Jailed JDL leader Irv Rubin attempts suicide, undergoes surgery
SANDRA MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer
Monday, November 4, 2002
(11-04) 11:45 PST LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Jailed Jewish Defense League leader Irv Rubin attempted suicide and was hospitalized Monday as he was about to be brought to court for a hearing on charges of trying to bomb a mosque and an Arab-American congressman's office, federal authorities said.
"Irv Rubin attempted suicide this morning," U.S. marshal's service spokesman Bill Woolsey said.
Rubin had come out of surgery by 11:30 a.m., Woolsey said.
"As of 10 minutes ago, Mr. Rubin is still alive," he said. Authorities did not disclose where he was being treated.
Rubin used a razor blade in the 6 a.m. suicide attempt, Woolsey said.
There were immediate conflicting reports about Rubin's condition. His wife, Shelley, and son, Ari, told The Associated Press that Rubin's lawyers told them he had died in surgery.
Bryan Altman, one of Rubin's attorneys, refused to confirm that account but said he would issue a statement later.
Fellow attorney Mark Werksman told reporters that Rubin slashed his neck with a razor and jumped over a railing as he was called out of his cell at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center. Rubin fell up to 18 feet, Werksman said.
Laura Bosley, FBI spokeswoman, said agents were investigating it as a "crime in a government property" and hadn't confirmed whether it was a suicide attempt.
"He sustained serious injuries," she said, but declined to provide details.
Rubin and associate Earl Krugel were arrested Dec. 11 on charges of plotting to bomb the King Fahd mosque in suburban Culver City and an office of Rep. Darrell E. Issa, R-Calif.
Rubin and Krugel were arrested after an FBI informant delivered an explosive powder that authorities believed was the last component in making pipe bombs. The charges carry up to 40 years in prison upon conviction.
Rubin, who by his own account has been arrested more than 40 times, joined the JDL early in the 1970s and quickly moved up, becoming chairman in 1985.
In 1989, the leader of the rival Jewish Defense Organization was charged with firing shots at Rubin and wounding three others in New York. Mordechai Levy was convicted of assault.
According to his biography, Rubin learned to fight anti-Semitism while growing up in Montreal, "where some hotel owners and other business people hung signs reading 'No Dogs or Jews Allowed' on their doors and where French Canadian schoolchildren taunted him because he was Jewish."
His family emigrated in 1961 and he became a U.S. citizen and joined the Air Force in 1966, serving four years.
In 1973 he served in Israel's civil defense corps during the Yom Kippur War.
The JDL, whose symbol is a raised fist inside a Star of David, has the motto "Never Again," referring to the World War II murder of 6 million Jews. It was founded in 1968 by Meir Kahane to mount armed response to anti-Semitic acts in New York City.
The group was suspected in a 1985 bombing in Santa Ana that killed Southern California Arab anti-discrimination leader Alex Odeh, but no arrests were ever made.
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
