Back in the day, the JDL was mostly a collection of teenage punks and Rambo wannabes. All mouth, no geduldt. Another obnoxious trait of the JDL was taking credit for the effort and results of other organizations. case in point, the JDL often took credit for the release of Soviet Jews. The real work was done by SSSJ and others who deserve the lion’s share of the credit for the success of the program. The extent of the JDL’s contribution to the struggle was to throw stink bombs at the Bolshoi ballet.
All the above is not to say that we don’t need a Jewish security apperatus. Such an organization, staffed and run by serious people, I.E. adults, could be useful in today’s world. Just forget the JDL.