." The two operated as separate organizations with the same name while a lengthy legal battle ensued.<ref>[http://www.cultnews.com/archives/000798.html The Jewish Defense League has split into feuding factions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051204100616/http://www.cultnews.com/archives/000798.html |date=2005-12-04 }} from CultNews.com (written by [[Rick Ross (consultant)|Rick Ross]])</ref> In April 2005, the original domain name of the organization, ''jdl.org'', was suspended by [[Network Solutions]] due to allegations of infringement; the organization went back online soon thereafter at domain name ''jewishdefenseleague.org''. In April 2006, news of a settlement was announced in which signatories agreed to not object to "Shelley Rubin's titles of permanent chairman and CEO of JDL."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishdefenseleague.org/information/settlement.shtml|title=jewishdefenseleague.org|access-date=2006-04-26|archive-date=2006-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012124509/http://www.jdl.org/information/settlement.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> The agreement also confirmed that "the name 'Jewish Defense League,' the acronym 'JDL,' and the 'Fist and Star' logo are the exclusive intellectual property of JDL." (Opponents of both groups claim that these are [[Kahanism|Kahanist]] symbols and not the exclusive property of JDL. At this time, however, the logo is no longer in general use by the Kahanist groups.) The agreement also states: "Domain names registered on behalf of JDL, including but not limited to jdl.org and jewishdefenseleague.org, are owned and operated by JDL." Meanwhile, the opposing group formed '''B'nai Elim''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bnaielim.org/ |title=Bnai Elim official website |publisher=Bnaielim.org |access-date=2013-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824172221/http://www.bnaielim.org/ |archive-date=2013-08-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which is the latest of many JDL splinter groups to have formed over the years (previous splinter groups included the '''Jewish Direct Action''' and the '''United Jewish Underground''' that have been active during the 1980s).

===Principles===
The JDL upholds five fundamental principles
* "LOVE OF JEWRY, one Jewish people, indivisible and united, from which flows the love for and the feeling of pain of all Jews."
* "DIGNITY AND PRIDE, pride in and knowledge of Jewish tradition, faith, culture, land, history, strength, pain and peoplehood."
* "IRON, the need to both move to help Jews everywhere and to change the Jewish image through sacrifice and all necessary means—even strength, force and violence."
* "DISCIPLINE AND UNITY, the knowledge that he (or she) can and will do whatever must be done, and the unity and strength of willpower to bring this into reality."
* "FAITH IN THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE, faith in the greatness and indestructibility of the Jewish people, our religion and our Land of Israel."

The JDL encourages, per its principle of the "Love of Jewry," that "... in the end ... the Jew can look to no one but another Jew for help and that the true solution to the Jewish problem is the [[Negation of the Diaspora|liquidation of the Exile and the return of all Jews to Eretz Yisroel]] – the land of Israel."<ref name="five">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jdl.org/information/five_principles.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117030204/http://www.jdl.org/information/five_principles.shtml|url-status=dead|title=None|archivedate=January 17, 2009}}</ref> The JDL elaborates on this fundamental principle by insisting upon an "immediate need to place [[Judaism]] over any other 'ism' and ideology and ... use of the yardstick: 'Is it good for Jews?'"<ref name="five" /> The JDL argues that, outside of Jews, there are historically no people corresponding to the [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] ethnicity. Writing on its official website, the JDL claims: "[T]he first mention of a 'Palestinian people' dates from the aftermath of the 1967 war, when the local Arabic-speaking communities ... were retrospectively endowed with a contrived 'nationhood' ... taken from Jewish history ..." and that "[c]learly, since Roman times 'Palestinian' had meant Jews until the Arab's recent adoption of this identity in order to claim it as their land."<ref name="iorp">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jdl.org/israel/israel_or_palestine.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703210048/http://www.jdl.org/israel/israel_or_palestine.shtml|url-status=dead|title=None|archivedate=July 3, 2008}}</ref> On this basis, the JDL argues that "[[Zionism]] [should be] under no obligation to accommodate a separate 'Palestinian' claim, there being no historical evidence or witness for any such Arab category," and it considers Palestinian claims to be "Arab usurpation" of proper Jewish title.<ref name="iorp"/>