Terrorist Tourism
Normally, (and I mind you, there is no normal) I would not venture to write 2 back to back articles on the same subject matter, except for the unlikely event that a second Tel Aviv knife wielding terror attack prompted me to do so. And so it happens; for the second time in the course of one week, a young male appears suddenly to pull out a standard kitchen knife and randomly stabs other young people in a popular open pedestrian district, Nachalat Binyamin street in Tel Aviv.
Nachalat Binyamin Street is one of Tel Aviv’s most vibrant and iconic areas, famous for its pedestrian-only atmosphere, arts and crafts fair, and charming surroundings. Located from the top of the Carmel Market at Allenby Street. It’s a rich cultural hotspot with great history.
Tel Aviv is a small big city; criss-crossing winding streets through eclectic neighborhoods in constant motion. As a native lover of the village it’s easy to do this several times a day. Nachalat could be filled with vendors selling crafts and street performers winding through open air restaurants and cafes with throngs of people buzzing with conversation, fashion, wine and food. The transformation of this street from day to night is magical.
In my article, Terror on Levontin street, I write about my son and his partner’s Saturday morning balcony coffee interrupted by the pop- pop sound of gunfire, a terror attack immediately below them. For the second time in one week, a Tuesday evening end of work day kickback, turns into chaos and mayhem as another terror attack unfolds. What are the chances that for the second time in one week, my son is once again caught up in another seemingly random terror attack? Apparently not that great.
A 29 year old male, native Moroccan, residing legally in the US, boards a flight into Israel to do the terrible deed. Surveillance cameras show him calmly walking into a pizza shop, buying a slice, eating it, thanking the shop owner and leaving. He then ventures out into the busy pedestrian street, pulls out a knife and starts a stabbing spree that will see four people injured. An off duty 20 year old female IDF officer spins around, cocks her pistol and neutralizes the attacker.
Israel seems to be becoming a hot spot for terrorist tourism
In July, another young man, this one a card holding Canadian citizen, from the province of Alberta, lands a flight from Toronto and within 24 hours is jumping from his rental car at the gates of Netiv Haasara settlement near the Gaza border where many of its citizens were murdered by Hamas on October 7th, takes out a standard kitchen knife yelling “Free Palestine” and rushes the few soldiers guarding the checkpoint. Despite the overwhelming odds not in his favor and several warnings the soldiers have no choice but to open fire, killing the attacker.
Israel seems to be becoming a hot spot for terrorist tourism. I wonder how many other failed attempts by others, boarding flights and crossing borders for the opportunity to kill Jews in Israel. And while on the surface this seems to be a random, isolated incident- it is not.
But again, this is not a lone wolf attack. Nor was the New Years day attack in New Orleans. Nor was the terror on Levontin Street on Saturday. All of these people are suicide terrorist inventories that are recruited by local agents and eventually dispatched by some dark chain of secretive terrorist operatives who I will posit, ultimately, receive their marching orders from Iran.
As reported in the National Post, Canadian-born Knesset member Sharren Haskel said the news that a Canadian citizen carried out a terror attack in Israel shouldn’t be surprising. “The spread of radical Islam and extremist ideologies in Canada has created major cultural challenges for the country, including a plague of antisemitism that has spread, making it unsafe for Jews and Canadians to live their day-to-day lives without the fear of being attacked verbally and physically,” she said. “With the lack of law enforcement and a turning a blind eye to the rise of hatred and violence by radical Muslims, Canada has become a hotbed for terrorists who are operating within and outside of Canada.”
I cannot help the disturbing gnawing thoughts pulling at my curiosity. Both young men, with promising opportunities, legally living in first world free worlds- make their choice to fly around the world and end their lives wielding a common kitchen knife. They have likely never been in Israel – who gave them these instructions, to go to this place, and do this act? What message were they hoping to convey that was worth their lives? What Jihadist martyrdom were they after? These are all important questions that I hope the authorities in both places will answer.
The Iranians are desperate to derail the current Gaza ceasefire and fragile hostage release deal to detract from their nuclear ambitions. Their chosen disruptor is sending young men to their deaths in acts of terror. Their reach is wide, from the village of Tulkarm, the plains of Alberta, the streets of New Orleans or the bustling of Manhattan. All of these events are connected with a purpose.
In my book The Wake Up Call; Global Jihad and the rise of antisemitism in a world gone MAD (2024 Wicked Son- available on Amazon) I have explored the security threat to the world by Global Jihad “Until the Iranian regime is brought to its knees, this (terror attacks) will continue. There seems to be an endless inventory of people being convinced to willingly sacrifice themselves to the cause”.
I feel the stress in my son as terror this week seems to follow him from the battlefield and onto the streets of a city he loves. These soldiers who have seen so much this year and are trying to get back to a normal, feel closed in by the very terrorist warfare they fought so hard to eliminate. But that is just the point of terror; unconventional war, randomized violence with unpredictability where you feel most at ease. Global Jihad is happening in Israel, the United States, Europe, and Israel. The goal is to make people feel unsafe. To terrorize and create chaos. But the lovers of life have far more resilience and staying power than the lovers of death. The cafes and bars on Nachalat Binyamin will be filled this evening with the beautiful people of the village celebrating life and freedom in the Jewish state. Am Yisrael Chai!