NEW YORK -- Mayor Edward Koch Monday denounced Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, as a terrorist not unlike Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat.
Koch said his comments were prompted by Kahane's statements to the news media about the shooting attack on the Long Island home of the Soviet ambassador to the United Nations.
Kahane, while disclaiming any JDL connection to the weekend shooting, said the attacks would continue until the Soviet Union allows Jews the freedom to emigrate.
After the shooting, which injured no one, several news organizations received telephone calls claiming the JDL was responsible.
Koch called the incident a 'tragedy for democracy' and said Kahane 'is just like Yasir Arafat, a terrorist.'
