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HAYI claims attacks
European intelligence agencies are investigating a growing wave of attacks on Jewish and Israeli-linked sites that security officials believe may be connected to Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), which emerged online in March and has claimed responsibility for incidents across at least seven European countries.
“including Britain, Belgium, Germany, France, and the Netherlands”
In London, counter-terrorism police arrested a 45-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson after a fire at a former synagogue in Whitechapel, east London, and officers believe the blaze was started deliberately.
The incidents have included arson, vandalism, and small improvised explosive devices targeting synagogues, Jewish charities, and Iranian opposition organisations, with British police saying they are conducting their largest-ever community protection operation following multiple arson attacks in north London and the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green in April.
A CNN investigation described how Rabbi Yehuda Black returned the morning after an attack on what he calls his “gem” of a synagogue in northwest London, and CNN said at least 17 incidents have been claimed by HAYI.
CNN also reported that a “VIPEmployment” Telegram account told journalists it was looking to “hire anyone who can harm Israeli interests or individuals.”
Threat level and recruitment
The attack on 29 April in Golders Green, where a heavyset man slashed two Jewish men near a bus station until local security and police tackled him to the ground, prompted the UK to raise its threat level to severe.
The Global Network on Extremism and Technology reported that British law enforcement officials detained at least 28 people in connection with the London attacks alone, while it said definitive verification of HAYI’s responsibility for each attack from law enforcement appears to be ongoing.
CNN said investigators found apparent links between HAYI and an Iran-backed Shia paramilitary group and described how social media users were attempting to recruit individuals to carry out surveillance and potential violence against sites linked to the Jewish community in Europe.
In an exchange of messages with CNN, the “VIPEmployment” Telegram account offered a recruitment pitch that included “24/7 monitoring and support,” and CNN said it could not confirm any direct link between the accounts and the Iranian state or its proxies.
The Jerusalem Post framed HAYI as “gig economy terrorism” and quoted Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi saying: “Harakat Ashab al-Yamin’s claims and statements are consistently circulated first on ‘pro-resistance’ Iraqi Telegram channels.”
Security escalation and fallout
Belgian authorities announced the deployment of military units in the streets of major cities to bolster security around Jewish sites after anti-Israel attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands earlier this month, with Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken saying redeploying troops in Brussels and Antwerp aims to ensure public safety.
“The group appeared online on March 9 of last month”
The deployment was to be carried out in three stages, starting with Brussels and Antwerp, then Liège, in close cooperation with the Federal Police to protect sensitive sites, following an explosion at a Jewish synagogue in Liège that authorities called an anti-Semitic act.
In the Netherlands, Dutch police arrested five suspects aged between 17 and 19 after incidents that included a fire at a Jewish synagogue in Rotterdam and an explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam.
CNN described how Rabbi Yehuda Black said he was overwhelmed with emotion after the attack on his synagogue, while The European Conservative reported that authorities across Europe have made at least 44 arrests linked to HAYI-related incidents.
The Washington Institute warned that the low-complexity attack approach used by the front group known as the Islamic Right-Wing Movement exposed “a serious flaw in Western efforts to bolster protection of soft targets,” as it continued to claim responsibility for incidents across Europe.
