Graffiti spray-painted at the home of an IDF veteran in Clayton, Missouri. Photo: Screenshot

Police in Clayton, Missouri, with the help of US federal agents, are investigating an attack at the home of an unnamed US citizen who served in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) as a hate crime.

Law enforcement arrived on the scene at 3 am on Tuesday to discover three burning cars, believed to be set intentionally, and the antisemitic slogan “Death to the IDF” spray-painted on the street. They later released a statement that there did not appear to be “any further threat to the community.”

Leo Terrell, senior counsel at the US Department of Justice and chair of its Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, released a statement about the crimes on X.

“Today the Israeli Embassy alerted me to a horrific antisemitic attack in St. Louis. An American citizen who served in the IDF returned to his family home. Soon after, he and his family were targeted,” Terrell posted. “I reviewed graphic footage of vehicles belonging to the family and their friends. The vehicles were set on fire and destroyed. Hateful graffiti outside the family’s home accused him of being a murderer and called for death to the IDF.”

Terrell said that following learning of the violence he “immediately contacted the FBI, which is engaging the St. Louis team, and alerted Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office. I also spoke directly with the family, so they know that the DOJ Task Force to Combat Antisemitism is on this 24/7. I am outraged. Antisemitic violence has no place in America, not in St. Louis and not anywhere. We will pursue every avenue to bring the perpetrators to justice. If you commit antisemitic hate crimes, you will be caught. And you will be held accountable.”

Police told First Alert 4 that they suspect one individual started the fires but did not know if they had any accomplices.

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, wrote on X that “I’ve been briefed about the reported car bombings in St. Louis and alleged antisemitic vandalism.” She said that “our office intends to hold the perpetrators accountable for these violent acts.”

Clayton’s Mayor Bridget McAndrew denounced the crime and said in a statement on Facebook that the city “has dedicated extensive resources and brought in regional law enforcement partners, as well as the FBI, in order to find those responsible for this repulsive act. As always, our police department is committed to protecting the safety of every member of our community. We will not tolerate harassment, intimidation, or violence based on someone’s nationality, race, religion, or ideology. In Clayton, we are committed to fostering a community where every resident feels safe, valued, and welcome.”

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) – St. Louis, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – Heartland, Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of St. Louis, Jewish Federation of St. Louis, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) St. Louis, and St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum released a joint statement on Tuesday following the alleged hate crimes.

“As American Jewish organizations and proud St. Louisians, we condemn in the strongest terms the attack on members of our community last night. This is more than vandalism; it is a hateful act of intimidation and only the latest example of what happens when antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric are normalized,” the groups said. “We are a resilient community, and we will not be deterred in our quest to uproot antisemitism and hatred, alone and with our partners. Antisemitism is a social ill that must be rejected by all of society.”

The Missouri attack comes just after the release of data from the FBI showing that antisemitic hate crimes hit a record high of 1,938 last year, an increase of 5.8 percent from 2023 and a total of 69 percent of all religion-based hate crimes.

Jordan Kadosh, the regional director of ADL Heartland, said following the attack that “when you hear somebody say ‘globalize the intifada this is what it looks like. It looks like burned out cars on suburban streets in America. This is not confined. When somebody says they want to take this fight to Jews around the world they mean everywhere.”

Kadosh added, “This is not going to deter us. Our resilience is not going to be pushed down. It is only going to grow stronger. We are not going to go anywhere. We are American Jews. We’re here for the long haul. We are still a part of this country, and we will speak up and use our voice. We are not going to live quietly because other people think we shouldn’t be here.”

US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson

US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to launch an investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), claiming the nonprofit advocacy group has longstanding ties to terrorist organizations including Hamas.

In a letter to IRS Commissioner Billy Long dated Aug. 4, Cotton asserted that CAIR, which is registered as a nonprofit charitable organization that purports to protect the rights of American Muslims, has “deep ties to terrorist organizations.” Cotton pointed to what he described as “substantial evidence” from past government exhibits and public statements by CAIR officials, including its founding connections and remarks by its current leadership.

“Recent news and longstanding evidence demonstrate CAIR’s ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and their activities,” Cotton wrote.

While Hamas is a US-designated terrorist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood has not been proscribed as such, although lawmakers in Congress recently introduced legislation to designate the global Islamist movement, which has been banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Austria.

In his letter, Cotton called on the IRS to conduct a full review of CAIR’s financial records, affiliations, and operations to determine whether the organization continues to meet the legal requirements of its tax-exempt status.

Citing a 2008 case, the largest terrorism-financing case in US history, Cotton said CAIR had been listed as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee. CAIR was infamously named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case. Politico noted in 2010 that “US District Court Judge Jorge Solis found that the government presented ‘ample evidence to establish the association’” of CAIR with Hamas. Cotton also referred to government trial exhibits indicating CAIR’s founders participated in meetings with Hamas supporters in Philadelphia.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “some of CAIR’s current leadership had early connections with organizations that are or were affiliated with Hamas.” CAIR has disputed the accuracy of the ADL’s claim and asserted that it “unequivocally condemn[s] all acts of terrorism, whether carried out by al-Qa’ida, the Real IRA, FARC, Hamas, ETA, or any other group designated by the US Department of State as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization.’”

Beyond past associations, Cotton pointed to more recent comments from CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad. In a 2023 speech following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, Awas said he was “happy to see” Palestinians “breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land.” Cotton cited the remark as evidence of CAIR’s alignment with violent extremist rhetoric.

“These connections are not mere historical footnotes,” Cotton wrote, accusing CAIR of engaging in activities inconsistent with its stated mission of civil rights advocacy. He argued that 501(c)(3) organizations should not be permitted to operate under tax-exempt status if they are involved in or supportive of terrorism.

The IRS has not publicly responded to Cotton’s letter.

CAIR did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story but replied to Cotton on the X social media platform.

“Is that the best you’ve got, Tom? We figured your handlers would have given you something better to work worth, not debunked conspiracy theories and half-baked legal arguments,” CAIR posted. “Unlike [Cotton], our civil rights organization defends the Constitution, including its guarantees of free speech and religious freedom. Also, unlike Tom Cotton, we oppose injustice here and abroad, from hate crimes to terrorism to ethnic cleansing to genocide. That’s why we speak out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and why we spoke out against attacks on civilians in Israel on Oct. 7th. Receipts below. This is called moral consistency, Tom. You should try it. Make sure to ask AIPAC first, though.”

AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group in the US.

Cotton’s letter comes amid growing scrutiny of Middle Eastern and Muslim advocacy organizations as the Israel-Hamas war continues in Gaza and antisemitic hate crimes surge across the West.

The senator has spearheaded multiple efforts to tackle antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment within the US. Earlier this year, for example, Cotton introduced the “No Student Loans for Campus Criminals Act” and “Woke Endowment Security Tax (WEST),” legislation which would penalize students and universities that spread pro-terrorist ideologies.

Members of the Hasmonean Brigade during their beret ceremony at the Western Wall on Aug. 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

The first set of troops from the Israel Defense Force’s new ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade completed seven months of basic and advanced training on Wednesday morning, when they received their dark blue berets during a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

“The army and the Torah go together, shoulder to shoulder. One strengthens the other, ” Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth wrote in a post on X, congratulating the troops. “I bless the ‘Hasmonean’ Brigade – the first ultra-Orthodox brigade in the IDF, which completed its training course today and, in an emotional ceremony at the Western Wall, received their beret. Only together will we triumph.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also congratulated the troops, saying that “there is nothing more Jewish than defending the land of Israel.”

Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Gila Gamliel added in a post on X that troops in the Hasmonean Brigade are “paving the way for combining faith with courage.”

“You are a symbol of dedication, mission, and contribution to the nation, and you light the path for all of us toward Israel’s unity,” she added. “Your brigade is proof that one can preserve identity while defending the homeland.”

The beret ceremony on Wednesday morning was attended by Shin Bet director and Maj. Gen. David Zini, who was crucial in the creation of the brigade, and brigade commander Col. Avinoam Emunah. Fifty ultra-Orthodox troops did a “beret march” that started in the hills of Jerusalem and ended at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem before the start of the ceremony. They blew shofars and sang songs calling for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, according to Israel’s Arutz 7.

Members of the brigade live a Haredi lifestyle both inside and outside the army and are given special accommodations, such as at least an hour of learning Talmud every day. Around 2,700 Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, have joined the army over the past year, according to Israeli media reports.