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Jewish militants held in L.A. bombing plot
©Washington Post LOS ANGELES -- Two leaders of the militant Jewish Defense League were arrested Tuesday night as they assembled bombs to use in attacks against one of city's largest mosques and the local offices of an Arab-American congressman, federal officials announced Wednesday. Irving Rubin and Earl Krugel were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to manufacture and detonate bombs targeting Arab and Muslim buildings in the Los Angeles area, as well as the San Clemente offices of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants. Krugel, 59, was arrested at his home in Reseda as he was receiving 5 pounds of gunpowder from a police informant. Inside the home were sections of drilled foot-long pipe, end caps and detonation fuses. There were also a dozen rifles and handguns. FBI officials described the bomb components as relatively sophisticated, ready for assembly and capable of blowing out doors and windows of a building and killing anyone nearby. "The devices appeared to be constructed to destroy property, though of course anyone near them when they exploded probably would have been seriously injured or killed," said Ronald Iden, assistant director in charge of the FBI Los Angeles field office. Krugel is described by the FBI as a leading member of the Jewish Defense League and Rubin as the leader of the group, which federal officials Wednesday characterized as a "violent, subversive organization" that was preparing to do acts of domestic terrorism. The FBI had the organization under surveillance since receiving a tip from an informant in October, officials said. In court papers, FBI agents detailed wiretaps and taped conversations between the informant and Rubin and Krugel in which they discussed their motivations. Krugel stated that "Arabs needed a wakeup call and that the JDL needed to do something to one of their "filthy' mosques," according to FBI wiretaps. The JDL was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane to defend Jews against anti-Semitic attack in New York during the 1980s. Kahane was murdered in 1990. Before his death, he founded the extremist Kach party in Israel, which advocated the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel and Israeli-occupied territories. The JDL claims to have 13,000 members, but experts say it may have only few dozen active members. Rubin, 56, was arrested Tuesday evening while driving near his home after meeting with Krugel and an FBI informant at Jerry's Famous Deli in Encino. Rubin's attorney, Peter Morris, said his client was innocent and the victim of overzealous prosecution by the government following the September terrorist attacks. If convicted, Rubin and Krugel face 30 years in prison. Rubin's wife, Shelley, said her husband and Krugel were innocent and authorities were "on a witch hunt against Jews to show that they're evenhanded toward Muslims." "I'm in agony for my husband. He's been incarcerated for something he hasn't done," she said from the doorway of her suburban Monrovia home. 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 acquitted of soliciting the murders of Nazis in the United States. A lawsuit filed by Rubin resulted in a court decision last year banning prayer during Burbank City Council meetings. Both Rubin and Krugel were under surveillance since the confidential source approached the FBI and told agents that he was a member of the JDL who had previously planted a bomb at a mosque at the direction of JDL leaders. FBI officials declined to reveal more information about the confidential source or alleged bombings in the past. But according to federal investigators, the source met repeatedly with Rubin and Krugel, to purchase bomb components, to discuss tactics and to review photographs of possible targets. The targets discussed by Rubin and Krugel, according to the FBI, included the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, the offices of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, and the southern California offices of Issa. Issa, 46, serves on the House Committee on International Relations and supports Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. He called the arrests "shocking news." "All agree this was an unusual act by a small band" of individuals, Issa said in Washington. Flanked by several Jewish lawmakers, he said: "Perhaps in another country, we would be adversaries. We're not going to be divided by ethnic backgrounds." Mosque director Tajuddin Shuaib said no threats had been received by the mosque. He noted that the alleged plot came during the holy month of Ramadan, when as many as 1,000 people attend the mosque to pray. "I can't understand why people would do such a thing," he said. "We are not against Jews. We are not against anybody. We are like any church or synagogue or temple." Maher Hathout, a senior adviser for the Los Angeles chapter of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said the arrests sent an encouraging message to the Muslim community. "We can easily develop an attitude that (federal authorities) are out to get us," he said. "But it seems they are out to get anyone who breaks the law." - Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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