Mannings at end of the road The Jerusalem Post January 22, 1993, Friday Copyright 1993 The Jerusalem Post Section: Features Length: 972 words Byline: Bill Hutman Highlight: ROBERT and Rochelle Manning are resigned to being extradited to the US to face murder charges, friends said this week. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the couple's appeal against the Jerusalem District Court?s 1991 extradition order. The couple and their elder daughter, llana, burst into tears when the decision was read. Body ROBERT and Rochelle Manning are resigned to being extradited to the US to face murder charges, friends said this week. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the couple?s appeal against the Jerusalem District Court?s 1991 extradition order. The couple and their elder daughter, llana, burst into tears when the decision was read. The decision apparently brought to a close nearly two years of legal and political maneuvering to prevent the extradition. The effort to keep the Mannings here was spearheaded by a coalition of prominent right-wing activists that saw the couple, and in particular Robert Manning, as comrades-in-arms. Robert Manning, 41, was a well-known Jewish Defense League member, whose activities were legendary in the group, friends said. Rochelle Manning, 53, was less involved in the JDL, and supporters of the couple were particularly angry about her extradition. They charged she already was brought to trial on the murder charges once, with a mistrial being declared after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Police this week refused reporters' requests to speak with the couple in the Russian Compound lock-up, where they have been held for nearly two years. llana Manning, 19, said she was too upset to speak at length. Asked if she would return to the US if the extraditions went through, she said, will never go back there. This is my home here, in Israel. "If I do go back, it will only be for a short visit to see my parents," llana added. She lives alone in her parents? apartment in Kiryat Arba. Her six-year-old sister stays with friends in the town. HOME FOR the Mannings was once Los Angeles. Friends, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described how "Bob grew up on the streets of and was well-known as a ?tough guy who didn't let anyone push him around.? "He really did not identify himself at all as a Jew during his youth," said one friend. Page 2 of 3 Mannings at end of the road "But there was this incident Bob was involved in that made it into the papers - he came to the aid of a Jewish woman assaulted by several black men - that brought him to the attention of the JDL. funny thing was that Bob didn't even know the woman was Jewish when he came to her aid. That was simply his way. He was a big guy and didn't like to be pushed around or see others pushed around." Friends maintained that Manning infiltrated neo-Nazi groups for the FBI in the late 19603 and early 1970s. Angered by what he saw, Manning decided to join Rabbi Meir Kahane's newly formed JDL. "He became a legend in the JDL, with all kinds of stories being told about his wiretapping and infiltration abilities," a friend said. But, the friend was quick to add, such activities by Manning were a far cry from what the California police were accusing him of doing. On Wednesday evening, about a dozen friends and supporters gathered in Jerusalem at the Judea and Samaria Council office, mainly Gush Emunim, Kach and settlement activists who formed the core of the group lobbying for the Mannings. Kiryat Arba council head Zvi Katzover and settlement activist Moshe Levinger were among the first to arrive. Kach head Baruch Marzel, former Gush Emunim leader Meir lndor and former Tehiya MK Rabbi Eliezer Waldman followed. THE lawyer, Yair Golan, told the small gathering that little could be done to prevent the extraditions. Golan had just met with Justice Minister David Liba'i, whose signature was the only thing that stood in the way of sending the Mannings to face charges of murdering a California secretary in 1980. It appears that it is only a matter of days before Liba'i will sign the extradition orders," Golan said. On July 17, 1980, Patricia Wilkerson was killed by an explosive device sent by post to her place of work in California. The device, a bobby-trapped electrical appliance, was intended for a co-worker, Brenda Adams. Wilkerson, however, opened the package, together with the typed letter explaining how to use the appliance. t exploded when she plugged it in. According to US authorities, Robert Manning's fingerprints were found on the package, and Rochelle's fingerprints on the letter. ALL lies,ll said Kach activist Baruch Ben-Yosef at Wednesday's meeting. "The FBI has been after Bob ever since the three killings in 1985," Ben-Yosef added. He was referring to the murders of an Arab-American activist and two Nazi war criminals that year. "They don't have anything to connect Bob with the three killings, so they are trying instead to implicate him in the 1980 murder." Ben-Yosef said he too was wanted by the FBI in connection with the three killings. Known in the US as Andy Green, Ben-Yosef said he was followed by FBI agents for years, after returning to the US in the mid-1980s. Ben-Yosef maintained the FBI roughed up him and Manning in Massachusetts, and one officer threatened to "get us no matter what it takes." That's when both decided to leave the US permanently, with Manning returning to his home in Kiryat Arba, and Ben-Yosef to his in Jerusalem. That was in 1986. In March 1991, the Mannings received unexpected visitors. The police had come to take them into custody, in accordance with a US extradition request. Page 3 of 3 Mannings at end Of the road "They could have requested a prison with better facilities than the Russian Compound, but decided not to because elsewhere they would have been further apart and unable to see each other as often (as they did)," Ben-Yosef said. As murder suspects, they were held without bail, in keeping with criminal law. "Now I?m sure there is no justice in Israel. How can they turn a Jewish couple into the hands of antisemites?" Ben- Yosef said. But the Supreme Court and Justice Ministry saw things differently, paving the way for the Mannings' extradition. Graphic Illustration: 2 photos; Caption: 1-2. Robert and Rochelle Manning's extradition has angered their supporters. Credit: 1-2. Ephraim Kilshtok. Classification Language: ENGLISH Subject: EXTRADITION JEws 8 JUDAISM LAW COURTS TRIBUNALS JURY TRIALS MURDER LAW ENFORCEMENT MEN SUPREME COURTS MISTRIAL VERDIOTS CLERGY 8 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS WIRETAPPING Company: JEWISH DEFENSE LEAGUE Organization: JEWISH DEFENSE LEAGUE JEWISH DEFENSE LEAGUE Geographic: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL UNITED STATES ISRAEL Load-Date: January 25. 1993 End ofDucument