FBI Foils a Mass Terror Attack Against Jews

• An ISIS terrorist was caught plotting a mass attack on Jews in New York

• Attacks against Jews persist as the pro-Palestine movement has gained steam around the globe

• Questions remain about whether the FBI pushed the terrorist over the edge

The story

A Pakistani citizen living in Canada was arrested last week for plotting a terrorist attack in the US in support of ISIS. Khan planned a mass shooting in Brooklyn, New York, to kill “as many Jewish people as possible,” according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The attack was intended to take place on October 7, 2024, marking the anniversary of Hamas attacks on Israel, or on October 11 — marking the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur.

The terrorist’s plan was foiled as he approached the US-Canada border, where he was arrested. He was also aided in his plan-making by undercover agents from the FBI, who he urged to buy AR-style weapons for the attack as well as hunting knives so they could “slit their throats.”

Since Hamas’ October 7 attack, there has been a disturbing wave of violence targeting Jewish communities around the world. In Russia, mobs stormed an airport in Dagestan to hunt down Jewish passengers from Israel, reminiscent of medieval European pogroms.

Across Europe, synagogues have been attacked, including one in Tunisia, which was set on fire amid anti-Israel protests. France has seen a noted increase in attacks against Jews as well, including physical assaults and shocking instances of rape against Jewish girls.

In the US, college campuses have been the focal point of anti-Jewish activity, where Jewish students have faced open harassment and threats, further fueled by left-wing non-profits and groups linked to “potential money laundering or support for terrorism.”

The October 7 massacre in Israel was not just an attack on innocent Israelis but a rallying call for terrorists worldwide to intensify their jihad against Jews.

The continued pro-Palestine movement

11 months out from the October 7 massacre, the narrative about the dangers of Muslim extremists towards Jews is a distant memory. Muslim terrorists and their left-wing allies in the West quickly shifted the focus to Israel’s actions in Gaza, revealing a broader anti-Jewish sentiment within the movement — far beyond mere criticism of the state of Israel.

Next month, a coalition of anti-Israel groups is planning rallies to celebrate what they view as a Palestinian resistance movement despite the brutal nature of the massacre, which was the largest killing of Jews since the Holocaust.

Protests across the US and Canada, backed by organizations like the Palestinian Youth Movement, have embraced terrorist symbols and rhetoric, with many protesters openly supporting Hamas and calling for violence.

Young Americans are the only demographic in the nation to view the Palestinian people more favorably than Israelis. Americans under 30 tend to consume news via apps like TikTok, where anti-Israel content vastly outperforms pro-Israel content.

The US government's recent arrest of the terrorist raises questions about the FBI’s conduct in involving themselves in terrorist activities. The bureau began investigating the terrorist for posting ISIS propaganda online, though it remains unclear whether the FBI's actions directly influenced his escalation into planning terrorist attacks.

The missing context

The involvement of US intelligence agencies in encouraging criminal behavior is part of a longstanding pattern that frequently fosters distrust toward these agencies.

In the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, an FBI informant infiltrated the group planning the attack and reported that the agency had planned to replace the bomb with harmless materials. However, the FBI did not follow through with this plan, and the actual bomb was detonated, causing fatalities and injuries.

More recently, the FBI has come under fire from conservatives because of their large role in influencing Trump supporters to storm the capitol building on January 6. The Department of Homeland Security had spent days warning of credible threats of violence toward lawmakers, but this information was never relayed to local law enforcement.

Further, the FBI had multiple undercover agents embedded in the Oath Keepers — a right-wing activist group — some of whose members were charged with crimes relating to the events on January 6.

One man charged with crimes stemming from January 6 by the name of Ray Epps was caught on video telling protesters that they needed “to go into the Capitol.” Many around him shut the idea down and began chanting “Fed, Fed, Fed,” suggesting that the man was an undercover federal agent attempting to escalate the protesters into committing felonies.

Epps was initially placed on the FBI's wanted list for his involvement in the Capitol riot but was later removed, sparking theories that he might be under federal protection.

Why it matters

The recent arrest of an ISIS-supporting terrorist plotting a mass attack on Jews in New York highlights the rising threat of Islamist terrorism in America, fueled by the ideologies of the pro-Palestine movement.

While the FBI successfully caught and thwarted a potentially devastating terrorist attack, some of their tactics raise concerns about the extent to which undercover agents may be responsible for inciting violence.

While the FBI has played its role in preventing mass attacks, the pro-Palestine movement is set to intensify its activities this fall, both on college campuses and beyond. The threat of mass-casualty terrorist attacks against Jews remains high, but the movement embedding its ideology among millions of Americans remains a problem unto itself.