Meir Weinstein

Meir Weinstein
Born	Marvin Weinstein (1957-08-18)August 18, 1957
Nationality	Canadian
Other names	Meir Halevi
Occupation(s)	Glazier,business owner
Years active	1979–present
Organization(s)	Jewish Defense League(1979–2021);Kach(1990s); Israel Now (2021–present)
Known for	National director of the Canadian branch of the Jewish Defense League,Kahanistactivism

Marvin Weinstein(born August 18, 1957)known asMeir Weinsteinand previously known asMeir Haleviis the former national director of theCanadianbranch of theJewish Defense League(JDL) and in 2017 claimed to also be the leader of the JDL inNorth America.He announced on July 9, 2021, that he was leaving the JDL.

Background

Weinstein had been leader of the Canadian JDL since 1979, used the pseudonym "Meir Halevi" into the 1990s. He joined the JDL at the age of 20, after readingMeir Kahane's bookNever Again.Previously an assimilated Jew, Weinstein began attending synagogue regularly, began studying Jewish texts and became more involved in the Jewish community as a result of reading Kahane's book. He founded the Toronto JDL branch in 1979.He told theJewish Pressin 2008: "I will always be a loyal disciple of Rabbi Kahane. Our ideology is based on the Jewish Idea as taught by Rabbi Kahane."Under his leadership, the Canadian JDL has held annual commemorations honoring Kahane's life and ideas.

In 1980, Weinstein visited Israel for the first time. During his stay inKiryat Arba,he had planned on visitingBeit Hadassahwith a group of Jewish students and worshippers. Weinstein's plans fell through at the last minute and he did not join them. Later that evening, the Jewish group fell victim to a terror attack, known as the1980 Hebron attack.Weinstein noted the Arab population was rejoicing at the terror attack, which he escaped by chance.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Weinstein and the JDL were involved in identifying allegedNaziwar criminalsliving inCanadaas well asneo-Naziactivity.The group became dormant until Weinstein revived it in 2006 in the wake of the2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.The revived JDL has focused on opposing what it views as growing radicalIslamicinfluence and anti-Israel activity.

Weinstein is a trained bodyguard and served in theIsrael Defense Forces.Professionally, Weinstein owns a window-installing business.

In Alberta

In the mid-1980s, Weinstein travelled to Alberta on several occasions in an attempt to organize the Jewish community againstantisemiticactivity in the province - particularly, against the activities ofAryan NationsorganizerTerry Long.He received national media attention in 1986 when he picketed "AryanFest" when it was held on Long's Alberta compound.The previous year, Weinstein had held meetings in Edmonton in an attempt to organize a JDL branch there. During one of the meetings he shouted down Rabbi Haim Kemelman, leader of Edmonton's Beth Shalom synagogue, after he criticized the JDL's methods and called Weinstein a "carpetbagger" and alleged he was trumping up a non-existent crisis of antisemitism in an attempt create an Edmonton JDL branch. "Those kinds of rabbis, those kind of Jews, in the end they dig a grave for Jews," said Weinstein who accused the rabbi of being "rude and extremist". "You see, I am silenced," the rabbi was reported as saying to a reporter after the incident, adding, "that is the JDL."

In 1986, an editorial inThe Globe and Mailcriticized Weinstein (under his pseudonym of Meir Halevi) for claiming that the Alberta government was aiding neo-naziTerry Long:"to say, as Mr. Halevi does, that this group exists with the assistance of the provincial government is simply a lie. And to advocate, as he does, any means legal or illegal to destroy the Aryan Nations group is irresponsible."

On Baruch Goldstein

In 1994, using his pseudonym of Meir Halevi, Weinstein commented on theCave of the Patriarchs massacrecommitted byBaruch GoldsteininHebronsaying "[a]s long as the Arab public celebrates every attack on a Jew, our organization does not condemn the attack. It condemns the Israeli government for not providing adequate protection for settlers." He added that Kach does not advocate physical attacks on Palestinians but that it wants all members of terrorist organizations expelled from Israel.

Ernst Zündel

In May 1995 Meir Weinstein and US JDL leaderIrv Rubinwere caught and apprehended by policewhile trying to break into the property ofErnst Zündel,a Holocaust denier. No charges have ever been laid in the incident.

Protest at Palestine House

In 2002, during the Canadian JDL's inactive period, Weinstein organized another group called the United Israel Action Committee which organized two demonstrations outside of Palestine House in Mississauga, Ontario. At the second demonstration the pro-Palestinian counterdemonstrators were joined by 20 children. Palestine House president Rashad Saleh said the demonstrators "should be the ones who should be ashamed. (They) are coming here and terrorizing our little children."Weinstein argued that the children had been brought out as "pawns" by Palestine House and claimed that the organization his group was picketing used its charitable status to fund thePalestine Liberation Organization."The people standing across the street are those who support the murders of Jews," said Weinstein to a reporter.

2007 Newmarket mosque dispute

In 2007, Weinstein helped organize a town hall session to raise questions about the connections of a mosque inNewmarket, OntariowithZafar Bangash.The controversialimamhas promotedsharia lawand vigorously defendedIran'sfundamentalistregime andLebanon'sHezbollahmovement. The mosque spokesperson denied that Bangash will have anything to do with the day-to-day running of themosque.

The meeting was criticized as "one-sided" because no officials from the mosque were invited. John Thompson, president of theMackenzie Institute,was one of the featured speakers at the town hall. He told theToronto Starthat he was invited by Ron Banerjee, one of the organizers, but would have "called in with the flu" had he known Weinstein would be there because of his association with the JDL.

Weinstein found himself on the defensive at the meeting, according to theNational Post,after he implied that a town councillor had accepted a bribe. Newmarket resident Brian Patterson said of Weinstein: "I don't think he has any credibility at all. To suggest at a public meeting that any public official in this town has taken a bribe without any evidence of that is outrageous."

In his arguments against the mosque, Weinstein told the audience of about 30, "[i]f, God forbid, an Islamic state ever came to fruition in this country, we would be doomed. Is that what you want in this country?"

Clash with Paul Fromm

A 2007 demonstration againstPaul Frommwhile he was on his way to a disciplinary hearing at theOntario College of Teachersresulted in the arrest of two JDL activists who were accused of assaulting the controversial far-right figure. Weinstein, himself, was not reported to have been involved in the incident. He told theGlobe and Mailthat the arrests were "not going to be a setback for us and we're determined to see to it that Nazis will not teach hate in classrooms."

George Galloway

In 2009, Weinstein's JDL issued an "open letter" to the Canadian government calling for the British politicianGeorge Gallowayto be barred from entering Canada. The government did so and Weinstein appeared on Britain'sChannel 4 Newsto debate with Galloway over the issue. During the interview, Weinstein accused Galloway of being a "proxy agent" ofHamasandHezbollah.When Galloway stated that he would be speaking in Canada through "other means", electronic if necessary, Weinstein threatened that "we will see to it that the Canadian government will be monitoring every individual and organization that will have anything to do with it" and that he and the JDL "will be looking into these organizations that invited him… their links to terror groups as well" and that he will "see to it that the Canadian Government will be monitoring every individual and organization that has anything to do with George Galloway".

"Death to the Arabs"

On April 3, 2009,CBC Radio'sThe World Reportcarried a profile on Weinstein which asserted that a link was discovered on Weinstein's Facebook page to a chat group called "Death to Arabs".Weinstein, who does not speak Hebrew, told CBC the link had been sent to him in Hebrew and he added it not knowing what it said.

English Defence League

In 2011, Weinstein's Jewish Defence League organized a "support rally" for the controversialEnglish Defence Leaguefeaturing a live speech, viaSkype,by EDL leaderStephen Yaxley-Lennon,who uses the alias Tommy Robinson. The event was denounced by theCanadian Jewish Congresswhose leader,Bernie Farber,said he was "disappointed that the JDL would support an organization whose record in the U.K. is one of violence and extremism.""We join with all the leading British Jewish organizations in condemning the intolerance and violence that the EDL represents. It has never been the Canadian way to promote vigilantism," added Farber.In an opinion piece published following the event, Farber and CJC general counsel Benjamin Shinewald castigated the JDL stating that, "By joining forces [with the English Defence League], the JDL condones the indefensible actions of violent extremists."

The rally, held at the Toronto Zionist Centre, attracted a counter-protest organized byAnti-Racist Actionresulting in four arrests.

RCMP investigate JDL Canada for alleged bomb plot

On October 5, 2011, on theMichael Coren,show it was revealed that theRoyal Canadian Mounted Policehad launched an investigation against at least nine members of the Canadian JDL in regards to an anonymous tip that the JDL was plotting to bomb Palestine House in Mississauga.Meir Weinstein reported that many members of the JDL were interviewed extensively, at home and at work and suggested that the RCMP was surveilling their activity. Weinstein denied that the plot existed and accused the RCMP of political bias.

Violence outside Washington DC AIPAC conference

Weinstein organized a group of JDL members and supporters to go toWashington, D.C.in March 2017 to counter-protest against anti-Zionist groups protesting the annualAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee(AIPAC) conference, resulting in several brawls. At least two Canadian JDL supporters have been indicted as a result of alleged violence outside the conference. Yosef Steynovitz was charged with one count of assaulting a man with a dangerous weapon, one count of assaulting a second man, and one count of assault with ahate crimesenhancement for causing significant bodily injury in relation to the beating of Kamal Nayfeh, a 55-year-old Palestinian-American community college teacher who was reportedly walking to the conference when he was attacked.Rami Lubranicki, 59, of Howell, New Jersey was also charged. On April 20, 2018, a second Canadian JDL supporter, Brandon David William Vaughan, was arraigned in relation with the Washington D.C. assaults the previous year.Weinstein claimed that his members acted in "self-defence" saying of the beating victims "They found out that it’s not wise to lay not even a finger on any of us. Anyone who’s going to try and raise a fist to us, push us and assault us, we would be glad to enforce a citizen's arrest when there’s some semblance of cooperation from the aggressor. Unfortunately, we had to resort to a certain level of force, and we made it very clear the days of Jews being attacked and being docile are long over."However, there is no evidence that the victims had engaged in any form of violence.

Departure from JDL

In July 2021, several weeks after the JDL was involved in a melee with Palestinian activists following a pro-Palestinian rally, Weinstein dissociated himself from the JDL and formed a new organization called Israel Now.

External links

• JDL Canada Web SiteArchived2010-04-13 at theWayback Machine