Jewish-American Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by Islamist terrorists in Pakistan in 2002. Photo: Screenshot

The Indian government announced on Thursday that its military forces had killed “Pakistan’s most wanted terrorist,” who was connected to the 2002 murder of Jewish-American Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl.

On Wednesday, India launched “Operation Sindoor,” which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims is targeted at dismantling “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The operation came after Pakistani terrorists killed 26 Hindu tourists in Kashmir last month amid escalating tensions between the two countries.

In a post on X, the BJP confirmed that during this week’s operation, the Indian army killed Islamist terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar, who was involved in numerous terrorism plots, including the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight, the 2001 terror attack on the Indian Parliament, and the 2016 Pathankot Air Force base attack.

– कंधार प्लेन हाईजैक
– पठानकोट आतंकी हमला
– भारतीय संसद आतंकी हमला#OperationSindoor में मारा गया मोस्ट वांटेड पाकिस्तानी आतंकी अब्दुल रऊफ अजहर। pic.twitter.com/NKuRwptldH

— BJP (@BJP4India) May 8, 2025

Azhar’s involvement in the 1999 hijacking led to the release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-born al-Qaeda member with close ties to Pakistan’s intelligence services, who later was involved in the kidnapping and subsequent murder of 38-year-old Pearl, who was covering the war on terror as a journalist when he was abducted.

In a statement on X, Pearl’s father, Judea, addressed initial reports regarding Azhar’s death and his connection to his son’s murder.

“I want to clarify: Azhar was a Pakistani extremist and leader of the terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed. While his group was not directly involved in the plot to abduct Danny, it was indirectly responsible. Azhar orchestrated the hijacking that led to the release of Omar Sheikh — the man who lured Danny into captivity,” he said.

In 2002, the Jewish-American journalist was abducted and killed by a group of Islamist terrorists connected to Azhar’s militant network, which had ties to al-Qaeda and Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terror group aiming to separate Kashmir from India and incorporate it into Pakistan.

On Jan. 27, 2002, an email was sent to several Pakistani and US media organizations, which included several photos, stating that Pearl was being held in “inhumane” conditions to protest the US treatment of Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners in Cuba. Photo: Screenshot

Originally stationed in New Delhi as the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, Pearl later moved to Pakistan to investigate terrorism following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.

After kidnapping Pearl at a restaurant in Karachi, southern Pakistan, the Islamist terrorists, who identified themselves as the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, accused him of being an Israeli spy and sent the United States a list of demands for his release.

However, Washington did not meet their demands, and Pearl was ultimately executed after being held captive for five weeks.

His wife, Mariane Pearl, gave birth to a baby boy, Adam D. Pearl, in Paris later that year. On the Daniel Pearl Foundation website, she said, “Adam’s birth rekindles the joy, love, and humanity that Danny radiated wherever he went.”

The post Indian Army Kills Islamist Terrorist Linked to 2002 Murder of Jewish-American Journalist Daniel Pearl first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A Jewish jewelry shop owner in Djerba, Tunisia, was brutally attacked by a man wielding a machete. Photo: Screenshot

A Jewish jewelry shop owner in Djerba, Tunisia, was brutally attacked by a man wielding a machete just days before the Tunisian island was set to host its annual Jewish pilgrimage, which is expected to draw thousands of visitors.

On Wednesday morning, two Jewish men — owners of a jewelry shop in the center of the island, located off Tunisia’s southeast coast — were physically assaulted by a man carrying a large knife.

Although the attack was halted when one of them screamed — alerting members of the local Jewish community who subdued the assailant — one of them was left severely injured.

URGENT !!! Tentative de meurtre dans la
communauté juive de Djerba.
Un homme a tourné hier dans tous les magasins pour demander s’il appartenaient à un Juif et est revenu
ce matin avec une machette tentant, cette fois, de tuer
le propriétaire juif. pic.twitter.com/hxYBvrJFMV

— Radio Shalom (@radioshalom94_8) May 8, 2025

According to local media reports, the attacker had surveyed the island the day before, visiting several stores to identify those owned by Jews. Local police arrested him shortly following the assault.

After the attack, one of the owners was admitted to the hospital with severe injuries. The 50-year-old Jewish man had his fingers severed during the assault and underwent surgery to reattach them.

גורמים בקהילה היהודית בתוניסיה לכאן חדשות: מוכר יהודי נדקר בשוק באי ג’רבה על ידי תושב שאינו יהודי. לפי הגורמים, לפני כשבועיים נדקרה באזור תיירת מצרפת שזוהתה בטעות כיהודייה @kaisos1987 @OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/AbG7LA6m97

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 8, 2025

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the attack and expressed his wishes for a swift recovery to the victims.

“This attack comes two years after the previous deadly assault that claimed Jewish lives and the lives of security personnel during the Lag BaOmer celebration,” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X.

“I call on the Tunisian authorities to take all necessary measures to protect the Jewish community,” Saar continued.

I strongly condemn the attack on a Jew in Djerba, Tunisia today. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured.
This attack comes two years after the previous deadly assault that claimed Jewish lives and the lives of security personnel during the Lag BaOmer celebration.
I call on the…

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) May 8, 2025

Djerba is home to the majority of Tunisia’s Jewish community, numbering about 2,000 people, and is also where the renowned El Ghriba Synagogue, one of North Africa’s oldest synagogues, is located.

The attack comes just a week before Jewish pilgrims are expected to arrive on the island for the Lag B’Omer holiday, when thousands gather annually for three days of festivities. The annual pilgrimage to El Ghriba Synagogue, scheduled for May 15 and 16 this year, draws visitors from around the world.

The synagogue has been targeted in multiple terrorist attacks over the years, including in 1985, 2002, and 2023.

Two years ago, a shooting at the synagogue claimed the lives of two Jewish cousins and three police officers. Aviel Hadad, a 30-year-old Israeli goldsmith, and Ben Hadad, a 42-year-old Frenchman who had traveled to join the festivities, were among the victims.

The post Jewish Jewelry Shop Owners Brutally Assaulted in Tunisia Days Before Annual Pilgrimage first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on, as President Donald Trump delivers remarks, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, DC, US, March 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has reportedly canceled an upcoming trip to Israel, fueling speculation of a growing rift between US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hegseth was originally planned to arrive in Israel on Monday to hold discussions with Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the news site Axios reported. However, according to Axios and multiple Israeli reports, the Pentagon chief abruptly canceled the visit to Israel without giving a reason. The trip would have been Hegseth’s first to Israel since ascending to the position of secretary of defense.

However, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on Friday rebutted allegations that Hegseth scrapped the trip to Israel, posting on X/Twitter that the defense secretary was asked to join Trump on a delegation during his visit to the Middle East next week.

“Secretary Hegseth did not cancel his trip to Israel,” Parnell said. “He was asked to join President Trump’s Middle East trip next week & is honored to do so. SECDEF very much looks forward to visiting our ally Israel soon.”

Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite Parnell’s comments, Axios reported that Hegseth was already set to visit the Gulf States with Trump prior to officially canceling his visit to Israel.

Hegseth’s apparent cancellation comes amid rumors of a growing divide between Trump and Netanyahu. Reports suggest that Netanyahu and Trump’s relationship has become increasingly frayed as the war in Gaza has continued to drag on. The White House raised eyebrows earlier this week after it announced the US would no longer launch strikes against the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen. The announcement came right after Israel launched airstrikes on Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport in response to the terrorist group’s attack on Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

“We were shocked that the Trump administration didn’t tell us anything and we learned about it from the television,” an Israeli official told Axios.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee defended Trump’s decision to broker a truce with the Houthis without first consulting the Jewish state, saying, “The United States isn’t required to get permission from Israel to make some type of arrangement that would get the Houthis from firing on our ships.”

Huckabee also called it “reckless and irresponsible” to suggest that Trump and Netanyahu do not have a strong relationship.

“It’s reckless and irresponsible for press to allege that [they] are not getting along,” he posted on X/Twitter. “Bibi [Netanyahu’s nickname] has spent more time with [Trump] than I have in past three months, and I’m his ambassador! The relationship between US and Israel remains STRONG!”

Advocates of the Jewish state have also expressed concern about reports saying the US has dropped normalization with Israel as a precondition for striking a civil nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia. If true, observers have argued the concession by the White House would imperil efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, a series of Trump-brokered agreements struck in 2020 that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states.

The post US Defense Secretary Hegseth Cancels Israel Trip Amid Rumors of Trump-Netanyahu Rift first appeared on Algemeiner.com.