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Temple Israel attack raises growing security concerns
Detroit’s FBI Field Office delivered a major update on their investigation into the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, allegedly carried out by 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, according to authorities.
WEST BLOOMFIELD TWP., Mich. (FOX 2) - Federal investigators are calling the Temple Israel attack in West Bloomfield a "Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism" after a man drove a truck into the synagogue.
The FBI shared several details of their ongoing probe into the mid-March incident. It’s the most expansive report from the FBI on this attack since it happened two weeks prior.
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Detroit’s FBI Field Office delivered a major update on their investigation into the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, carried out by 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, according to authorities.
"During the morning and early morning of March 10, he continued his online searches with specific search terms and phrases such as ‘the largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan, orthodox synagogues, Israelis near me.’ He later attempted to try and delete these queries, but we were able to recover them."
Federal investigators unveiled some key pieces of evidence. One of them, according to Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan of the FBI:
"A video of him with an upbeat battle song in the background. The song mentions it's time for slaughter and bloodshed, and there’s no time to draw back," she said.
"Had this man lived, I am convinced my office would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the federal crime of providing material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization," said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard was briefed on the FBI’s findings ahead of time and was one of the law enforcement commanders on the ground that day.
He spoke with FOX 2 about how security is being strengthened at religious sites.
"We’re in constant communication with all houses of worship," said Bouchard. "Another training this week, and we encourage them—things they should do. They should have an emergency plan, they should have an emergency safety and security team, and that team executes the plan. They should have physical improvements when and if they can, if they have the resources or if they’re doing an addition or remodeling—that’s the time to think about those kinds of things. They’re very cheap to do in the midst of construction. There are things they can do physically to better protect a building or a location and the people there."
Temple Israel attack: FBI calls synagogue assault 'Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism'
The FBI is expected to provide more details about the Temple Israel synagogue attack on Monday afternoon.
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Meanwhile, lawmakers like West Bloomfield Representative Noah Arbit are working on legislation to increase security from the state level.
"From the perspective of the state, we are looking to increase the amount of money in the state budget this year for Jewish institutions to the largest amount yet, and we’ll have more information on that coming. We hope that legislators—state representatives and state senators on both sides of the aisle—will be receptive to the need for government support of Jewish institutions at this time when Jews and Jewish institutions are in the crossfire," said Arbit.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are also working to create a state office of extremist violence prevention.