The hostage-taking of a rabbi and congregants at the Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas a week ago by Malik Faisal Akram was not simply to coerce authorities to free Aafia Siddiqui, known as Lady Al Qaeda, but itself specifically an act against Jews in their foremost institution: a synagogue.  It was not random.

This needs to be said inasmuch as the Biden spokespeople, much of the FBI, and the Deep State initially announced that the selection of a synagogue was simply a coincidence.  To those following the growing anti-Semitism, actual Jew-hatred, in the American Muslim community, the attack that happened Saturday last week was the latest in a long list of Islamists targeting Jews and synagogues, from New York/New Jersey in the East across the country to California in the West. 

As the attack was unfolding and it became apparent that a radical Islamist was spearheading the attack, we anticipated there would be all types of excuses supplied by law enforcement and the Biden administration attributing the horror to some other motive extraneous to Islamic anti-Semitism.  We would hear, as dozens of times in the last fifteen years, that the perpetrator was “mentally unstable,” and that he was a “lone wolf.”  The fact that the perpetrator was from a far-away English city near Manchester, had collaborators back there, and just a couple of weeks ago arrived in America indisputably points to a deliberate terrorist selection of an American synagogue. This cannot be attributed to some local who happened to be walking in the neighborhood and coincidentally passed a synagogue.  Out of political correctness, or fear of being called Islamophobic, or because the Muslim community has become an integral and necessary component of the Democrat machine, the FBI, the media, and powerful voices routinely censor reasonable propositions pointing to danger to the Jewish community from elements within Islamic circles here in America.

Formerly the FBI monitored certain enclaves and imams fomenting Jew-hatred.  For the reasons mentioned above they began curtailing these programs during Obama’s second term. The same unfortunately can be said of the U.S. Department of Justice.  The downside to the cessation of vital monitoring is expanded attacks by American Muslims against innocent Jews walking on streets, going to synagogue, eating at kosher restaurants, wearing their yarmulkes or any noticeable Jewish piece of clothing.  It is distressing that in today’s liberal and woke-controlled society, Jew-hatred seems to be an acceptable activity if performed by certain, more preferred minorities.  

One of the hostages in the synagogue, Jeffrey Cohen, told reporters that Akram spent a good deal of his initial attack denouncing Jews.  In fact, Lady Al Qaeda, who is in prison for attempting to murder U.S. soldiers and in whose cause Mr. Akram was holding hostages at the synagogue, is a notorious hater of Jews and Israel and throughout her trial demanded that no “Zionist” Jew be allowed to sit on the jury and that American Jews are the root of Islamic problems throughout the world. Many high-profile and lesser-known imams look to the notorious Protocols of the Eldersof Zion to blame Jews for the world’s problems and specifically Islam’s difficulties.

This hard-core Jew hatred originated with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, a Muslim collaborator with Adolf Hitler in the final extermination of the Jewish people during World War II.  Unfortunately, this Grand Mufti was held in highest esteem among Islamic leaders and thus his Jew hatred has been codified, distributed, and is continually being acted upon by those adherents who feel they are fulfilling the wishes of their Grand Imam.

That anti-Semitism is growing exponentially within the American Muslim community is a fact that cannot be denied.  Professor Abdullah Antepli at Duke University tweeted last week:

Yes, we Muslims living North America undeniably have an increasing anti-Semitism problem and seemingly we have yet to even begin to address the issue honestly, morally and accurately…but again we have to. I am really sick and tired of the over all defensiveness and tribal ++

Yes, we Muslims living North America undeniably have an increasing anti-Semitism problem and seemingly we have yet to even begin to address the issue honestly, morally and accurately…but again we have to.
I am really sick and tired of the over all defensiveness and tribal ++

— Abdullah T. Antepli (@aantepli) January 16, 2022

Indeed, many Muslims within modern American cities are routinely referring to Jews as “enemies.” This is incendiary, and without doubt foments the actions we saw this week in Texas and have witnessed across America in the last decade.  Labeling someone with whom you disagree as an “enemy” and calling for retribution against them is an old world, tribal attitude being imported into this country.  Until recently, the American disposition was to disagree civilly, in large part because we shared an overriding commonality as Americans.  As this transcendent pride and kinship in being American is dissipating and, moreover, castigated by today’s identity politics and wokeness that purposely separates us and pits Americans against each other, we will see more attacks by those who consign Jews and others (whites) as “the enemy.”

An unknown suspect captured in surveillance video (YouTube screengrab)

There is no doubt that Speaker Pelosi’s blessings and embrace of the “Squad” -- which demonstrates extreme anti-Israel attitudes and even anti-Jewish sentiment-- is a allowing this anti-Semitism to grow if coming from the constituencies of the Squad members Pelosi befriends.  As former Governor Mike Huckabee said: “How can we keep America-hating terrorists and anti-Semites out of our synagogues if we can’t even keep them out of Congress.” 

Three years ago, when we asked Speaker Pelosi to condemn anti-Semitism as a stand-alone evil, Pelosi would not do so out of fear of offending certain minority constituencies vital to her party.  Pelosi’s obsession with victory and power is culminating in an acceptance of anti-Semitism, notwithstanding all her flowery protestations and calls against “hate.” The confluence of ignored anti-Semitism growing in the American Muslim community and unwillingness by left liberals to denounce it when coming from their constituents portends a danger to America and its Jewish community.  

To our regret, too many establishment Jewish organizations and Reform Judaism, whose first and foremost loyalty appears to be toward leftwing ideology and woke-ism and not the defense and dignity of the Jewish people, are silent enablers of this worrisome phenomenon afflicting today’s American political scene. Unless the attacker is from the right wing, they seem too willing to minimize anti-Semitism so as not to (1) jeopardize their seat at the leftwing table, (2) offend their partners in the diversity-and-dialogue worship, or (3) stop the self-righteous platitudes that constitute their sanctimonious virtue-signaling and sense of moral superiority. 

Rabbi Aryeh Spero is president Caucus for America and spokesman for the Conference of Jewish Affairs, and author of Push Back: The Battle to Save our American Judeo-Christian Heritage.  caucusforamerica.com.