The Colleyville Synagogue Attack Was 'Specifically' Targeting Jews

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Soon after the FBI freed four hostages held by a gunman named Malik Faisal Akram for 11 hours at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on Saturday, January 15, Matthew Desarno, the special agent in charge of the FBI Dallas Field Office, made a truly baffling statement.

“We do believe from our engagement with this subject that he was singularly focused on one issue, and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community. But we are continuing to work to find [the] motive,” he said.

The idea that any attack on a synagogue is “not specifically related to the Jewish community” is absurd enough. Add to that the fact that the gunman entered Congregation Beth Israel on a Saturday morning when Shabbat services are held. The timing was clearly intentional.

But the specifics of this crime also show a deep current of antisemitism running through the “one issue” on which the hostage-taker was “singularly focused.”

Perhaps at first glance, that issue, the release of Aafia Siddiqui, currently serving an 86-year prison sentence for attempting to murder American troops and FBI agents, does not seem to be “specifically related to the Jewish community.” But Siddiqui was a raving antisemite, and that information is readily available.

The gunman said Siddiqui was his “sister” – though apparently in ideology and not in the literal sense – and that they would meet in “Jannah,” meaning paradise after he dies.

Siddiqui, nicknamed “Lady al-Qaeda,” was born in Pakistan and traveled to the US on a student visa in 1990. She received her PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University, founded by the Jewish community in 1948 and named after the first Jewish Justice in the US Supreme Court.

After Siddiqui was arrested in Afghanistan for her part in plotting al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in the US, UK and Pakistan, shooting at US Army troops as they detained her, she said the case against her was a Jewish conspiracy.

Siddiqui dismissed her legal defense team because she said the lawyers were Jewish, and she demanded that jurors in the trial take DNA tests to make sure they were not Israeli or Zionists, in order “to be fair.”

She also wrote a letter to then-president Barack Obama telling him that Jews “have always back-stabbed everyone who has taken pity on them and made the ‘fatal’ error of giving them shelter.”

“It is this cruel, ungrateful back-stabbing of the Jews that has caused them to be mercilessly expelled from wherever they gain strength. This is why ‘holocausts’ keep happening to them repeatedly! If they would only learn to be grateful and change their behavior!!” Siddiqui wrote.

After her conviction, Siddiqui said: “This is a verdict coming from Israel and not from America. That’s where the anger belongs.”

The likelihood of someone being so passionate about releasing Siddiqui that he would hold people hostage at gunpoint and not know of her widely reported and Wikipedia-listed views about Jews is slim.

We don’t know much about the hostage-taker since the FBI is not releasing information. But we know that he targeted a synagogue to free a woman who did not hide her hatred of Jews. And we know a leading figure in the same organization that advocated Siddiqui’s cause put synagogues and other major Jewish organizations on a list of “enemies” who spark Islamophobia.

These seem like directions of inquiry the FBI ought to be taking seriously.

What more must it take for a crime to be viewed as “specifically related to the Jewish community?” What more needs to happen for antisemitic hate crimes to be viewed as such? (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you remove antisemitism from the world, and allow those who wish the Jewish community harm to see Your grace.”

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

Malik Faisal Akram, the British national who was killed Saturday night, January 15, after allegedly taking four people hostage inside a Texas synagogue, spoke "repeatedly" about a convicted terrorist during negotiations with law enforcement, according to an FBI statement obtained by Fox News.

The statement, which was released late Sunday, does not identify the terrorist serving an 86-year prison sentence in the U.S. on terrorism charges, but may shed new light on a possible motive.

Akram could be heard on a Facebook livestream demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al Qaeda who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.

"This is a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted, and is being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force," the statement read.

The Associated Press pointed out that Siddiqui is serving her sentence in Fort Worth. Colleyville is about 15 miles northeast of the city.

The hostage crisis occurred at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on Saturday and ended at about 9 p.m. Police did not say who shot Akram, and said the incident was under investigation. 

The investigation stretched to England, where late Sunday police in Manchester announced that two teenagers were in custody in connection with the standoff. (FOX / VFI News)

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. - 1 John 4:20

Nuclear talks with Iran are moving too slowly for an agreement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday, January 14, as a source in Vienna said there were unresolved issues in every part of the negotiations.

“This negotiation advances way too slowly to be able to reach a conclusion and there will be nothing more to negotiate if it continues like this,” Le Drian stated, while saying the success of the talks is “vital.”

“We now have to conclude and come to a decision: Either the Iranians want to complete this, in which case we have the impression that there will be flexibility in the Americans’ stance,” Le Drian said, “or they don’t want to complete this, and in that case, we will be faced with a major proliferation crisis.”

A source close to the talks said that many issues in a range of areas remain unresolved in indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Donald Trump ended.

“In every single part of the [unfinished] paper [outlining a deal] there are issues that are still under consideration,” the source told reporters on Friday, adding that while negotiations are moving in the right direction, they “do not have all the time in the world.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that “We’re very, very short on time” and there were only “a few weeks left to see if we can get back to mutual compliance” with the 2015 nuclear deal.

“Iran is getting closer and closer to the point where they could produce on very, very short order enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon,” Blinken warned on NPR. “And at the same time, they’re making advances that will become increasingly hard to reverse because they’re learning things; they’re doing new things as a result of having broken out of their constraints under the agreement.”

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is known, restricted Iran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for the gradual lifting of sanctions. The restrictions expire at the end of 2030.

The US left the agreement in 2018, and Iran has enriched uranium far beyond the JCPOA’s limitations, to 60% – weapons-grade is 90% – and violated the agreement by developing uranium metal.

The Biden administration seeks to restore the JCPOA and has been negotiating in Vienna indirectly with the Islamic Republic – which refuses to have its delegation be in the same room as the Americans – on-and-off since April of 2021. The talks are currently in their eighth round, which began in late December.

Though Borrell agreed with Le Drian that the talks are moving too slowly, he remained optimistic that the JCPOA could be restored. (JPost / VFI News)

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” - Matthew 5:9

Three people were killed and six were injured after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed responsibility for an alleged drone attack on the United Arab Emirates that occurred Monday morning, January 17, state media reported.

Shortly afterward, the Saudi-led coalition claimed that it had managed to down eight drones launched in the direction of Saudi Arabia.

Three fuel tankers exploded in Abu Dhabi's Musaffah industrial area near storage facilities of oil firm ADNOC and a fire broke out at a storage facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The airport has suspended all flights for the time being due to the drone attack, local media claims.

Drones were spotted in the area prior to the explosion. "Initial investigations found parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and the fire," the police said in a statement on state news agency WAM.

Of those killed in the drone attack, one was Pakistani and two were Indian. They were killed in the explosion of the tanker trucks.

Meanwhile, those injured are lightly to moderately injured, according to local media, citing Abu Dhabi police.

The military spokesperson for the Houthi movement said that the group had launched a military attack on the UAE, and that details would be announced soon. Few such attacks in the UAE have been claimed by the Houthis in the past, and they have been – for the most part – denied by Emirati officials.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and have in the past threatened to attack the UAE.

Shortly after the attack in the UAE, Saudi-led forces announced that they had prevented a drone attack in Saudi Arabia. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you bring peace between Israel and the rest of the region, and protect Your children from attack and harm.”

Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.

In light of missile attacks against aircraft in various recent armed conflicts around the world, the international courier giant FedEx has asked the Federal Aviation Authority for permission to install missile defense systems on its aircraft.

A statement issued by FedEx said the request came after a number of cases in recent years in which missiles were fired at civilian planes near armed conflicts around the world, including FedEx planes, and fears that a round might damage an aircraft.

"In a number of incidents around the world, civilian aircraft have been fired upon by human-operated firing systems. This has led several companies to design and adapt various laser-based missile defense systems, which can be installed on civilian aircraft to protect these aircraft from heat-seeking missiles," FedEx said in a statement.

According to the announcement, the defense system that FedEx is requesting to install in its aircraft is based around an infrared laser that will deflect heat-seeking missiles. The Federal Aviation Authority will allow the public 45 days to send in comments on the matter before deciding whether or not to approve the installation. (INN / VFI News)

As Jews celebrate Tu Beshvat, the arboreal New Year, Arabs in Israel unite in a war against trees. Rabbis have ruled that this conflict is an existential threat to Israel, similar to the battle of the Maccabees, and takes precedence even over the Sabbath.

Al-Jarmaq, a Palestinian media network, called for Palestinians to join the Bedouin in the Negev in their violent riots against Jewish National Fund (JNF) tree planting on Sunday night, January 16, as the holiday of Tu Beshvat began. Protests were held in Jaffa and Haifa. On Monday, as Tu Beshvat ended, protests were planned for Nazareth and Ar’ava. On Tuesday, more protests are planned for Lod and Sakhnin. 

The protests, which have been going on for several weeks, quickly devolved into violence and demonstrators threw stones at police, who responded with anti-riot rubber bullets, shock grenades, and a water cannon. Arab media reported that Israeli police have arrested over 100 rioters to date, though Israeli sources claim that number is significantly lower.  

Hamas expressed support for the Bedouin, claiming a ramming attack on Tuesday evening that wounded an IDF soldier was motivated by the tree planting. (i365 / VFI News)

In honor of the Tu Bishvat holiday on Monday, January 17, MK Alon Tal will present what he billed as the first comprehensive forestry law proposed in Israel for a century.

Tal said the present statute regulating tree planting and forestry in Israel is the 1926 “Forests Ordinance” from the British Mandate, which is similar to a 1921 version, adopted soon after the British conquered Palestine from the Ottoman armies in World War I.

Since that time, modifications and amendments of the Ordinance have been modest.

The bill is an expanded version of a statute prepared some 10 years ago, when Tal chaired the committee that oversees forestry for the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund international board that was never advanced.

The expanded version was submitted after several months of consultation with forestry experts at KKL-JNF and the Agriculture Ministry, which is responsible for forestry in Israel.

Given the significance of Israel’s trees and forests to human health, recreation, ecological corridors, species preservation and climate change, Tal declared it high time that Israel adopt legislation appropriate for the national and global challenges of the 21st century. (JPost / VFI News)

Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. - 1 Chronicles 16:33

Israel's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose unexpectedly by 0.3% in December 2021, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports, above the analysts' expectations of 0.1-0.2%. During 2021, the CPI rose by 2.8%, within the Bank of Israel's target range for inflation of between 1% and 3%.

Inflation hit its highest rate for a decade in 2021, after negative inflation of 0.7% in 2020 due to the COVID crisis.

There were significant price rises in December in footwear and clothing (1.1%), housing costs (0.8%), furniture and household equipment (0.7%), and food (0.5%). There were significant price falls in fresh fruit and vegetables (2.7%) and culture and entertainment (0.8%).

The housing prices index, which is separate from the CPI, continued to rise in the period October-November, in comparison with September-October, climbing by 1.4%. Housing prices have risen 10.6% over the past 12 months, and by 18% since the start of 2019. (JPost / VFI News)

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. - 1 Timothy 6:10

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.
 
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