The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a militant Jewish organization whose state goal is to protect Jews from antisemitism. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, its self-described purpose was to protect Hasidic Jews from harassment in Brooklyn, and to protest against local manifestations of antisemitism. When it was founded, hundreds of Orthodox Jews, from Brooklyn signed up almost immediately for the vigilante organization, and by 1972, the organization had over 15,000 members. The group organized demonstrations outside of Arab embassies and protested against the oppression of Jews in the Soviet Union.