On February 25 , 1994 , Baruch Goldstein , an American-born Israeli member of Kach , who in his youth was a JDL activist , opened fire on Muslims kneeling in prayer at the revered Cave of the Patriarchs mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron , killing 29 worshippers and injuring 125 before he ran out of ammunition and was himself killed . The attack set off riots and protests throughout the West Bank and 19 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli Defense Forces within 48 hours of the massacre . On its website , the JDL described the massacre as a " preventative measure against yet another Arab attack on Jews " and noted that they " do not consider his assault to qualify under the label of terrorism " . Furthermore , they noted that " we teach that violence is never a good solution but is unfortunately sometimes necessary as a last resort when innocent lives are threatened ; we therefore view Dr. Goldstein as a martyr in Judaism 's protracted struggle against Arab terrorism . And we are not ashamed to say that Goldstein was a charter member of the Jewish Defense League . " In a similar attack nearly twelve years earlier , on April 11 , 1982 , an American-born JDL member and immigrant to Israel , Allan H. Goodman , opened fire with his military-issue rifle at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the sacred Temple Mount in Jerusalem , killing one Palestinian Arab and injuring four others . The 1982 shooting sparked an Arab riot in which another Palestinian was shot dead by the police . In 1983 , Goodman was sentenced by an Israeli court to life in prison ( which usually means 25 years in Israel ) ; he was released after serving 15 1/2 years on the condition of returning to the United States
opened fire
Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
Jewish Defense League