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This Is How America Can Unite Against Antisemitism
Jewish Americans and supporters of Israel gather at the National Mall in Washington, DC on Nov. 14, 2023 for the “March for Israel” rally. Photo: Dion J. Pierre/The Algemeiner
Hamas’ brutal terror attack on October 7 created shockwaves that are still being felt across the globe. According to American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report, 78% of American Jews feel less safe in the United States as a result of the massacre.
Our report underscores the painful reality that antisemitism is a longstanding, serious threat in the US, which has become even more dangerous since October 7. We have seen a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents across the country, including attacks on Jewish businesses, Jewish students, and Jewish institutions.
President Biden rightfully recognized the need for a national mobilization against antisemitism even before the Hamas massacre, and AJC’s Task Force to Implement the U.S. National Strategy is working with the administration to ensure that the US National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released last May, is implemented. We need tangible results in this time of crisis.
AJC’s Task Force has shared data from the State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report with staff from the White House and numerous Federal agencies, and we were able to share statistics that relate to the work of specific US agencies.
We asked American Jews and the general population how important it is for hate crimes, including antisemitic crimes, to be reported to a Federal database by local law enforcement. Nine in ten said it was.
Reporting is currently voluntary, which presents a problem. The FBI needs robust data to allocate appropriate resources to fighting antisemitism. Our findings can bolster the FBI’s pleas for data, give Congress impetus to pass bills like the bipartisan Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act, and help convince reluctant local law enforcement agencies to do better.
Jewish people and businesses are being targeted and need our support. One in five local Jewish businesses have been targeted by antisemitism through threats, graffiti, broken windows, or other attacks over the past five years, which takes a toll on our communities’ economic health.
As AJC continues our partnership with the Small Business Administration, these statistics highlight the need to address this issue by ensuring that small businesses have the resources they need to address antisemitism and other forms of hate.
But Jew-hatred isn’t limited to the private sector. Schools and universities have become hotbeds of antisemitic incidents. For example, one in four Jewish students said they changed their behavior out of the fear of antisemitism, and one in five felt or were actively excluded from a club or program because of antisemitism. In 2022, that number was 12%, representing a jump of eight percentage points in just one year.
This data is crucial in our conversations with college presidents and administrators, as well as with the Department of Education, as they continue to work with these schools and on Title VI enforcement.
Antisemitism on social media is also of major concern. Since October 7, 62% of American Jews shared that they saw antisemitism on social media, with 56% seeing it more than once. AJC is using this data to urge platforms to protect Jewish users online. We are also bringing these stats to Congress as we push for legislation improving accountability and transparency.
As we — along with other organizations — continue our work with government officials and community leaders at every level, each of us can also take action to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish people. Here are three steps you can take:
1. Use your voice to influence Congress. Join us in urging Congress to take decisive action to ensure the full implementation of the US National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
2. Educate yourself about antisemitism. You can see our annual report here, and there are countless other resources online to learn from.
3. Stand up against antisemitism in your community. Your voices are needed at the local, State, and Federal level.
Please join us and become a participant in the urgent fight against antisemitism.
Julie Rayman is the American Jewish Committee’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs.
The post This Is How America Can Unite Against Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Palestinian Detained after West Bank Terror Ramming
Illustrative: Israeli police at the scene of a car-ramming terrorist attack near a market in Jerusalem on Monday, April 24, 2023. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters.
JNS.org – A Palestinian rammed his vehicle into a cop car in the West Bank on Saturday in what the military was investigating as a terror attack.
The incident occurred at the Eli gas station, the scene of repeated acts of terrorism against Israelis.
“A Palestinian vehicle accelerated towards a police car and collided with it, there were no casualties,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Troops caught the terrorist and transferred him to security forces for further investigation,” added the statement.
On Sunday, three Israeli police officers were killed in a drive-by shooting near the Tarqumiya checkpoint, some 7.5 miles northwest of Hebron in Judea.
They were named as Chief Inspector Arik Ben Eliyahu, 37, of Kiryat Gat, who is survived by his wife and three children; Command Sgt. Maj. Hadas Branch, 53, of Sde Moshe, who is survived by her husband, three children and granddaughter; and 1st Sgt. Roni Shakuri, 61, of Sderot, who is survived by his wife, daughter and granddaughter.
Shakuri’s other daughter, 1st Sgt. Mor Shakuri, 29, was killed on Oct. 7 while battling an attempt by Hamas terrorists to take control of the police station in Sderot, in southern Israel near the border with Gaza.
The post Palestinian Detained after West Bank Terror Ramming first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia
A missile unveiled by Iran is launched in an unknown location in Iran in this picture received by Reuters on August 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it was deeply concerned by reports about a possible impending transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.
In a statement emailed to reporters, the ministry said the deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia.
CNN and The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, citing unidentified sources.
Reuters reported in August that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, the United States, a key ally of Ukraine, also voiced concern about the potential transfer of missiles.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said on Friday that Tehran’s position on the Ukraine conflict was unchanged.
“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict – which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations – to be inhumane,” it said.
“Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict.”
The post Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pakistani Man Charged with Planning Terror Attack Against NY Jews on Oct. 7 or Yom Kippur
The flag of the ISIS terrorist group. Image: Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani/File Photo.
JNS.org – A Pakistani national, whom Canadian authorities arrested on Wednesday, planned to carry out an ISIS-styled, mass shooting terror attack against Jews in New York, the U.S. Justice Department alleged on Friday.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, who also answers to Shahzeb Jadoon, “attempted to travel from Canada to New York City, where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, N.Y.,” per the complaint.
Khan allegedly distributed ISIS videos and literature and expressed support for ISIS on social media and via encrypted messages. Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is a U.S.-designated terror organization.
The defendant allegedly wrote that he wanted to target “Israeli Jewish Chabads … scattered all around,” per the 19-page complaint.
The Justice Department alleges that Khan “conveyed that he hoped to carry out this attack on or around Oct. 7, 2024—which Khan recognized as the one year anniversary of the brutal terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas, a designated foreign terror organization, which, on Oct. 7, 2023, launched a wave of violent, large-scale terrorist attacks in Israel that resulted in the deaths and hostage taking of hundreds of civilians, including American citizens.”
Khan allegedly told undercover officers that he wanted to “go for Oct. 7 or Oct 11, Yom Kippur, a major festival for the Jews,” per the complaint. “Khan emphasized that ‘Oct. 7 and Oct. 11 are the best days for targeting the Jews,’ because ‘Oct. 7 they will surely have some protests and Oct. 11 is Yom Kippur,’ and ‘they don’t have any other major festival then till next summer.’”
“In selecting New York City as his target location, Khan told the undercover law enforcement officers that ‘New York is perfect to target Jews’ because it has the ‘largest Jewish population In America,’ and, as such, ‘even if we don’t attack a event, we could rack up easily a lot of Jews,” the complaint adds.
The defendant told the undercover officers that “he intended to kill as many Jewish civilians as possible, proclaiming that ‘we are going to New York City to slaughter them,’” per the complaint, which added that Khan allegedly sent a photograph “of the specific area” where he planned to attack to the undercover officers.
Per the complaint, Khan also allegedly told the undercover officers not to wear beards, so they wouldn’t attract attention, and that “you guys will even have to attend some synagogue or Chabad sessions” to “check the insides of the buildings.” He told them it was necessary to identify emergency exits in buildings, “so we can trap them and kill them inside,” per the complaint.
“In addition, Khan also explained that they should not record their ISIS allegiance video, or ‘bayah,’ until later because it would run the risk of them being caught by law enforcement prior to the planned attack,” the complaint alleges.
One of several cities that Khan flagged had “more relaxed” gun laws, he allegedly told the undercover officers.
“What’s the point of living till you’re 70 and dying on a hospital bed when we can attain shahadah in our youths, Inshalah,” he said, per the complaint. (The complaint defines the first term as a declaration of faith and the second as God willing.)
“The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around Oct. 7 of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible,” stated Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general.
“Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI, and the quick action of our Canadian law enforcement partners, the defendant was taken into custody,” Garland said. “Jewish communities—like all communities in this country—should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.”
The post Pakistani Man Charged with Planning Terror Attack Against NY Jews on Oct. 7 or Yom Kippur first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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