Tupac Received Threats From Jewish Gang

Tupac Shakur, the iconic rapper shot dead in 1996, received death threats in the months before his death from a Jewish terrorist organization called the Jewish Defense League (JDL), Haaretz reported Thursday, citing recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation files.

"The JDL … have been extorting money from various rap music stars via death threats," the FBI file on the case stated.

The report goes on to describe how the group would make the death threats, then call the rap star and offer protection for a fee.

Shakur was fatally shot in September 1996 as he left a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Despite an exhaustive investigation, police were never able to determine who committed the crime.

Shakur often surrounded himself with friends associated with gangs and frequently recorded insulting lyrics about many perceived enemies, including the rapper known as "Notorious BIG" -- who was fatally shot less than a year after Shakur's death.

In the years since both shootings, many theories have emerged -- mostly among rap music aficionados and pop-culture scholars -- about who may have been responsible for Shakur's death. One theory suggests associates of Chistopher Wallace -- the given name of the rapper known as "Notorious BIG" -- were to blame.

According to the FBI documents, the JDL targeted Shakur as well as rapper Eazy-E, who, along with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, comprised the 1990's sensational rap group NWA.

While the documents refer to JDL extortion efforts, they do not make a direct connection between the group and the murder of Shakur.

According to its website, the JDL is a Jewish nationalist organization advocating for the protection of Jews from antisemitism.

"JDL was created in part to teach the world -- fellow Jews and non-Jews alike -- that it is not unJewish for Jews to defend themselves -- even physically if need be; to the contrary, it is sinful for Jews to silently countenance evil and to sit idly by while Jews are harmed, suffer and even die," the group's website states.