Sweden: 4 Men Charged in Terror Plot Against Jews and Synagogues

In March of this year, Swedish police raided several addresses in the municipality of  Tyresö, just south of Stockholm. Four men were arrested for plotting terror attacks against Jews in Sweden, including synagogues. The four, including two brothers who converted to Islam in their teens and an imam, are due to stand trial on December 10. Though they were arrested in March, it is only now that details of their case are starting to come out.

The below article from Aftonbladet is translated by Fousesquawk.

Terrorist defendants had Jewish targets-"Kill as many as possible."

By Matilda Aprea

Updated 18:00- Posted 16:19

Four men with ties to the Islamic State, including an "imam" and two brothers, charged for preparing to (commit) a terrorist crime with Jews as focus, among others, synagogues.

The defendants allegedly have had contacts with ISIS, worked in recruitment, and attempted to obtain possession of weapons and bomb materials, in which the older brother played a leading role.

All deny the crime, and the trial is expected to run from  December 10, 2024 to  Christmas.

Caption: The two detained brothers converted to Islam in their teens.  They reportedly began to dress differently, and one of them reportedly disseminated jihadist propaganda on social media, according to SVT.

A religious leader, two brothers, and a man in his 20s are now charged with preparation for terrorist crimes.

All of them have allegedly acted on behalf of the Islamic State with Jewish targets in view.

"There was talk about synagogues, among other things," says Lars Hedvall, who is the preliminary investigation leader.

At the beginning of March, Security Police and the National Task Force raided several addresses in 

 Tyresö, south of Stockholm.

Four people were arrested and placed in custody suspected of preparing to commit a terrorist crime and aggravated weapons offenses-all them tied to the Islamic Cultural Association of  Tyresö.

Since then, information regarding the suspected crimes has been sparse since those working the case have been prohibited from divulging (details).

Only now that charges have been brought against the 4 men is it made public that there were Jewish targets on behalf of the Islamic State, ISIS.

Caption: Police at the scene of one of the raids in Tyresö in the beginning of March 

Synagogues were one of the targets

In the indictment, it seems that police had been monitoring the defendants for a long time. A large portion of the evidence consists of wiretapped conversations where terrorist crimes, among other things, were discussed.

"In this material, they spoke about synagogues and that they should be there and check when they had their gatherings. They also spoke of other targets. But it was Jewish interests that were in their sights," says senior prosecutor Lars Hedvall, who is the leader of the preliminary investigation.

Two of the charged men are brothers in their 20s. According to Aftonbladet's information, they converted to Islam in their teens and frequently visited the Islamic Cultural Association in Tyresö 

The older brother, according to the indictment, swore allegiance to two ISIS leaders. He also reportedly has had a supervisory and coordinating role, according to the indictment.

The brothers have received instructions from ISIS, among other things, recruiting and inducing perpetrators to kill as many infidels as possible.

Caption (Security Police) during raid in Tyresö

"Minor perpetrators are the best"

He also reportedly advised ISIS that "minor Swedish perpetrators are the best," with a view to the low sentences in Sweden. They would be ready to die as martyrs.

The brothers also reportedly searched for bomb materials and weapons within organized criminal networks. According to the indictment, the younger brother also acted on behalf of ISIS in Somalia and helped with recruiting as well as receiving propaganda material and money.

Both brothers have also learned to handle weapons.

That innocent children could be killed in the planned attacks was no problem, according to the indictment, since the brothers considered this as "collateral damage", consequences that could be expected.

The charged man in his 60s has worked as an imam in the Islamic Cultural Association in Tyresö -according to the association itself.

According to the prosecutor, the man is described as an older, respected person who is consulted in religious questions. 

"The imam" guided the brothers

Among other things, he has given advice to IS-affiliated persons in Sweden on jihad and attacks, as well as advice on potential targets.

The imam in question has also reportedly "guided" and given advice to the two brothers. In his telephone messages in a chat group were found threats against Jews.

"It is time for the Jews, the Zionists, to be driven off the face of the earth...."

The fourth man charged is also in his 20s and reportedly had contact with ISIS representatives and discussed what ISIS wanted him to do for them.

He also possessed weapons and ammunition, which according to the indictment, were for ISIS.

Although the police did not find any actual weapons, the prosecutor is convinced that they will also be convicted for aggravated weapons offenses.

"We have strong evidence for this. Wiretap material is quite clear and they say what kind of weapons, i.e. brand and type. One can also see the descriptions of weapons that showed up around these dates," says Lars Hedvall.

All the defendants deny any crime.

The trial starts December 10 and is expected to go until Christmas.

The Biden Pardon

"Wait till you see my next pardon."

Today, President Joe Biden has erased the last sliver of doubt that his presidency has been the slimiest in US history. It also firmly buttresses the argument that he is the worst president in our history. In spite of repeated denials that he would pardon his son, Hunter, Joe Biden did exactly that issuing a blanket pardon not only for his conviction of gun charges and his plea to income tax charges but any crimes he may have committed between January 2014 and December 2024.

Despite Biden's above denials that he would pardon Hunter, and despite arguments that he changed his mind after watching his son being unfairly treated by the justice system, it has been reported by NBC that as far back as June 2024, even as those denials were being issued, pardon discussions were ongoing in the White House. 

Of course, I am biased, but I have never liked the idea of presidential pardons except when there is a clear miscarriage of justice. Even in those cases, the justice system should be sufficient to correct miscarriages without a president getting involved. This one totally undermines the principle that everyone is equal before the law.

It is reported that the federal investigation into Hunter began around 2018 when Donald Trump was president. Even so, it continued after Biden took office. It was under his administration, that charges were actually brought, but the prosecution in Delaware saw a sweetheart deal between Hunter and federal prosecutor, David Weiss, blow up when the judge refused to accept the plea.

Of course, given Trump's legal problems (which I believe were politically driven), there is no shortage of arguments back and forth as to whether justice has been thwarted by his re-election as president and the US Justice Department's withdrawal from the cases. It appears at this point that all the prosecutions against Trump, both state and federal, are now going away. Trump's opponents are claiming that this also shows that not everyone is equal before the law, and they have their points. My argument against that is to reiterate that in my opinion, the Trump indictments, both at the state and federal level, were political witch hunts. No one side will ever convince the other.

One of the interesting questions being argued this morning is whether this blanket immunity now opens Hunter up to being questioned about his father's alleged role in his financial dealings, for example, in Ukraine and China. It appears he won't enjoy the ability to take the 5th Amendment and refuse to answer questions. Since the pardon covers acts between January 2014 to December 2024, what if he lies to federal investigators who might come around in 2025 asking questions about the roles of Joe Biden and the President's brother, James Biden, in his shady dealings? Under federal law (18 USC 1001) that is a crime.

Personally, I would like to see this drama come to an end. Ever since 2016 when the FBI found itself investigating both Trump and the Democrat nominee, Hillary Clinton, it has been eight years of  Hell for this country, and depending on whose ox is being gored, a belief on the part of so many Americans that our justice system has been weaponized to go after political opponents. As a retired DOJ employee, my own belief is that the Department is in serious need of reform. It remains to be seen whether the incoming administration will go after those who they think have perverted the justice system. While I believe a lot of people abused their power and need to be held accountable, my preference would be to see changes brought to the Justice Department and the FBI in the pursuit of reform as opposed to revenge. When Matt Gaetz was the nominee to be attorney general, I was not optimistic. I am optimistic about Pam Bondi, however. I think she will bring integrity and professionalism to the job.

But as for Joe Biden, after four years of one incredible failure after another, this will be the final nail in the coffin of his legacy.

Germany Wrestles "From the River to the Sea"

 This article first appeared in Times of Israel Blogs.

Federal Court of Justice, Karlsruhe, Germany

There is an interesting legal contest going on in Germany as the country tries to deal with the explosion in anti-Semitism brought upon mostly by its immigrant population.

Two Bavarian courts have ruled that the phrase, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” is a symbol of Hamas, designated in Germany as a terrorist state, is a call for violence against Jews in Israel, and should be illegal and subject to criminal penalties. The case appears headed for the German Supreme Court to be settled since other courts in the country have taken a different view. While the two Bavarian courts consider the phrase a clear call to genocide and the destruction of the Jewish state, others feel it is ambiguous and/or covered under the country’s freedom of expression laws.

Germany has made great efforts, at least in the past several decades, to atone for its crimes under the Nazis, most of all, the Holocaust, for which total atonement is impossible. While the country is a democracy, Germany does not enjoy the same freedom of expression as we do in the US. Hate speech, or what the authorities judge as hate speech, can land you in court. In addition, Germany has a federal intelligence agency within the Ministry of Interior called the “Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution”(Bundesverfassungsschutz) which investigates those who would try to undermine the country’s democracy, which would include extremist groups on the right or left, as well as Islamic extremists. In addition, the country is very sensitive to anti-Semitic speech, for obvious reasons, and speech against Muslims, largely due to its restive Muslim population.

That presents an interesting quandary since the country’s Muslim population numbers have exploded since then-Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the floodgates to refugees from the Middle East in 2015 due to the Syrian civil war, refugees consisting largely of young, unaccompanied men who brought with them a religiously-instilled hated of Jews. The latest fighting between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah has made that situation infinitely worse. This has obviously undermined Germany’s efforts to erase anti-Semitism. Attacks upon Jews in Germany, mostly at the hands of Muslim immigrants, migrants, and asylum-seekers have brought back images reminiscent of the 1930s and 1940s.

So the question begs: What do the German courts do about the Palestinian ditty that advocates the destruction of all of Israel? From an American point of view, while I certainly consider the phrase to advocate the destruction of Israel and to be part and parcel of Hamas, I doubt it would be outlawed in the US because our laws regarding speech and expression allow for far worse things to be said than Germany would allow. Hate speech in the US is also considered protected speech unless it directly incites a violent attack. It can also be considered as evidence of a hate crime, for example, if an attacker uses hate speech during an attack against a member of another ethnic group. That might result in an enhanced charge for a “hate crime”, which makes the offense more serious. Use of offensive speech in itself is generally considered protected speech.

As to “From the river to the sea,” I have heard this phrase used constantly over the years in the US. Now it is being seriously challenged as a call for genocide. Whether that would ever lead to its criminalization in the US, I have serious doubts. That doesn’t mean that it should not be called out for what it is by Israelis and supporters of Israel. In essence, it is a call for a “Judenrein Palestine” in what is today Israel. The international Palestinian movement has been very effective over the years in swaying public support against Israel in the West. The good side needs to use every argument to win the public relations war in places like American universities.

As for Germany, however, ultimately, their courts decide to do with, “From the river to the sea”, I’m glad the subject is up for discussion, both in the courts and the public. If their highest court decides to ban it, far be it from me to tell them how to run their country. Even if the courts won’t condemn it criminally, we can still-and must-condemn it morally.