Victor Vancier
Encyclopedia
Victor Vancier commonly referred to by his Hebrew name, Chaim Ben Pesach 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
(JDL) in the United
States. In 1987, he was convicted on charges related to a series of bombings conducted in order to free Soviet Jews during his time with the JDL. He served over five
years in federal prison for his involvement in 18 bombings in New York and Washington.
, but resigned in December 1978 after he went to jail for bombing Egypt
ian targets in an effort to stop the Israel
i withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula
. After his release and upon the completion of his probation in July 1983, Rabbi Meir Kahane again appointed Vancier to be National Chairman of the JDL. During the 1980s, Vancier was arrested again, along with two other JDL members in connection with six incidents; a 1984 firebombing of an automobile at a Soviet diplomatic residence, the 1985 and 1986 fire and pipe bombings of an FBI informer's car, the 1986 firebombing at a hall where the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra
was performing, and two 1986 detonations of tear gas grenades to protest performances by Soviet dance
companies. On November 26, 1986 he was arrested outside the Penta Hotel with a tear gas grenade after a fire broke out in the tunnels under the hotel where the Soviet Moiseyev Dance Company, was staying. He was charged with a federal weapons violation and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Vancier did this in the hopes of influencing the Soviet Union
to allow Jewish emigration. According to Vancier, while he was in jail, he became very thin because they wouldn't give him any kosher food until Republican
Senator
Jesse Helms
intervened on his behalf.
organization in the United States
which he created in 1991. The Jewish Task Force raises money for the claimed purpose of funding Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria, puts on television programs through Public-access television
cable TV and runs a website with the stated goal of saving Israel, America
, and the West. Vancier is banned from entering Israel because of his support of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane
's Kach Party, which has been outlawed in Israel and were proclaimed illegal terrorist organizations in 1994 and the groups subsequently officially disbanded.
Vancier has described Baruch Goldstein
, who perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, as "a great hero".
, as "a real Jewish man", he derided London's opponent, an African American, as "a low, Jew-hating, Jew-killing cockroach". He further described attorney general candidate Karen Burstein
as a "disgusting, ugly lesbian". He continued,
Vancier has referred to Nelson Mandela
as a "Black
Nazi", Yasser Arafat
as the "Arab
Hitler
" and a "Muslim
terrorist pedophile who died of
AIDS
". He has also targeted former First Lady
and 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
and the Simon Wiesenthal Center
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
(JDL) in the United
States. In 1987, he was convicted on charges related to a series of bombings conducted in order to free Soviet Jews during his time with the JDL. He served over five
years in federal prison for his involvement in 18 bombings in New York and Washington.
Activities and imprisonment
Vancier was the National Chairman of the Jewish Defense LeagueJewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
, but resigned in December 1978 after he went to jail for bombing Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian targets in an effort to stop the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
. After his release and upon the completion of his probation in July 1983, Rabbi Meir Kahane again appointed Vancier to be National Chairman of the JDL. During the 1980s, Vancier was arrested again, along with two other JDL members in connection with six incidents; a 1984 firebombing of an automobile at a Soviet diplomatic residence, the 1985 and 1986 fire and pipe bombings of an FBI informer's car, the 1986 firebombing at a hall where the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra
State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation
The State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation is a Russian orchestra based in Moscow...
was performing, and two 1986 detonations of tear gas grenades to protest performances by Soviet dance
companies. On November 26, 1986 he was arrested outside the Penta Hotel with a tear gas grenade after a fire broke out in the tunnels under the hotel where the Soviet Moiseyev Dance Company, was staying. He was charged with a federal weapons violation and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Vancier did this in the hopes of influencing the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to allow Jewish emigration. According to Vancier, while he was in jail, he became very thin because they wouldn't give him any kosher food until Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
intervened on his behalf.
Jewish Task Force
Vancier is currently the head of the Jewish Task Force, a KahanistKahanism
Kahanism is loosely defined as an nationalist ideology of dedication and self-sacrifice for Jewish causes, such as physical and spiritual freedom and safety of Jews in Israel and worldwide. The term is derived from the name of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane , founder of the Jewish Defense League in USA...
organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which he created in 1991. The Jewish Task Force raises money for the claimed purpose of funding Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria, puts on television programs through Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV and runs a website with the stated goal of saving Israel, America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and the West. Vancier is banned from entering Israel because of his support of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane
Meir Kahane
Martin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
's Kach Party, which has been outlawed in Israel and were proclaimed illegal terrorist organizations in 1994 and the groups subsequently officially disbanded.
Vancier has described Baruch Goldstein
Baruch Goldstein
Baruch Kopel Goldstein was an American-born Jewish Israeli physician and mass murderer who perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in the city of Hebron, killing 29 Palestinian Muslim worshipers and wounding another 125....
, who perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, as "a great hero".
Criticism
Jewish Task Force aired on public access television in the mid-1990s, in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Vancier, who had by that time been convicted on three separate occasions for his involvement in terrorist bombings, became notorious for his criticisms of black culture and views on homosexuality and was heavily criticized in local magazines and newspapers for his controversial opinions. In the context of state comptroller elections, in one instance, after lauding one candidate, Herbert LondonHerbert London
-Early life:He was born in Brooklyn, New York circa 1939 and attended Columbia University, graduating in 1960. Standing 6'5", he was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball League, but did not play for them because of injuries. He was a social studies secondary school teacher...
, as "a real Jewish man", he derided London's opponent, an African American, as "a low, Jew-hating, Jew-killing cockroach". He further described attorney general candidate Karen Burstein
Karen Burstein
Karen Burstein is a politician and former judge from New York. She was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for New York State Attorney General in 1994.-Biography:...
as a "disgusting, ugly lesbian". He continued,
The God of Israel will not tolerate homosexuality or lesbianism. It is an abomination onto the Lord... I have a cure for AIDS that doesn't cost one penny. Stop being fags!
Vancier has referred to Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
as a "Black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
Nazi", Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
as the "Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
" and a "Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
terrorist pedophile who died of
AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
". He has also targeted former First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
and senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Hillary Clinton and former U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
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
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
and the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
.
Family and personal life
Victor Vancier is the son of a Ashkenazi Jewish father, Pesach Ben Dov, and an Sephardic Jewish mother, Malkah Bat Meir. Vancier is fluent in both English and Hebrew.See also
- KahanismKahanismKahanism is loosely defined as an nationalist ideology of dedication and self-sacrifice for Jewish causes, such as physical and spiritual freedom and safety of Jews in Israel and worldwide. The term is derived from the name of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane , founder of the Jewish Defense League in USA...
- Rabbi Meir Kahane
- Jewish Defense LeagueJewish Defense LeagueThe Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
- Domestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United States between 1980 and 2000 consisted of 250 of the 335 incidents confirmed as or suspected to be terrorist acts by the FBI. These 250 attacks are considered domestic by the FBI because they were carried out by U.S...