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Irv Rubin and the Libertarian Party
And How He Tried To Recuit AntiWar.com'
12/12/2001 11:30:20 AM
-- Irv Rubin and the Libertarian Party
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/garris2.html
by Eric Garris
I was recently taken aback when I read this item in the national
Libertarian
Party News: Jewish Defense League leader signs up with LP.
I was shocked. They couldn't be talking about Irv Rubin, could they?
Unfortunately, that is exactly who they were talking about.
Irv Rubin is the International Chairman of the Jewish Defense League
(JDL). I
met Rubin in 1972. A political activist friend introduced us with the hope
that
Rubin could recruit me into the JDL. I am Jewish, and did not know much
about
the JDL, and I was genuinely interested.
I am not going to pretend to remember the exact words Rubin and I
exchanged 28
years ago. But I do recall his emphasis on offensive violence as an
integral
part of the JDL's activities. I am not a pacifist, and I have never been
opposed to using force to defend oneself. However, it was clear to me that
Rubin was talking about going beyond defense. He explained that the
tactics
of "our enemies" justify the use of preemptive violence. And he explained
that
the hate speech of anti-Semites and racists justified the use of force,
that
their very speech was in fact an aggression against Jews. When he sensed
my
resistance to this kind of talk, he assured me that the JDL had many other
activities which were completely legal and political in nature. I declined
the
offer to join the JDL.
In 1973 I joined the Libertarian Party. I served as a National Committee
member, California State Director, and candidate and campaign manager
numerous
times. I am still a life member of the LP, but I am no longer registered
LP. I
still consider myself to be a libertarian with strongly held beliefs and,
as
Webmaster of Antiwar.com and LewRockwell.com, consider myself an activist
in
the libertarian movement. I still read much of the LP's literature, have
many
friends and associates in the LP, often even vote Libertarian. I also
subscribe
to the LP's internal email discussion list.
Earlier this month Justin Raimondo wrote a column explaining why he was
not
voting for the LP this year. In the column he talked about the LP's
promotion
of Rubin's entrance into the LP.
The key issue that brought Rubin to the LP was opposition to gun control.
In
the LP News article, Rubin stated that he agreed with most of the party's
positions, except non-interventionism. Not surprisingly, he stressed the
importance of continued military aid to Israel. I don't think this is a
minor
point. Noninterventionism is a key aspect to libertarianism. To ignore it
is to
ignore the international application of libertarian principles.
It took a few days, but when news of Raimondo's article filtered onto the
LP
email discussion list, what followed was an avalanche of several hundred
email
posts, hotly discussing the issue. Unfortunately, Rubin's support of
military
intervention was not one of the main discussion points. But that aside,
many of
the points brought up need addressing.
The most substantive point of contention on the email list was the nature
of
the Jewish Defense League. Many insisted that the JDL is a strictly
defensive
organization.
The JDL was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, an advocate of violence against
Arabs
both in the US and Israel. In later years he was expelled from Israel for
advocating the ethnic cleansing of all Arabs from greater Israel.
Throughout the 80s, the JDL was implicated in many bombings and attacks,
including the 1985 bombing of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination
Committee
which resulted in the death of their director, Alex Odeh.
At the time, Rubin publicly stated that Odeh "got what he deserved,"
adding "I'm not crying over the death of Alex Odeh." Rabbi Kahane,
however,
disavowed the group and moved to Israel. Rubin took over as Chairman.
According to the Historical Dictionary of Terrorism, law enforcement
officials
have ascribed at least 37 terrorist acts to JDL members:
"While the International Terrorism: Attributes of Terrorist Events
(ITERATE)
database developed on behalf of the United States Central Intelligence
Agency
by Edward F. Mickolus recorded 50 such incidents from 1968-1987, making
the JDL
second only to the Puerto Rican FALN as the major domestic terrorist
group.
Nonetheless the JDL is a legally incorporated political action group and
has
officially disavowed responsibility for any violent actions carried out by
its
members. Bombings accounted for 78 percent of all JDL terrorist
activities;
shootings accounted for 16 percent; while arson attacks, vandalism,
kidnapping,
threats, and verbal harassment accounted for the rest."
In addition to alleged terrorist activities, the JDL has been involved in
intimidation and mob violence countless times. In 1987, several members of
the
JDL were convicted of violent assaults. Their targets often go beyond
nazis and
anti-Semites. Currently on the JDL website there is a call for fighting
against
the Southern Baptist Convention for forming a mission to try to convert
Jews to
Christianity. They call the Southern Baptist campaign the "Quiet
Holocaust."
Two months ago, the JDL (along with several LP members) attempted to block
attendees going to a Pat Buchanan fundraiser at a private house. Rubin
brags
that he has been arrested over 40 times.
It is not difficult to find public positions of the JDL which are clearly
inconsistent with the nonaggression principle of the LP.
They favor expelling all Arabs from both pre-1967 Israel and the occupied
West
Bank. They further support invading Jordan to take over the East Bank and
expelling all the Arabs from there too. They are currently involved in a
campaign to get the US to support Israel's campaign of demolishing
Palestinian
homes on the West Bank.
Here is one of the five principles of the JDL:
"JDL upholds the principle of Barzel – 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."
In response to these arguments, many Libertarian Party activists say Irv
Rubin
is just one person, and that the LP cannot be responsible for the
statements
and actions of those who join the party. However, Rubin is not just one
person –
he is the International Chairman and guiding light of the JDL and the JDL
is
not a democratic organization. Moreover, the Libertarian Party has chosen
to
promote Rubin's membership in the pages of their newspaper and on their
Website.
Other LP activists point out that Rubin has never been convicted of murder
(is
this now the LP's litmus test for membership?).
True, neither has David Duke. But the speech promoted by both has
contributed
to the tensions that lead to violence. And I have no wish to ally with
either
Duke or Rubin, regardless of their support of Second Amendment rights.
The leadership of the Libertarian Party has made a grave error. In their
desperate pursuit of political success at the cost of party-building, they
may
truly be sitting on a political time bomb.
June 26, 2000
Eric Garris has been a political activist for 33 years and has friends all
over
the political spectrum. He is currently Webmaster for Antiwar.com and
LewRockwell.com.
Libertarian Socialist News
Post Office Box 12244
Silver Spring, MD 20908
http://www.overthrow.com
(check out our messageboards -- discuss this story on-line!)
(Formerly http://www.libertariansocialist.com)
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