Dunking Rachael: NYC Terror Plot

Friday, May 22, 2009

NYC Terror Plot

What can one say but that the power of hate and ignorance again surfaced in New York.

When I was listening to National Public Radio this morning they stated the group met in prison and that the ring leader was a high school drop out.

This small but very interesting piece of the story I believe holds strong significance. It points to the The positive power of education,and a society that provides equal opportunity to all . I believe this is an anecdote, we all can focus on. Of course diligence by those who are charged with protecting all of us is a good thing too!

On a more personal note,

my synagogue had already been involved in a security up grade and last night they sent out an email seeking to both calm and reassure congregants that we will also be diligent and prudent ourselves. But I hope all can resist their own extremist reactions. Fear can be the base of many difficult situations and cause the replication of all that we seek to overcome.

May all beings feel safe and secure and find the path of peace.
Shabbat Shalom

York terror plot broken up by FBI, police
Posted: May 20, 2009, 10:11 PM by Ron Nurwisah
World
Update: BNO News has a statement from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
"I want to congratulate the men and women of the NYPD, the New York State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force who tonight foiled a terrorist plot that targeted Riverdale Temple and Riverdale Jewish Center in the Bronx for bombing. The same plot also targeted U.S. military aircraft in Newburgh for Stinger Missile attacks. While the bombs these terrorists attempted to plant tonight were – unbeknownst to them – fake, this latest attempt to attack our freedoms shows that the homeland security threats against New York City are sadly all too real and underscores why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism.”
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WNBC-NY is reporting that an alleged terror plot in New York City has been broken up by the FBI and New York Police.
Four men have been arrested in what authorities are calling a homegrown terrorist plot allegedly aimed at attacking New York area synagogues. From the WNBC story:
Raids by the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force in the Bronx captured the suspected ringleader and three followers in what law enforcement sources are calling a homegrown terrorist plot. Investigators stress the suspects' meetings had been infiltrated early on and there was "no chance" the alleged plot could succeed.Investigators said several of the suspects are Muslims who allegedly talked about destroying two Jewish temples, including at least one in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.
The New York Daily News has more information on the suspects and the police sting operation that led to the arrests. From their story:
The four men also allegedly had what they believed was a working Stinger missile in their car: officials said they wanted to shoot down a plane near Stewart Air National Guard Base.Sources said the four men were arrested after a year long investigation that began when an informant connected to a mosque in Newburg said some militants wanted to buy bombs.FBI agents posing as militants sold them what they thought were C-4 and a plane-downing Stinger missile.
The New York Post reveals that a fifth man initially involved with the alleged terror cell alerted the FBI about the plot. The Post also has the press release from the District Attorney's office. From that document:
In June 2008, an informant working with the FBI met [Alleged ring leader James Cromitie] in Newburgh, New York. CROMITIE explained to the informant that his parents had lived in Afghanistan and that he was upset about the war there and that many Muslim people were being killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the United States Military forces. CROMITIE expressed interest in returning to Afghanistan and spoke to the CW about how if he, CROMITIE, were to die a martyr, he would go to "paradise." CROMITIE also expressed an interest in doing "something to America." The following month, CROMITIE and the informant discussed the organization Jaish-e-Mohammed, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization based in Pakistan, with which the informant claimed to be involved. CROMITIE stated to the informant that he, CROMITIE, would be interested in joining Jaish-e-Mohammed to "do jihad."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: I wish we could all live peacefully. Our Rabbi makes a conscious effort to instigate and take part in multi-faith work as often as possible. The fear of the unknown is a great brewer of trouble, don't you think?

Shabbat Shalom to you.

rachel; May 22, 2009 at 8:34 AM
Karen Zampa Katz said...: Yes I agree, the unknown s like the child saying there is a monster in the closet until we open the door fear keeps us frozen, knowledge and truth frees us......; May 22, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Joel Monka said...: It's not so simple as ignorance and lack of education- many terrorists, including suicide bombers, have been doctors and engineers. Remember also that the 911 terrorists had enough education and intelligence to learn to fly an airliner. If the hate exists, the only thing education does is make better terrorists.; May 22, 2009 at 1:42 PM

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Beit Din test Question #22 "If you were to join the Jewish people......."

22) If you were to join the Jewish people, what considerations would guide you to that decision? How did your course help you to recognize some meaningful ideas to Judaism? Are there some things you have learned in the course that you find difficult to accept into your life?

I have been a thinker and a seeker for most of my life. I have explored many faiths, been involved in and have a keen interest in philosophy and psychology. I was raised in an Irish/Italian Catholic home. I lived as a Buddhist/Unitarian Universalist for most of my adult life and previously was married for 20 years to a Jewish man who did not practice his faith of origin. At the birth of my child, now 19, I sought to learn as much as I could about Judaism in order to expose this child to the faith of part of her ancestors. So I come to this new point in my life with all my experiences, knowledge and aspirations.

But the question remains how did I come to consider conversion? It is though love that the door of conversion was opened. I fell in love with a Jewish man who participates in his religion, yet he did not require me to convert, pressure me, or in any way attempt to persuade or force me. This exploration of faith was of my choosing, my volition, nurtured by love.

Clearly I am not dogmatically tied to my faith of origin, seeing that the religious expressions which dominated my adult life have been mostly non-theistic. The major change/challenge for me is in the consideration/acceptance of a theistic understanding of existence. Through explorations with my sponsoring Rabbi, reading, (lots of reading!) and the Hillel class I have come to an understanding of the divine, a place of relationship with a theistic point of view that resonates within me.

To help to articulate this I refer to the work of existentialist thinker and Jewish educator Franz Rosenzweig.

“The function of religion, according to Rosenzweig, is not to erect theological systems or establish universal truths, but to lead to experience of God, starting from one's own personal existence. He "commends 'the Pharisees of the Talmud and the saints of the Church' for knowing that 'man's understanding extends only so far as his doing.' Religious observance is, in effect, the doing of one's religious convictions; the two cannot be separated."
“(Time Magizine Monday, Jan. 01, 1951 , http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,814185,00.html)

For Rosenzweig the written word was to be less important than the living exchange, for it is in the doing that the relationship to God will manifest. This idea blends well with my own mindfulness practices. These practices express that it is in the awareness of the moment, the only moment we truly have, where peace and divinity can be experienced.
Through my answers on this exam, my participation in the class and my meetings with my sponsoring Rabbi, I believe I clearly present that I am coming to know, and hopefully I am beginning to understand the meaningful ideas in relationship to Judaism. Clearly there is so much to learn, and experience.

I am most taken by the direct experience of the divine associated with taking on the laws and practices of this ancient faith. I have aspirations to practice in this tradition, but once again they can be best articulated through Rosenzweig:
“Rosenzweig’s approach was subjective also in connection with the mitzvot, Jewish observances. He did think that he would one day become a fully observant Jew, but believed in the gradual approach in which the observances slowly made their impact by “ringing a bell” for him. Typical of this approach is Rosenzweig’s answer to someone who asked him whether he wore tefillin [phylacteries]: “Not yet,” he replied.”
(My Jewish Learning.com http://www.myjewishlearning.com/history_community/Modern/IntellectualTO/Rosenzweig.htm)

Like the bell of mindfulness practice, the mitzvot, the mindfulness practice of Judaism, will take time to incorporated and to resonate within. Like the ringing of the mindfulness bell, or the sounding of the Shofar, the act of doing Judaic practices pierces the daily, the mundane and hopefully will help to awaken me to an even richer and more connective relationship with the Jewish people and the divine.