22 mei 2009

ADL Applauds Law Enforcement for Arrests of Homegrown Terrorists in Plot to Blow Up New York City Synagogues


“I didn’t think that they will let me pray in here,” Dinar Puspita, a 17-year-old Muslim, said of a local rabbi’s offer to let her worship in his synagogue in Riverdale.

New York, NY, May 21, 2009 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today applauded local and federal law enforcement for thwarting a plot to bomb two synagogues in New York City. Four men, all from upstate New York, were taken into custody after planting what they believed to be bombs in cars outside two synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

Kenneth Jacobson, Acting Director of ADL's New York Regional Office, issued the following statement:

We applaud the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Police Department for their painstaking yearlong investigation to thwart a plot to attack Jewish and military targets in New York, including two synagogues in the Bronx.

The arrests illustrate how law enforcement continues to play a critical role in ensuring the safety and security of the Jewish community and in protecting all of its citizens from terrorism. We have long known that Jews remain a prime target for would-be terrorists, and we must always remain vigilant in the face of this threat.

The bombing plot uncovered by law enforcement is another reminder of the extreme lengths violent anti-Semites will go to act on their hatred. According to the police complaint, the suspects in the attempted Riverdale bombings were motivated by a deep-seated hatred of Jews, and were so determined to attack synagogues that they allegedly engaged in surveillance of the potential targets, and sought for nearly a year to obtain the weapons and bombs to bring the attack to fruition.

With its similarities to other recent plots by American-born Muslim extremists, this one serves as a troubling reminder of the broader problem of the increased radicalization of a small subset of the domestic Muslim population. It has many similarities to the 2007 Fort Dix terror plot, the 2006 bomb plot in Rockford, Illinois and the 2005 Los Angeles terror plot. In addition, there was a 2002 bomb plot in southern Florida against Jewish-owned businesses, the Israeli Consulate in Miami and Jewish community centers.

ADL's Center on Extremism monitors and reports on extremism in America and abroad, and the League is a leading provider of security training materials for Jewish community institutions.
Dinar Puspita at the Riverdale synagogue.
For more information on past plots involving radicalized Muslim extremists, see the following articles on the League's Web site:

2007 Fort Dix Terror Plot
2006 Bomb Plot in Rockford, Illinois
2005 Los Angeles Terror Plot


The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

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