Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 30 January 2024

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

Hamas studies new Gaza ceasefire proposal

Hamas said on Tuesday it was weighing up a new ceasefire proposal in the war with Israel in Gaza, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces would not withdraw from the enclave until they had achieved “total victory”. In Gaza itself, clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters in the north of the enclave forced more Palestinian residents to flee to safer areas, and southern parts of the coastal enclave were hit by Israeli air strikes overnight.

Analyst Comments:

The cascading, global impacts of the Israel/Hamas conflict continue, and the organizations that may be impacted due to real or perceived ties to either side should monitor major developments which could act as trigger points for anything from hostile events to protest activity. In another major development that could ignite flames is how President Biden decides to respond to the three U.S. troops that were killed in a drone strike. Earlier today, Biden indicated he has made up his mind on how to respond to the deadly attack.

CAIR: We Recorded a 178% INCREASE in Anti-Muslim Bias Complaints in the Last 3 Months of 2023 (Video)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a video on X which indicated that from October to December 2023, they received 3,578 complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias incidents.

Analyst Comments:

Employ discrimination, education discrimination, and hate crimes were the three highest reported categories. For organizations or individuals who feel they have experienced religious discrimination or been targeted because of their religion, CAIR does offer some legal assistance, and those can be reported directly through their website.

Massachusetts Man Arrested for Threatening Local Synagogue; Allegedly Threatened to Kill Members of Jewish Community and Bomb Places of Worship

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “A Millis, Mass. man was arrested by federal authorities today for allegedly threatening to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb places of worship.

“John Reardon is accused of using his words as a weapon, leaving a threatening message to frighten members of the Congregation Agudas Achim,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “No one should have to fear becoming the victim of physical violence at the hands of an angry stranger. While the FBI does not and will not police ideology, we take all threats to life seriously, and so should anyone thinking about making one.”

Analyst Comments:

According to the charging documents, on the morning of Jan. 25, 2024, Reardon allegedly called Congregation Agudas Achim, a synagogue in Attleboro, Mass. and left a voicemail making the following statements:

• “You do realize that by supporting genocide that means it’s ok for people to commit genocide against you;”
• “With supporting the killing of innocent little children, that means it’s OK to kill your children;”
• “From the river to the sea;” 
• “People are going to use your logic against you, you stupid f**ks;”
• “Guess what? We are going to use your logic —if you can kill the Palestinians, we can kill you;”
• “If you can bomb their f**king places of worship we can bomb yours, if you can kill their children we can kill yours;”
• “You people need to stop the f**king genocide;”
• “End the genocide, or it is time to end Israel and all the Jews;” 
• “I supported Jewish people though. Not anymore. A matter of fact I think we should kill you(s) all;” and
• “Have a lousy day and oh don’t be surprised if there’s pig blood on your steps tomorrow.”

As always, members are encouraged to proactively reach out and establish relationships with local law enforcement and the FBI to improve and expedite communications during an incident response. This is even more important in the current threat environment where incidents like what occurred in Massachusetts are increasingly likely. Also see: Mass. man accused of threatening to bomb synagogue