A Pakistani man was arrested in Canada last week after U.S. and Canadian authorities discovered he was plotting an attack on a Jewish center in New York City, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The attack was set to take place on or around the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, with the suspect, an ISIS supporter, saying that he wanted it to be “the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
‘We are going to NYC to slaughter them’
In July, the suspect, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, began communicating with undercover law enforcement agents. Khan told them that he and another ISIS supporter based in the U.S. were trying to form a cell to carry out a “coordinated assault” targeting American Chabad centers, along with other Jewish religious centers and gathering places.
Khan instructed the undercover officers to buy assault rifles and claimed he found someone to smuggle him across the northern border into the U.S. In August, the terrorist changed the target to the Jewish hub in Brooklyn.
Khan added that “New York is perfect to target Jews,” adding that “even if we don’t attack a[n] event[,] we could rack up easily a lot of Jews”
The attack was planned for either Oct. 7 or Yom Kippur, which will be observed on Oct. 11 this year, with Khan saying these were “the best days for targeting the Jews.”
Khan stressed that he wanted to kill “as many Jews as possible,” saying, “we are going to NYC to slaughter them.”
“If we[’]re successful, this is going to be one of the largest attacks ever on Jews outside of the Israeli territory in recent times,” he added.
Khan’s plans for the attack were detailed, including instructions for the undercover officers to attend synagogue services to check the target buildings, and plans to dress up like Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews.
In his conversations with the undercover officers, Khan repeatedly noted how easy it would be to buy assault rifles for the attack in certain states.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the attempted terrorist attack and the surge of antisemitism in the nation.
“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 Justice Department will continue to work closely with our domestic and international partners to aggressively counter the threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist organizations and their supporters,” he said.
ISIS regrouping, intensifying attacks around the world
This thwarted attack comes amid concerns that ISIS has started regrouping after being largely taken apart by an international coalition a few years ago.
ISIS was formed in 2013 after breaking off from Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group behind the Sept. 11 attacks. The group aimed to unite the world under a caliphate, an Islamic kingdom.
The Islamic State has an extremist view of sharia law, carrying out mass executions, implementing strict restrictions on women, mass enslavement, and marking millions — including other Muslims — as heretics.
The terrorist group took over large swaths of Iraq and Syria shortly after it was created, sparking the establishment of a U.S.-led international coalition that liberated almost all of the territory taken over by 2018.
ISIS isn’t just in Iraq and Syria, though. The terrorist movement has branches throughout Africa and Asia and uses social media to encourage and instruct individuals around the world to carry out attacks.
This means that even though ISIS lost control of the territory it held, it remains a threat.
One major example was a planned attack targeting Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna that was thwarted in August.
In recent weeks, pro-ISIS media outlets have been intensifying efforts to encourage supporters around the world to carry out terrorist attacks, especially against Jews and Christians, in retaliation against the war in Gaza.
A branch of ISIS based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), has become central in planning attacks around the world, including deadly attacks in Moscow and Iran this year. In July, the United Nations warned that ISIS-K is “the greatest external terrorist threat” to Europe.
Even in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has been regaining ground. In July, U.S. Central Command warned that ISIS was on pace to “more than double” the number of attacks it claimed in 2023 this year.
Jewish communities prepare to mark Oct. 7
As Jewish communities prepare to mark the anniversary of Oct. 7, a central part of the preparations has been security as antisemitic incidents continue to spike around the world.
In June, Garland warned the House Judiciary Committee that the threat level of terrorism in the U.S. has “gone up enormously” since Oct. 7.
In August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it was allocating $454.5 million toward securing religious organizations, an increase of nearly $150 million compared to last year — largely due to the spike in antisemitism in the past year.
The New York Police Department announced Monday that it would be ramping up security at synagogues over the next month, especially in light of this recently thwarted terrorist attack.
With colleges back in session, Jewish students are once again facing the threat of antisemitism on campus at pro-Palestinian protests. Last year, over 1,400 antisemitic incidents were reported on U.S. campuses, according to the American Jewish Committee.
The Secure Community Network, a safety and security organization for Jewish communities in North America, recently announced a new “Guardian” training program for staff, leadership, and community members who frequent or work in Jewish community organizations. The program helps participants learn to be “Active Bystanders” able to better identify threats, prepare for emergencies, de-escalate situations, and respond to various incidents.
In the United Kingdom, the Community Security Trust reported nearly 2,000 antisemitic incidents just in the first six months of this year, the highest number ever recorded by the organization.
In France, 887 antisemitic incidents were recorded just in the first half of 2024, nearly triple the number in the same period last year, according to the French Interior Ministry.
In Germany, a man fired shots near the Israeli consulate in Munich last week on the anniversary of the 1972 Munich Massacre, in which 11 Israeli Olympic athletes were kidnapped and murdered by Palestinian terrorists.
Originally Published Sep 10, 2024 05:56PM EDT
