“A teacher was stabbed to death and two others were wounded at a public school in France, officials said, as Jewish communities around the world brace for a global ‘day of Jihad,” reports the National Review:
A French-language teacher was murdered in the knife attack while another teacher and a security guard were injured, several media outlets reported. The violent incident occurred at Gambetta High School in Arras, France, Friday morning. The perpetrator has since been arrested.
The suspect, a 20-year-old man known for his ties to radical Islam, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is greatest,” during the attack. His brother was also detained by police….
The school stabbing in northern France came on the same day that Hamas designated as a “day of rage” to support Palestinians in Gaza following Israel’s retaliation against the terrorist group. Last weekend, Israel declared war after Hamas initiated a surprise attack on Israeli soil that killed hundreds of civilians and injured thousands more. More than 1,300 people, including 27 Americans, have died at the hands of Hamas terrorists since Saturday, and at least 150 have been taken hostage.
After a former Hamas leader called for protests in response to the Middle-Eastern conflict, police remain on high alert in case any violence occurs.
The New York Police Department, for example, ordered all officers to put on their uniforms Friday. “All uniformed members of the service are to perform duty in the uniform of the day — effective immediately and until further notice, all uniformed members of the service, in every rank, will perform duty in the uniform of the day and be prepared for deployment,” the department said.
Security is also being increased in Washington, D.C., with police closely monitoring the situation “around the city and at places of worship” such as Jewish synagogues….
France, the European country with the largest Jewish population, has reported more than 100 acts of antisemitism since Hamas attacked Israel. Like its American counterparts, the country has also called for enhanced police presence around Jewish schools and synagogues.
“Pro-Palestinian demonstrations reverberated across the globe and in the United States on Friday, after a former Hamas leader called for a worldwide ‘day of rage’ in the wake of a Hamas attack in Israel that sparked the worst conflict in the region in 50 years,” reports the Washington Post:
Hundreds of protesters marched in Times Square, Pittsburgh, Portland and Washington on Friday, with other rallies planned in Los Angeles and elsewhere through the weekend. Law enforcement agencies nationwide said they were stepping up their presence around synagogues, other places of worship and Israeli diplomatic posts, and some Jewish private schools closed as a cautionary measure…..
In New York, hundreds marched at a rally in Times Square, chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”….
“This past week we have, ironically and sadly, seen greater marginalization, harassment and isolation of Jewish students,” Adam Lehman, president and chief executive of Hillel International, said Friday. Lehman cited promotional materials for pro-Palestinian rallies that appeared to celebrate Hamas militants using paragliders in the attack on Israeli civilians.
Lehman called on colleges and universities to protect Jewish students from antisemitic threats and intimidation. “We’re simply looking for the same kind of support they would give to any minoritized community,” he said…
Online threats against Jewish people have increased 400 percent since last Saturday, Oren Segal said, following a year when the group recorded the highest number of antisemitic incidents in 40 years…
In suburban Maryland, the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School on Thursday evening took what it called “the unprecedented step” of closing campuses and canceling classes.
Some protests explicitly praised the terror attacks by Hamas, which killed at least 1300 people in southern Israel. Hamas also seized many civilians, including small children, as hostages. The seizure of these hostages came after the Biden administration agreed to pay a $6 billion ransom to Iran in exchange for the release of five American hostages. Hamas admits Iran gave it weapons it used in its attack on Israel. In late September, the Biden administration gave millions of dollars to the Hamas-controlled government of the Gaza strip.
