{"id":123058,"date":"2025-08-06T17:05:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=123058"},"modified":"2025-08-06T08:58:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T06:58:39","slug":"06-05-116","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=123058","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Horrific antisemitic attack\u2019 on American, who served in IDF, in St. Louis area, Terrell says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>\u2018Horrific antisemitic attack\u2019 on American, who served in IDF, in St. Louis area, Terrell says<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

Menachem Wecker<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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“I saw hate because of one’s religion, and I saw hate for an American who served as an IDF member in the Israeli army,” the federal task force on Jew-hatred head told JNS.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

Police crime scene tape. Credit: Kat Wilcox\/Pexels.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Leo Terrell, chair of the federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism at the U.S. Justice Department and a civil-rights attorney of 35 years, wrote on social media on Tuesday that the Israeli embassy told him about a \u201chorrific antisemitic attack\u201d in St. Louis, where a U.S. citizen who served in the Israeli military, as well as his family and friends, were targeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Graphic footage, which Terrell reviewed, showed cars belonging to the citizen, his family and friends were \u201cset on fire and destroyed,\u201d Terrell\u00a0wrote<\/a>. \u201cHateful graffiti outside the family\u2019s home accused him of being a murderer and called for death to the Israel Defense Forces.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I saw in the graphic videos, I saw hate,\u201d Terrell told JNS. \u201cI saw hate because of one\u2019s religion, and I saw hate for an American who served as an IDF member in the Israeli army. That\u2019s what I saw.\u201d (JNS sought comment from the Israeli embassy in Washington.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Terrell told JNS that U.S. President Donald Trump and Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, aren\u2019t going to tolerate Jew-hatred.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m certainly not going to tolerate it as the head of the task force,\u201d he told JNS. \u201cSo once I saw it, I immediately contacted the FBI.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at the footage, found it offensive and called the FBI, sent them the information and made sure Attorney General Bondi was aware of everything,\u201d he said. \u201cThe FBI\u2014I cannot disclose what happened, but they are on the ground along with local authorities, and the perpetrators are going to face justice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On social media, Terrell wrote that he spoke directly with the family whose property was attacked. \u201cI am outraged. Antisemitic violence has no place in America, not in St. Louis and not anywhere,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIf you commit antisemitic hate crimes, you will be caught, and you will be held accountable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cpl. Jenny Schwartz, community services and public information officer at the Clayton Police Department in Clayton, Mo., which is adjacent to St. Louis, told JNS that the department is \u201cstill actively investigating the suspicious fire and hateful message discovered in the 7500 block of Westmoreland Avenue this morning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working diligently to identify the individual or individuals responsible for this act, and urge anyone with information that may assist in our investigation to contact the Clayton Detective Bureau,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Clayton Police Department stated that it was probing a \u201csuspicious fire and hate crime.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust after 3 a.m., responding officers discovered that three vehicles had been damaged by a fire, believed to have been intentionally set,\u201d the department stated. \u201cAdditionally, officers located antisemitic graffiti written in the roadway. No injuries were reported.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The department stated that it believes that the victim, who lives in Clayton, was \u201cspecifically targeted.\u201d It is investigating the incident as a hate crime.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no indications of any further threat to the community,\u201d it said. \u201cThe FBI and the St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit have been requested to assist with the investigation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Pure, unadulterated hate\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Terrell told JNS that one must \u201cbe in denial\u201d to doubt that \u201cantisemitism is rampant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t react to it properly, and if it wasn\u2019t for the Trump administration, I can assure you you wouldn\u2019t have the FBI on the ground right now. You wouldn\u2019t have Pam Bondi involved,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are turning their backs on this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact that Trump is president has given hope to Jewish Americans and Israelis that \u201cwe\u2019re going to put down antisemitism,\u201d according to Terrell. \u201cIt\u2019s a different administration, and we\u2019re very aggressive on antisemitism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to provide a deterrent to these haters, and there are a lot of them,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

JNS asked the Justice Department official if local law enforcement ought to contact the FBI about incidents of alleged Jew-hatred, given the rise in antisemitism. Terrell declined to speak about specific local law enforcement in this instance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government is willing to come and help any local official combat antisemitism,\u201d he said, broadly. \u201cWe have to assume that they know what \u2018antisemitism\u2019 is. I\u2019m not going to make that assumption. Some individuals might just look at this as arson.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government, under the Trump and Pam Bondi administration\u2014we\u2019re everywhere,\u201d Terrell told JNS. \u201cThat\u2019s why we jumped on this today. We found out. We jumped on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

JNS asked Terrell how he would respond if someone said that this incident targeted an American because he fought in the Israeli military and not because he\u2019s Jewish.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI find that hypothetical applicable to this situation\u2014I want to make sure you hear this\u2014offensive. Why? You can say whatever you want. Look at the video. Look at the burning. Look at the vehicle. Look at the property damage,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the biggest problem that people have had\u2014conflating First Amendment speech with illegal conduct,\u201d he told JNS. \u201cFirst Amendment speech, whether it is anti-Israel or antisemitic, is thrown out the window when you have that type of conduct. It\u2019s criminal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour question is what\u2019s being used by a lot of media and a lot of these protesters. \u2018This is the First Amendment.\u2019 Hell no. It\u2019s not,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen antisemitism, Jew-hatred, in my life as severe as it is, other than the fact that I taught it as a history teacher, when I wasn\u2019t alive, about World War II.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is pure, unadulterated hate,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Terrell told JNS that the Biden administration \u201cdid nothing.\u201d The Trump administration \u201chas done wonders on the college campuses, prosecuting hate crimes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not different. It\u2019s day and night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

JNS asked Terrell if he is optimistic that the administration can make major headway in responding to Jew-hatred in the country, or if antisemitism is so pervasive that it will remain a major problem despite the federal government\u2019s efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got some Trump all-stars. We got Marco Rubio, and his position is clear,\u201d he said of the U.S. secretary of state. \u201cWe got Pam Bondi. We got yours truly. And so do I think there\u2019s going to be some improvement? Yes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But Terrell\u2019s concern is that \u201cwe have, in my opinion, up until 2028 to put up guardrails to protect Jews in this country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlease quote this,\u201d he said, \u201cthere is no other president who has been a better friend to Jewish Americans than Donald J. Trump. I\u2019ve been on this Earth for a long time. I can say that without any hesitation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what is going to happen after 2028,\u201d he added. \u201cWe are on a mission to set up protective guardrails for Jewish American citizens in this country. Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth,\u201d the U.S. defense secretary, \u201cPresident Trump and a cast of thousands. I can guarantee you we\u2019re focused.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018Horrific antisemitic attack\u2019 on American, who served in IDF, in St. Louis area, Terrell says Menachem Wecker “I saw hate because of one’s religion, and I saw hate for an American who served as an IDF member in the Israeli army,” the federal task force on Jew-hatred head told JNS. Police crime scene tape. Credit: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123058"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=123058"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123083,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123058\/revisions\/123083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=123058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=123058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=123058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}