9/11

Earl Krugel dedicated his life to fighting racism and hatred, the kind of hatred that was the prominent feature of 9/11.
Let us not forget that the number one target of the Arab Muslim extremists, who are murdering people every day around the globe, is the Jews.
May the Holy One Bless you and may we dedicate our prayers to Earl in memory of his sacrifice.

Summer Time

Earl Krugel, OBM

SOME THOUGHTS ON A HERO

Here's another letter we received on Earl's earlier Web Site.
(Name withheld per request)


Shalom my beloved brother Earl,
I have never met you but have the same blood in my veins as you. Its called Jewish blood.
I was born of a Swedish Jewish mother and an Austrian father.
You once called me a 'Lion of Judah,' and this was the greatest honor that was ever bestowed upon me by the most magnificent of men. I treasure the words.
I am a member of JDL in Australia.
You are a mensch of heroic stature .
Jewish heroes don't always whack baseballs or make billions of dollars in high-tech or lead troops into battle.
A Jewish hero could be the quiet lady next door who collects winter coats for the homeless. Or it could be Moses. Or a Holocaust survivor. Or a brilliant scholar like Albert Einstein.Or a man of courage and valor who defends our people with his very life, such as you, Earl.
You once said in a letter that you made many mistakes.
Every one of our heroes, with a capital H, had a flaw, Moses, for instance, killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a slave. Abraham lied to Pharaoh about his relationship to Sarah.
In fact, human failings can make heroes more real and approachable. It allows us to emulate you. If you were perfect, you'd be out of our range of emulation.
The prototype of a Jewish hero is a far cry from the figures typically glorified by modern American culture.
In America, we're very much about publicity, about celebrity, about physical strength.
In Jewish culture, as you know, we look at things differently, We look at what they overcame and what they give to humanity. In Judaism, a hero can be measured by such traits as integrity, fortitude, courage and faith.
All of these qualities you possess in abundance.You serve as an example of how one should live his life.
I say a prayer for you daily.
Hashem Ehad

The Captain and the Kid

We received lots of emails at Earl Krugel's previous web site.
We'd like to print some of them
Here's one I liked.
Zamir

I met Earl at the Men's Federal Correction Center.
I was a Corrections Officer at the jail when Earl first arrived.

The first thing you noticed about him was he had some kind of inner strength, he didn't seem aloof, exactly, but it was like he had, I don't know how to describe it, (I'm not much of a writer) a power that he drew on out of himself.
The first day, during report, one of the other "C.O."s" told me, "That's Earl Krugel, a high profile case, David, he's the West coast Chairman of the Jewish Defense League."

I'd read about the case, of course, and the nickname, "Captain Krugel" popped into my head, so I always called him "Captain."
I found myself drawn to him immediately,
I was having some problems at home, I was separated from my wife, and Earl had a way of reaching out to people.
With all the legal problems he had himself, he spent his time counseling everyone around him, and he reached out to me, as well.

Late one morning I was doing rounds, I made a check next to his name and remarked, in "comments", "studying Bible, no apparent problems, adjusting well."
"How you doing, captain?" I asked.
"I am well," he said, lowering his leather bound Jewish Bible. "And you, David, how are you?"
Although, like I said, I found myself liking Earl immediately, as a trained professional I always did my best to appear impassive while conversing with inmates.
"I'm fine, Captain, just dandy."
He smiled a little and said, "Your words say one thing but your eyes say another."
I looked at him, "You're guessing. But you're right. It's my wife. Last night I went by to see her and there was a man there. I almost lost it. I could have killed the dude."
Earl got up and walked towards me. "There is a strength." he said, a slight smile on his lips.
"What are you talking about, Captain?" I asked.
His right hand shot out through the bars and grasped mine in a gentle yet vise-like grip.
I'd never seen a move that quick, yet I didn't feel threatened.
Something was flowing from him to me.
"Pull your hand away." He said.
I couldn't move.
"It's the strength of our people, our faith and our G-d." He said, and let my hand go.
"Our G-d?" I shot back. "You mean the one who let most of my family be tortured and murdered by the Germans in Europe?"
Earl's eyes were hooded but burning with intensity.
"You seek to know why.
You don't understand, so you turn your back on your faith, your people, your wife, and your
G-d." I started to walk towards the next cell. "Don't preach to me, Convict." I snapped.
Earl had a composure that was unreal.
"You don't understand the birth of a sapling in a Redwood forest. You don't understand the crash of waves on every beach in the world, one after the other. You don't understand the tears in the eyes of a hungry child. You don't understand the explosion of a supernova which pulls solar systems into the void and returns a million verdant planets, so do you now turn your back on the universe?"
I just looked at him.
"Your wife is coming back to you, David. Take her to synagogue, return to our people. Make babies. Be a light to the nations."
I spoke over my shoulder, cynically, "What are you now, Captain, a prophet?"
He grasped his bible from the bed and and gracefully lowered himself onto the floor of the cell, crossing his legs, the Book on his lap. "I am a man, David. A child of G-d, like you."

The next day there was a small riot in the day room. Two black convicts were beating Hell out of some poor white kid.
A phalanx of C.O.s headed towards the scene to break it up.
Earl emerged from a crowd of screaming inmates, grabbed the two black guys, one with each hand, and pulled them off of the kid.
"Enough!" he shouted.
A strange stillness descended over the inmates. The disturbance was over that quick.

Later, during rounds, I stopped by Earl's cell.
"Captain." I nodded, holding my clipboard.
"David." he responded, still sitting in what he later told me was the "Lotus position" on the cement floor.
I looked towards him. "Don't get involved in inmate situations, Captain, that's our job."
He smiled, "As you wish."
Earl stood up and stretched, doing some slow ballet looking martial arts movements.
I went on, "My wife called last night, Captain, she wants to try again."
He detected the joy in my voice.
" A man and a woman. Two people, one flesh. Treasure her, my young friend."

Earl and I grew closer over the years. I was relieved, though saddened, when he was sentenced and assigned to what was considered a "nice" prison, as prisons go.
I went to wish him well as they called his name to roll up, but was called to another wing for an issue over there.
I almost missed him.
I trotted back to Earl's cellblock and saw him for what was to be the last time.
"Captain, Captain!" I yelled as Earl headed down the stairway, a saint like expression on his handsome face.
I broke and ran as he looked back vaguely in my direction.
In a minute he'd be gone and I'd never see him again.
I caught him as he stepped off of the metal stairway and put my hand on his arm.
He turned around and looked at me.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
"What?" he asked, softly.
"Good luck." I said, and hugged him fiercely.

They took him away and I never got to see him again, but I will never forget that remarkable man.



Nor will we, David.
Zamir