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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – A man who set fire to a Melbourne synagogue while worshippers were inside was motivated by mental illness rather than antisemitism, an Australian magistrate said on Monday. Angelo Loras, 35, had pleaded guilty to arson and recklessly placing people at risk of death on July 4 when he doused the front door of the East Melbourne Synagogue with flammable liquid and ignited it. Around 20 worshippers were inside sharing a Shabbat meal, but no one was injured. Reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have risen sharply across Australia since the war between Israel and Hamas began...

We are extremely concerned for the safety of Jews in New York City. The mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, has ties to antisemitic groups, has antisemitic staffers on his team, and wanted to "globalize the intifada."Last night showed us once again what that really means. Mobs of antisemitic, anti-Israel protesters swarmed Park East Synagogue to demonstrate against Jews in the Big Apple.🚨 HAPPENING RIGHT NOW in Manhattan:A mob of antisemites is outside Park East Synagogue screaming for “Globalize the Intifada” and “There is only one solution: Intifada revolution.”The Rabbi inside, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, is 93 years old. He survived the Holocaust. He...

Zohran Mamdani will become the 111th mayor of New York City. While the electoral outcome is not what I hoped for, I wish Mayor-elect Mamdani and his administration every success in leading this city we love. As the prophet Jeremiah instructed the Jews of his time, “Seek the peace of the city … for in its peace you will find your peace.” Our community will, as it would with any mayor, work with the Mamdani administration on matters of shared concern and common cause. We will also, as we would with any mayor, hold the Mamdani administration accountable for ensuring...

An Alabama man was arrested this week for allegedly planning attacks on synagogues in Alabama and surrounding states as well as public figures. Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker, 33, of Needham, Alabama, was arrested on Monday after the FBI and local agencies were alerted of “credible threats of violence” he made to local synagogues, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office announced in a post on Facebook. During his arrest, law enforcement also seized “weapons, more than a suitcase full of ammo, body armor and other items related to the plans of violence” in Shoemaker’s possession, the office said. Following an investigation, the Clark...

The prime minister has called for protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews this week” after the Manchester synagogue attack. Ahead of a planned demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action this Saturday, Keir Starmer wrote in the Jewish Chronicle that activists should recognise this is a time of mourning. “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy – and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza – but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes,” he wrote. “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the...

His hand against everyone, And everyone’s hand against him; He shall dwell alongside of all his kin.

This is the terrorist with a suspected suicide belt who killed at least two Jewish people outside a Manchester synagogue before being shot by police. A car was driven into a crowd and a man stabbed at 9.31am on Yom Kippur - the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Laurence Taylor, the head of counter-terrorism policing, said the attack had been confirmed as terrorism. He said police had made two further arrests and knew the attacker's identity, but would not release the information at this stage. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said four other victims are in a serious condition after...

Dramatic footage has today emerged showing the moment armed police shot a suspected knifeman following a 'marauding terror attack' at a synagogue. Four people were knifed after a man 'armed with a bomb' rammed a car into the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue at 9.31am today. The attack, which took place on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, has been declared a 'Plato' incident - the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a 'marauding terror attack'.

Jewish security teams and armed police have been called in to protect synagogues across the UK after four people were stabbed outside a synagogue in Manchester. At least two people have died after a knifeman 'armed with a bomb' rammed a car into the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue at 9.31am today and went on a rampage. The bloody assault, which took place on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, has been declared a 'Plato' incident - the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a 'marauding terror attack'.

@Basil_TGMD 🚨MANCHESTER TERROR SUSPECT APPEARS TO BE WEARING BOMBS He gets off the floor and has something in his hand. The Police shoot him again You can see a belt of what appears to be bombs strapped to him A member of the public also said he was wearing bombs ⚠️Content warning⚠️ *STRONG LANGUAGE*

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K. (Scripps News)On Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, a Manchester synagogue was attacked, prompting heightened security across the UK. An assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue Thursday in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four in a terrorist attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said. Officers shot and killed the suspect, Greater Manchester Police said, though it took authorities some time...

Summary Assailant drives car into pedestrians, stabs security guard near synagogue in Manchester Three other people targeted by attacker in serious condition Suspect shot dead by police who rushed to scene after witness report of attack on holiest day of Jewish calendar 'He has a bomb, go away', police officer shouts at onlookers Britain's King Charles, PM Starmer voice shock, horror over incident MANCHESTER, England, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Two people were killed on Thursday when a man drove a car into pedestrians and stabbed a security guard in an attack at a synagogue in England where worshippers were...

A new academic paper studying the rise of violent, far-left extremist networks warns of the possibility of “attacks on vital infrastructure” and even a potential “mass-casualty event.” The Network Contagion Research Institute’s report warns that militant anarcho-socialist networks are instigating violence in ways that parallel Islamist terrorists and white supremacist groups. The NCRI’s alerts have proved prescient in the past: the institute released a report warning of spikes in anti-Semitic extremism shortly before the October 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting that left 11 people dead. The new report, which was released on Sept. 14 has received little media...

Portland Antifa militants got a personal message from federal officers about how this whole designated-terrorist-organization thing is going to work. On Thursday night of this week, federal protective officers paid a visit to an Antifa safe house in the West Coast, Messed Coast™ city of Portland, Ore. This feel-good story leads this week's West Coast, Messed Coast™ report. [snip] Since at least July, Antifa has been using an apartment across from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Portland, Ore., as a bathroom, refreshment stand, and place of respite. The apartment has also been used as a dressing room...

A US Jewish security group said in a Tuesday report that if synagogues allow firearms inside their doors for security, the weapons should only be permitted in an organized, structured program, with strict oversight and coordination with law enforcement. The Secure Community Network (SCN), a leading Jewish security group in North America, released the report, titled “Weapons at Worship,” amid an increase in antisemitism and security fears among US Jewish communities. Synagogues and other Jewish groups have employed a range of security measures in response, from volunteer guards to krav maga training. Some Jews have pushed for more firearms for...

“I am a Muslim with so many regrets, but I can assure you this attack is not one of them, and Insha’Allah, many more attacks like these against the enemy of Allah and the pigs and monkeys will come.”On Thursday, Federal authorities charged 18-year-old Muslim Omar Alkattoul from Sayreville, New Jersey, with transmitting a “manifesto” in which he wrote about targeting a synagogue and specifically wanted to attack Jews. The manifesto led the FBI to issue a statewide security alert for temples. Meanwhile, the mainstream media is trying to whitewash Islam from the jihadi’s motives and invoke sympathy for...

A Pakistani national was arrested in Canada this week for allegedly plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York City on the anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas militants against Israeli civilians. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the terrorist organization ISIS, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). “The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7th of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS,...

Australian intelligence agencies have discovered the Iranian Government directed at least two anti-Semitic attacks in Australia. Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation had established the Iranian government was behind an October 20 attack on Bondi’s Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, and the December 6 fire bombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. The Australian government pulled its diplomats from Tehran and has moved to expel Iran’s ambassador to Australia. “ASIO assesses it is likely Iran directed further attacks as well,” the Prime Minister said. “I can also announce the government will legislate to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary...

A historic synagogue in Odessa, Ukraine, sustained significant damage following a Russian drone strike this week, one of several Jewish sites caught up in intense bombardments this summer. The Nachlas Eliezer Synagogue in the Peresyp district of Odessa, which was built in 1898 and served the Jewish community until it was closed in the 1920s under Soviet rule, was struck Monday evening by a Russian suicide drone. The strike caused a large fire in the building, which had already partially collapsed in 1992, according to the United Jewish Community of Ukraine. No injuries were reported. “This sacred building, constructed at...

The Guardian reports that archaeologists excavating at the ancient Roman settlement of Castulo in southern Spain have identified the traces of a building they believe may have once been a synagogue. Near the location of what scholars had once assumed was a fourth- or fifth-century a.d. Christian basilica, the team found fragments of three oil lamps and a roof tile bearing depictions of menorahs, as well as a jar lid inscribed with Hebrew characters. When the researchers reconsidered the identification of the nearby structure as a place of early Christian worship, they found that many features of the building matched...