168	The Story of the Jewish Defense League

bfollowing week new posters went up with Gruner’s picture, bthis time reading:

b“This is Dov Gruner, of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, the Jewish bnational liberation movement that fought against the bBritish imperialist-fascists. This is Dov Gruner Month; bcome to rally at             .”

bThe beginning of Jewish nationalist knowledge, so easily baccomplished and so inexpensive. All the more reason to bdeplore the inexcusable failure of the Hillels and the bsynagogues to imbue their youth with Jewish national pride.

bOn November 20, 1970, we announced plans for the bestablishment of a unique educational institution. It was to bbe a rabbinical military academy, a yeshiva with nationalist bcourses and military training included. The name chosen bwas Yeshivat Torah V’oz (Torah and Strength). Unfortu- bnately, this project—so vital and so necessary—for the train- bing of the kind of rabbis so woefully lacking, never suc- bceeded in even getting into the first phase of operations.

bAn even greater disappointment, and a truly serious blow bto the struggle for Jewish identity, occurred when another bplan of mine failed, this time for the creation of a Jewish bIdentity Center, to create first-rate young Jewish leaders bwho would work full-time on major campuses and in high bschools. What made this particular failure especially serious bwas the fact that lack of funds was not the major obstacle. bRather, it was the refusal of the JDL Executive Board to bsupport the plan, a thing which revealed a point of view bwhich to my mind marked a danger to the continuation of bthe Jewish Defense League as I conceived of it.

bIt had become clear to me as early as 1971 that the JDL bmust be more than an issue-oriented group. Only an bideological movement had any hope of permanent roots band existence; the sincere glow of Jewish pride that came bfrom demonstrating and marching for Jews could not sur- bvive as a lasting emotion, but had to be looked upon as a bbridge to the next and final step in making Jewish identity bpermanent. That last step had to be ideology, the Idea. bWithout the idea there was nothing, and the fact that many byoungsters came and left with the passage of time was not b