Following two recent attacks that appear to have been motivated by antisemitism, Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, says such threats have reached a frightening level.
“When it comes to the antisemitic violence that we have seen, I don’t think the threat level has been this high in decades,” Pfluger told The Daily Signal ahead of a Congressional hearing aimed at looking at the threat of antisemitism and terror attacks in the U.S.
“I want to stick up for the Jewish community who right now feels very, very vulnerable because of the attacks,” Pfluger said.
On June 1, less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., Mohamed Soliman carried out an attack in Boulder, Colorado against a group standing in solidarity with the hostages still in Gaza. Soliman was in the U.S. illegally on an expired visa.
But if someone who is admitted to the U.S. on a visa “can become radicalized,” Pfluger says, “then what about the ones who we know are already affiliated with these terror groups that are in this country?”
Plfuger, chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, will host a hearing Wednesday titled, “The Rise of Anti-Israel Extremist Groups and Their Threat to U.S. National Security.”
While the threat of antisemitism is not a new issue, the Texas congressman says the hearing is aiming to understand if there is a link “between this terrorist style mindset, illegal immigration, online radicalization, and those that would perpetrate crimes that are associated with an anti-Jewish, antisemitic type of narrative.”
Four experts are slated to testify before the House Homeland Security subcommittee, including: Kerry Sleeper, deputy director of intelligence and information sharing at Secure Community Network; Oren Segal, senior vice president of counter-extremism and intelligence at the Anti-Defamation League; James Carafano, a leading national security expert at The Heritage Foundation; and Julie Fishman Rayman, senior vice president of policy and political Affairs at the American Jewish Committee.
The witnesses “come from a variety of experiences with a lot of knowledge on this, both in and out of government,” Plfuger said, noting that there are Democrats and Republicans among the witnesses.
Plfuger says he is hopeful the experts can shed light on how individuals are becoming radicalized to “the point that they would commit terrorist actions which result in the loss of life.”
Following the hearing, Plfuger anticipates introducing legislation that would allow for greater prosecution of, “and raise the penalties on, those that are not here legally, [and] understand those that have those affiliations that are very concerning,” he said.
The rise in antisemitism is an issue Congress must address and is also a cultural one stemming from “a lack of education,” Plfuger said.
From growing up in an area that valued the protection of Israel, to later training and serving alongside members of the Israel Defense Forces during his military career, to completing a fellowship at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy focused on protecting Israel from the Iranian threat, Plfuger says protecting Israel is a personal issue for him.
Wednesday’s hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. and can be viewed on the House Homeland Security Committee’s YouTube channel.