Thoughts on the UPS Bomb Plot

It's interesting to see that American and British authorities now believe that the bombs aboard the UPS packages sent from Yemen were intended to be detonated aboard the passenger planes carrying them rather than the synagogues in Chicago to which they were addressed.

I think the bombs were intended for the synagogues. The reason I believe this is because the plot was uncovered on Thursday night. Assuming the packages hadn't been intercepted they would arrived in Chicago just in time for Friday night Shabbat services. If you want to target a synagogue and are seeking to maximize casualties, outside of a major Jewish holiday, you would do during Shabbat on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Let's also not forget that earlier this month four Muslim men were convicted of planning to bomb two synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

Let us also not forget what happened during the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India in November 2008. While most of the carnage took place in the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Oberoi Trident Hotel let us not forget the attack on the Mumbai Chabad House. It resulted in the deaths of six Jews including Rabbi Avram Berkowitz and his pregnant wife Rivka. According to Indian intelligence, the terrorists were instructed by their masters in Pakistan that the lives of Jews was worth 50 times that of non-Jews.

So I find it troubling that American and British authorities are downplaying the intent to attack synagogues. It is worth noting that one of the synagogues in question has a predominantly LGBT congregation. If that particular congregation wasn't LGBT one wonders if anyone would have mentioned there were synagogues involved at all.

If killing Jews is worth fifty times more to Muslim terrorists than killing non-Jews be those terrorists are from within the U.S., Pakistan or Yemen then there is no question the packages were intended to be detonated at those synagogues in Chicago.