New York, NY, March 22, 2016… The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (COP) strongly condemned the coordinated terror attacks reportedly carried out by Islamic State (ISIS) fighters at major transportation sites in the Belgian capital city of Brussels today, reportedly killing at least 34 civilians and wounding over 170 more.
Today’s attacks follow the capture of Salah Abdeslam, one of the leaders of the November 2015 Paris terror spree, who was found in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek last Friday. While no direct link has yet been made between the attacks and Abdeslam’s capture, these incidents do underscore that international cooperation in counterterrorism is essential. European communities must intensify efforts to counteract the radicalization of segments of their immigrant populations. It is also imperative for Europe to increase the number of properly trained personnel dedicated to counterterrorism and to adopt and implement a coordinated approach to effectively deal with ISIS-trained terrorists.
Stephen M. Greenberg, COP Chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, stated:
“We join all those in the international community condemning the horrific attacks in Brussels today taking the lives of dozens of innocent civilians and injuring scores of others. It is clear the goal of the terrorist perpetrators in these pre-meditated attacks was to kill and maim civilians and spread fear throughout Belgian society. This attack, which ISIS claimed responsibility for, has the hallmarks of other recent incidents of terror driven by radical Islamist ideology, which continues to inspire individuals to kill innocent people going about their daily lives in public locations across European cities.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time terror has struck Brussels. In May 2014, a radical Islamist gunman entered the Jewish Museum there killing four people. Today, less than two years later, terrorist mayhem has expanded exponentially with the attacks at the airport and at a subway station in Brussels. Today’s attacks, which reportedly included suicide bombers, show that the ongoing threat of international terrorism requires a unified regional and global commitment to providing adequate resources for counterterrorism to protect innocent people against those who have been radicalized and motivated by a perverse radical Islamic ideology to kill innocents. In particular, they must develop the means and personnel to monitor and counter the grave threat posed by returning ISIS fighters carrying European passports.
At this very difficult moment, we stand with the people and government of Belgium and offer our condolences to the families of those who perished and our prayers for the recovery of those wounded.”
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