Jewish Defense League Teams Up With Anti-Muslim Street Gang

Image by Facebook

By Sam Kestenbaum May 9, 2017

The militant Jewish Defense League is standing proudly with Canadian branch of Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant patrol group with roots in Europe whose ranks include white nationalists.

The Anti-Defamation League says that Soldiers of Odin contains “many open white supremacists, as well as other right-wing extremists.”

But Meir Weinstein, the head of the Canadian branch of the JDL disputes this. He says the group’s goals are aligned with those of the JDL — and claims they have disowned the more racist elements within their parent organization in Finland.

“They disowned racism and they’re against radical Islam,” Weinstein told the Canadian Jewish News.

The Canadian Soldiers of Odin group is primarily focused on Muslim immigration. In a lengthy video on their Facebook page, one spokesman decried Muslims coming into Canada.

“They’re following the code of the Muslim Brotherhood to a tee,” he said. “They’re infiltrating through refugees.”

Bernie Farber, former chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress, called the JDL’s alliance a “shanda,” Yiddish for “disgrace.”

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

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