Jewish Defense League

American

[joo-ish di-fens leeg] / ˈdʒu ɪʃ dɪˈfɛns ˌlig /

noun

an organization of militant Jewish activists, founded in 1968 in the United States to combat antisemitism and defend Jewish interests worldwide. JDL

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The New York Times, citing a police source, reported that Heifler was a member of a branch of the Jewish Defense League, which the FBI has deemed a terrorist organization.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Leiter—who was born in the United States and was, in his youth, a part of the militant nationalist Jewish Defense League founded by Meir Kahane—previously was the prime minister’s chief of staff.

From Slate • Nov. 15, 2024

Kahane’s political party was banned from the Israeli parliament in the 1980s, and the U.S. classified the Jewish Defense League as a terrorist group.

From Seattle Times • May 8, 2024

Kahane is best known in the U.S. as the founder of the Jewish Defense League, which was originally headquartered in New York City.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2023

In response to the news, the Jewish Defense League is calling the incident, "an unconscionable attack against civilized behavior and the Jewish community in particular."

From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Schwartau, Winn

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023