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Moroccan Tourist With US Green Card Carries Out Stabbing Attack in Tel Aviv, Wounding 4
Israeli police officers respond after a Moroccan national with a US green card carried out a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv on Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpaare/dpa via Reuters Connect
A Moroccan national with a US green card, who entered Israel three days ago, carried out a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, wounding at least four people before being shot and killed by an off duty border guard.
Abdelaziz Kaddi, 29, was found with a permanent US resident card after a female officer shot and killed him. According to Israeli reports, he entered Israel on Jan. 18 with a tourist visa with the intention to carry out a terrorist attack. It was later revealed that he had a history of inciting posts on social media.
The off duty border guard who killed Abdelaziz Kaddi after he carried out a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 21, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of volunteer police officer Rani Shilat
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel disclosed that Israeli immigration officials had initially raised concerns about the suspect upon his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. The Population and Immigration Authority, Arbel said, identified Kaddi as a potential risk and recommended denying his entry.
Border officials at Ben Gurion Airport reported that Kaddi was unable to provide clear details about the purpose of his visit to Israel, including who he was meeting or whether he intended to work in the country. Following his initial questioning, authorities denied him entry and referred him to the Shin Bet security agency for further review. Despite the initial concerns, security officials ultimately decided to grant him entry after conducting their own assessment.
“I urge Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar to thoroughly investigate this incident and implement necessary measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future,” Arbel said in a statement.
In response to Arbel’s remarks, the Shin Bet stated that Kaddi underwent a thorough security assessment upon his arrival in Israel. This “process included an interrogation and additional checks, after which no security concerns were found that would justify denying him entry,” the security agency said, adding that the incident was under review to ensure proper procedures were followed.
גורמי הביטחון בודקים: על גופת המחבל נמצא דרכון אמריקני. יליד 95 ממוצא מרוקני. בנוסף נמצא אישור כניסה לישראל מלפני 3 ימים. די חריג pic.twitter.com/m40ZGDimSj
— איתי בלומנטל
Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) January 21, 2025
The attack unfolded in two locations, Nahalat Binyamin Street and nearby Kalisher Street, a bustling area adjacent to the Carmel market frequented by locals and tourists.
Emergency responders from Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service, said that four people — three in their twenties and one in his fifties — were listed in moderate and light condition after sustaining stabbing wounds.
Witnesses described scenes of panic as the attack unfolded. “We heard a burst of gunfire, saw people running, and rushed into a bathroom,” an eyewitness who was near the scene of the attack told Israel’s Channel 12 News. “We stepped out briefly to check if it was just the sound of a motorcycle, but then we heard another loud bang — and ran to the nearest shelter. All the while, we could hear the sound of many vehicles arriving.”
Warning: Viewer discretion is advised, as the brief clip below shows Kaddi’s dead body.
Authorities urged residents to stay away from the area as police combed the streets, searching for possible accomplices or any additional threats. Volunteer police officer Rani Shilat said the attacker arrived on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice who fled the scene and is still at large.
According to Shilat, the area quickly returned to its usual bustling state shortly after the attack.
The attack comes amid heightened security concerns in Israel, with an ongoing wave of violence in major cities including Tel Aviv, which has been the target of several attacks in recent months. Hundreds of volunteer police officers have been deployed to support the city’s law enforcement.
Israeli police patrol the streets of Tel Aviv after a stabbing attack on Jan. 21, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of volunteer police officer Rani Shilat
Shilat expressed concerns that Tel Aviv could face more attacks in the near future, attributing the threat to a growing sense of confidence among terrorists following the recent Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas as well as the fact that “so many murderers are now roaming the streets free.” The deal, which stipulates the release of 33 hostages from Gaza in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners, has, according to Shilat, also emboldened other potential attackers.
“It reinforces their sense of victory,” Shilat said. “Their mindset now is that even in the worst-case scenario, they’ll eventually be freed in another deal somewhere down the line.”
Security forces are working to determine whether Kaddi acted alone or had connections to extremist groups.
He had a history of expressing pro-terror sentiments on social media, frequently sharing content in support of Gaza and against Israel. Kaddi accused Israel of starving northern Gaza and posted a video praising Islam with the caption “free Palestine,” along with an image of Ibrahim Nablusi, a Palestinian Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades commander killed in Nablus who is hailed by pro-Palestinian groups as the martyr and “Lion of Nablus.”
Following Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Kaddi wrote about martyrdom in Islam, posting that “what is happening now may be the reason for the doubling of the number of martyrs for Islam.” His Facebook account was deleted on Tuesday evening, shortly after his identity as the attacker was revealed.
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US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
The US State Department has revoked the visas for the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan amid ongoing outrage over their weekend performance at the Glastonbury Festival, in which the pair chanted “Death to the IDF.”
The State Department’s decision to cancel their visas would preclude a planned fall concert tour of the US by the British rappers.
“The [US State Department] has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X/Twitter on Monday.
During a June 28 set at Glastonbury Festival, Bob Vylan’s Pascal Robinson-Foster ignited a firestorm by leading the crowd in chants of “Death, death, to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. He also complained about working for a “f—ing Zionist” during the set.
The video of the performance went viral, sparking outrage across the globe.
The BBC, which streamed the performance live, issued an on‑screen warning but continued its broadcast, prompting criticism by government officials for failing to cut the feed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and festival organizers condemned the IDF chant as hate speech and incitement to violence. The Israeli Embassy in London denounced the language as “inflammatory and hateful.”
“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” the BBC said in a statement following the event.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces … have no place in any civil society,” Leo Terrell, Chair of the US Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, declared Sunday in a statement posted on X.
Citing the act’s US tour plans, Terrell said his task force would be “reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
British authorities, meanwhile, have launched a formal investigation into Bob Vylan’s controversial appearance at Glastonbury. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they are reviewing footage and working with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the performance constitutes a hate crime or incitement to violence.
United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the premier entertainment talent agencies, dropped the duo, claming “antisemitic sentiments expressed by the group were utterly unacceptable.”
The band defended their performance on social media as necessary protest, stating that “teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.”
The post US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
US House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) urged Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism” if he wins the general election in November.
“‘Globalizing the intifada’ by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he added.
Jeffries’s comments come as Mamdani has been receiving an onslaught of criticism for defending the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani first defended the phrase during an appearance on the popular Bulwark Podcast. The progressive firebrand stated that he feels “less comfortable with the banning of certain words.” He invoked the US Holocaust Museum in his defense, saying that the museum used the word intifada “when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle.’”
The Holocaust Museum repudiated Mamdani in a statement, calling his comments “offensive.”
Mamdani has continued to defend the slogan despite ongoing criticism, arguing that pro-Palestine advocates perceive it as a call for “universal human rights.”
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assembly member and proud democratic socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.
The election results have alarmed members of the local Jewish community, who expressed deep concern over his past criticism of Israel and defense of antisemitic rhetoric.
“Mamdani’s election is the greatest existential threat to a metropolitan Jewish population since the election of the notorious antisemite Karl Lueger in Vienna,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in New York City, said in a statement. “Jewish leaders must come together as a united force to prevent a mass Jewish Exodus from New York City.”
Some key Democratic leaders in New York, such as US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have congratulated and complimented Mamdani, but have not yet issued an explicit endorsement. Each official has signaled interest in meeting with Mamdani prior to making a decision on a formal endorsement.
The post Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Eyes Ties With Syria and Lebanon After Iran War
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israel is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month’s 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.
The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Israel also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar al-Assad.
In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalization agreements with Israel were deeply unpopular in the Arab world.
“We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization, while safeguarding Israel‘s essential and security interests,” Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.
“The Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” he said.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While much of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office.
Following Assad’s ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.
A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory.
The official also said that normalization efforts with Israel must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and not carried out through a separate track.
A spokesperson for Syria‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalization with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Israel was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel‘s Saar said it was “not constructive” for other states to condition normalization on Palestinian statehood.
“Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Israel,” he said.
In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syria‘s new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border.
The same month, US President Donald Trump announced the US would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria‘s new president, urging him to normalize ties with Israel.
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