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-Top News PAKISTAN USA

Pakistani Man Charged In New York Terror Plot Targeting Jews

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation.

The US Department of Justice has charged a Pakistani national with allegedly plotting to attack Jews in New York on the anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks in Israel, media reported.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was going to carry out the attack in support of ISIS, prosecutors allege, and told an undercover agent he wanted to target New York because it has the “largest Jewish population in America”, CNN reported.

Khan is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation. He was arrested on Wednesday in Canada. The charges were unsealed on Friday.

“The defendant was allegedly determined to kill Jewish people here in the United States, nearly one year after Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel. This investigation was led by the FBI, and I am proud of the terrific work by the FBI team and our partners to disrupt Khan’s plan,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

“The FBI will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate and hold accountable those who seek to commit violence in the name of ISIS or other terrorist organizations. Fighting terrorism remains the FBI’s top priority,” Wray added.

“The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7 of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, adding that “Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack”.

In November 2023, Khan, who lives in Canada, began allegedly discussing his support for ISIS on an encrypted messaging application with two people who, unknown to him, were undercover law enforcement officers, CNN reported.

Khan told the officers that he was trying to create “a real offline cell” of ISIS that would target Jewish institutions around an unnamed city, according to court documents, and instructed the officers to buy firearms for those attacks.

Khan allegedly told the officers that he wanted to carry out the attacks on either October 7 or 11, because “October 7 they will surely have some protests and October 11 is yom.kippur,” a major Jewish holiday.

By August of this year, prosecutors allege, Khan decided that he wanted to carry out the attacks at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.

It is easy to “target jews” in New York because of the large Jewish population, he allegedly told the undercover officers, adding that “even if we don’t attack an Event, we could rack up easily a lot of Jews”. Once he decided on the location of the attack, Khan allegedly paid a human smuggler to help him cross the border into the US.

On September 4, Khan allegedly used three separate cars as he tried to cross Canada and enter the US. He was stopped nearly 12 miles from the US-Canada border, according to the Justice Department.

The Pakistani national is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Israel Defense Forces on October 7 last year declared a state of readiness for war following a massive barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and infiltration of Hamas terrorists into Israel, and the war is on ever since.

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-Top News Politics USA

Trump Says Jews Who Vote For Democrats ‘Hate Their Religion, Israel’

Prominent groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America condemned Trump’s comments

Republican U.S. presidential contender Donald Trump faced backlash from various quarters, including the White House, Democratic circles, and Jewish organisations, following his remarks suggesting that Jewish Americans voting for Democrats hate their religion and Israel.

In an interview with his former advisor Sebastian Gorka posted on his website, Trump asserted, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves.” He further alleged that the Democratic Party holds hate for Israel.

Prominent groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America swiftly condemned Trump’s comments, deeming them inappropriate for linking religion with political allegiance.

Responding to Trump’s remarks, the White House emphasised the need to refrain from propagating harmful stereotypes. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates stated, “There is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that threaten fellow citizens.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, criticised Trump’s divisive rhetoric, affirming his commitment to nurturing the U.S.-Israeli relationship. Schumer’s critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in the Gaza conflict had drawn attention previously, sparking a reaction from both Netanyahu and President Biden.

The Democratic National Committee also rebuked Trump’s statements, asserting that Jewish Americans deserve better than such offensive attacks.

(Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign doubled down on his remarks, accusing the Democratic Party of being anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. The Republican Jewish Coalition defended Trump’s stance, expressing bewilderment at Jewish support for Democrats despite perceived policy discrepancies.

Trump’s past statements, including controversial remarks equating white nationalists with anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, were also referenced. Despite criticisms, Trump’s administration had taken several pro-Israel measures, such as relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

In the ongoing Gaza conflict, President Biden initially supported Israel but later advocated for a ceasefire and negotiations for a two-state solution. Amidst political tensions, a Pew Research Center poll highlighted the majority of American Jews’ affiliation with the Democratic Party, while a significant minority leaned Republican.

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-Top News UK News

Labour suspends Abbot over racist comment on Jews

The former shadow home secretary added: “In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus…reports Asian Lite News

Labour MP Diane Abbott has had the whip suspended following remarks in which she suggested Jewish people do not face racism, but instead suffer prejudice similar to “redheads”.

Abbott wrote a letter to The Observer newspaper, in response to an article which had the headline: “Racism in Britain is not black and white. It’s far more complicated.”

The Hackney North MP said she was responding to writer Tomiwa Owolade’s claims that “Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from ‘racism'”.

“They undoubtedly experience prejudice,” Abbott wrote. “This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”

The former shadow home secretary added: “In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus.

“In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.”

Labour condemn ‘deeply offensive’ comments

Following criticism from Conservative and Labour MPs, a party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party completely condemns these comments which are deeply offensive and wrong.

“The chief whip has suspended the Labour whip from Diane Abbott pending an investigation.”

The decision forces Abbott to sit as an independent MP in the Commons.

Shortly after the letter was published, Ms Abbott issued a statement in which she said she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them”. “The errors arose in an initial draft being sent,” she wrote.

“But there is no excuse, and I wish to apologise for any anguish caused.”

She continued: “Racism takes many forms and it is completely undeniable that Jewish people have suffered its monstrous effects, as have Irish people, travellers and many others. Once again, I would like to apologise publicly for the remarks and any distress caused as a result of them.”

Criticism came from Tory MPs and from within Abbott’s party. Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the letter was “deeply offensive” and “deeply wrong”.

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on Twitter: “Once again, Jewish people have to wake up and see a Labour MP casually spouting hateful anti-semitism. @Keir_Starmer are you actually going to do anything?”

Former home secretary Sajid Javid said he was “appalled by this minimisation of racism against Jews and other groups who may not have a certain skin pigmentation”.

“Redefining racism in obscure ways damages the cause of tackling it – whether that’s majority vs minority, minority vs minority, or other ‘points of difference’,” he said.

Comedian David Baddiel tweeted: “And in the middle of the 20th Century 6 million Jews were murdered after being categorised as an inferior race. Not sure that’s prejudice.”

The Labour Campaign Against Antisemitism said her comments were “simply unacceptable”.

The group said statistics show one in five Jews in the UK have suffered a racist attack, with more than one in three in the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community reporting the same.

“Ms Abbott is either woefully misinformed or deliberately bigoted. Neither should be tolerated,” it added.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the letter was “disgraceful and her apology is entirely unconvincing”. The Jewish Labour Movement said it supported the party’s decision to suspend Ms Abbott, who it noted “overcame racism and prejudice to become Britain’s first black woman MP”.

“We should be unified in our struggle against racism, not divided against one another,” it said.

The removal of the whip makes Abbott the eighth MP to be suspended from Labour. Rupa Huq, who had the whip suspended after being accused of making a racist comment about former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, has since been reinstated.

Jeremy Corbyn, who appointed Diane Abbott as shadow home secretary when he was leader, continues to sit as an independent MP after he was suspended by Labour over his reaction to a damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into how antisemitism complaints were handled under his leadership.

Immediately after its publication, Mr Corbyn claimed “the scale of the problem” of Labour antisemitism allegations was “dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents”.

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