Chaim Ben Pesach
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Victor Vancier (born December 25, 1956), commonly referred to by his Hebrew name, Chaim Ben Pesach () or as Chaim Ben Yosef is an American political activist and the founder and director of the United States–based Kahanist organization, Jewish Task Force (JTF) and the former National Chairman of the
Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a far-right political organization in the United States and Canada. Its stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"; it has been classified as "right-wing terrorist group" ...
(JDL) in the United States. In 1987, he was convicted on charges related to a series of terrorist bombings conducted during his time with the JDL to protest Soviet treatment of Jews. He served five and a half years in federal prison for his involvement in 18 bombings in New York and Washington.


Activities and imprisonment

Pesach was the National Chairman of the
Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a far-right political organization in the United States and Canada. Its stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"; it has been classified as "right-wing terrorist group" ...
, but resigned in December 1978 after he went to jail for bombing
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian targets in an effort to stop the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. After his release and upon the completion of his probation in July 1983,
Meir Kahane Meir David HaKohen Kahane ( ; ; born Martin David Kahane; August 1, 1932 – November 5, 1990) was an American-born Israel, Israeli Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox ordained rabbi, writer and ultra-nationalist politician. Founder of the Israeli pol ...
again appointed Pesach to be National Chairman of the JDL. On May 8, 1987, Pesach was arrested along with Jay Cohen and Sharon Katz in relation to multiple bombings in New York, including a tear gas attack on a performance of the
Moiseyev Dance Company The Igor Moiseyev State Academic Ensemble of Popular Dance is a dance troupe focusing on character dance, based in Moscow, Russia. The troupe combines traditional folk dance and classical ballet techniques to create their style of character dance ...
, after an anonymous former member of the JDL cooperated with police to capture them. He said he did this in the hopes of influencing the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to allow Jewish emigration. Pesach's court-appointed lawyer Thomas Concannon said that it is "fair to say he's a little bit nuts". The judge Israel Leo Glasser regarded Pesach as "a danger to this community". One of his accomplices, 24-year-old Jay Cohen, committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
after facing a possible maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Pesach said at that time that he felt personally responsible for Cohen's death. The JDL, as overseen by Pesach, is also believed to be responsible for the 1982 fire set at the Tripoli Restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, which destroyed it, killing one person and injuring seven. An anonymous caller claiming to represent the JDL telephoned news organizations to take credit for the arson, justifying the attack by stating the restaurant was the undercover headquarters in New York City of the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
, though JDL officials denied having any involvement in the attack. He served five and a half years for the bombings.


Jewish Task Force

Pesach is the current head of the Jewish Task Force, a Kahanist organization in the United States. Pesach created JTF in 1991. The Jewish Task Force raises money for the claimed purpose of funding Jewish settlers in the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and runs a website with the stated goal of saving
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, the United States, and the West. Pesach is banned from entering Israel because of his terrorist acts and his Kahanist associations, which are outlawed in Israel. The Jewish Task Force is considered a
hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Acc ...
by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
. The ''Jewish Task Force'' program aired on public access television in the mid-1990s, in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.''New York Magazine''. November 14, 1994. p. 22. Pesach became known for his criticisms of African American culture that included resorting to racial slurs and offensive stereotypes, as well as his views on homosexuality, and he was criticized in local magazines and newspapers as a result. During the 1994 New York State Comptroller election, while Pesach extolled Herbert London as "a real Jewish man", he derided London's opponent, African American Carl McCall, as "a low, Jew-hating, Jew-killing cockroach". He further described attorney general candidate Karen Burstein as a "disgusting, ugly lesbian" and continued: Pesach has described Baruch Goldstein, who perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, as "a great hero". Pesach has referred to Nelson Mandela as a "Black Nazi", Yasser Arafat as the "Arab Adolf Hitler, Hitler" and a "Muslim terrorist pedophile who died of AIDS".JTF.org
He has also targeted former First Lady of the United States, First Lady and United States Senate, senator Hillary Clinton and former U.S. President George W. Bush on his website, calling Clinton "Hillary Sodom Arafat" and Bush "Jorge Wahabi Bush" whom he calls a "low, disgusting traitor" and "excrement". He also uses language such as ''schvartze'' when referring to African-Americans and "kike" for Jews he considers to be traitors. JTF's messages have been condemned for "racism" by the Anti-Defamation League.


See also

* Domestic terrorism in the United States


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Jewish Task Force website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pesach, Chaim Ben 1956 births 21st-century American Jews Activists from New York City American commentators American community activists American Internet celebrities American Kahanists American Orthodox Jews American people imprisoned on terrorism charges American white supremacists Jewish American community activists Living people Male critics of feminism Serial bombers Perpetrators of religiously motivated violence in the United States Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Members of the Jewish Defense League