Toronto men, including 1 linked to ISIS, charged with targeting Jewish women for assault
(JTA) — Three Toronto men were arrested by Canadian police on Dec.19 for allegedly attempting kidnappings targeting Jews and women.
Waleed Khan, 26, Osman Azizov, 18, and Fahad Sadaat, 19, of Toronto each face over a dozen charges, including two counts of sexual assault with a weapon and two counts of attempted kidnapping with firearm, according to the Toronto Police Service.
Khan was also separately charged with multiple terrorism offenses, including providing property to fund ISIS and conspiring to commit murder on behalf of a terrorist group, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The arrests stemmed from an investigation into two failed kidnappings allegedly perpetrated by the men several months ago. The attempted kidnappings stemmed in part from “hate-motivated extremism,” according to Toronto police, who said they found evidence in the suspects’ homes that they were “particularly targeting women and members of the Jewish community.”
The arrests were welcomed by Noah Shack, the CEO of Canada’s Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, who warned that the recent terror attack in Sydney showed that “we are one intelligence failure away from a devastating loss of life.”
2 men found guilty in UK of plotting Islamic State-inspired antisemitic terror attack
(JTA) — Two men inspired by Islamic state ideology were convicted on Dec. 23 in Manchester, England, of plotting what prosecutors said could have been one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in British history.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were both found guilty of preparing terrorist acts between December 2023 and May 2024. Saadaoui’s brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism.
Prosecutors told jurors that Saadaoui and Hussein had “embraced the views” of Islamic State and had a “visceral dislike” of Jewish people.
By the time of his arrest in May 2024 following an undercover operation, Saadaoui had arranged the purchase and delivery of two assault rifles, an automatic pistol and almost 200 rounds of ammunition for the attack. The pair had planned to infiltrate a march against antisemitism in the Manchester city center before unleashing their attack.
“Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein intended to target members of the Jewish community in an evil act born out of hate and intolerance,” said Assistant Chief Constable Robert Potts, who is in charge of Counter-Terrorism Policing in northwest England, in a statement. “If they had been successful then what followed would have been devastating and potentially one of the deadliest terrorist attacks to ever take place on UK soil.”
Israeli expansion of Judea, Samaria communities draws international rebuke
(JNS) — Israel’s decision this week to approve new communities in Judea and Samaria violates international law and risks “fueling instability,” 14 countries, including France, Germany and Italy, said on Dec. 24.
“They risk undermining the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for Gaza amid efforts to progress to phase two and harming prospects for long term peace and security across the region,” the countries alleged.
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom also joined the statement. Several of those countries have also recognized a Palestinian state recently.
The statement came after the Israeli security cabinet approved the communities on Sunday. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the goal was to help prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The United Nations said earlier this month that Israeli settlement expansion reached its highest rate since at least 2017.
Rabbi’s car torched in Melbourne
(JNS) — A car with a Chanukah decoration on its roof was set ablaze in Melbourne early Dec. 25, as a wave of antisemitism persists in Australia.
The Christmas morning attack came just 10 days after the Sydney Chanukah mass shooting that killed 15 people and wounded dozens in the most lethal assault on Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacre.
There were no injuries reported in the 2:30 a.m. arson in the Melbourne neighborhood of St. Kilda East, but the occupants of a nearby house were evacuated as a precaution.
Balaclava Road, where the vehicle was parked, passes through a major Jewish neighborhood, and close to the location of a number of Jewish institutes, including a large Orthodox Jewish girls’ high school.
Victoria police, who described the incident as a “suspicious fire,” said on Dec. 25 that they had identified a person of interest in the case.
Australian Jewish community leaders already reeling from the Sydney attack condemned the arson, which they attributed to a climate in which extremist rhetoric has been normalized.
“This heinous antisemitic attack has seen a young family have their car destroyed and being too frightened to stay in their home simply because they chose to share the joy of Chanukah with the community,” said Colin Rubenstein, executive director Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council, in a statement to JNS.
Jewish group sending $380,000 to Righteous Gentiles amid holidays
(JNS) — The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous said that it is distributing $380,000 this holiday season — the most it has given to date around Christmas time — to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.
The recipients live in 10 countries, according to the foundation, which says that it has given $46 million to some 3,600 people in more than 34 countries.
The countries are Australia, Belarus, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Ukraine.
“Each of these Righteous Gentiles is a hero who confronted their mortality to save their Jewish neighbors from Nazi persecution during the Holocaust,” stated Stanlee Stahl, executive vice president of the foundation.
“As they continue to age and many face hardship and isolation, we hope that this special award allows them to make this holiday season memorable for them and their families while the ongoing financial support we provide helps them to pay for their critical needs,” Stahl said.
“Our support is just one of the many ways we can repay our boundless gratitude for all that they did in risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust,” Stahl added.
This holiday season, the foundation said that it gave $4,000 to each rescuer, above the usual $2,000 that it gives each one between September and December. “The awards mark the largest individual holiday disbursement per rescuer that the JFR has sent in its 30-year history,” it said.
