A (2:08)

Weiner said incidents like the one in New York were part of a trend in the US and throughout the west.

D (2:13)

Younger and younger individuals who are radicalizing and mobilizing to violence. And this is taking place against the backdrop of social media, the dynamics of online culture. It's not limited to isis. It's across the ideological spectrum.

A (2:30)

Yesterday, just three days after that press conference, there were two more attacks. One at a synagogue in the suburbs of Detroit and one at a university in Virginia. The FBI is investigating both. Consider this. Experts say foreign conflict and online radicalization are accelerating threats of terrorism. Did anything Slow it Down from npr, I'm Scott Detrow.

E (3:00)

Support for NPR and the following message come from Washington. Wise decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. Listen@schwab.com Washingtonwise.

A (3:24)

It's Consider this from npr. Even before the war in Iran, the terrorism threat in the US had been evolving. So how do the attacks of the past week fit into that picture? NPR's domestic extremism correspondent Odette Youssef is tracking all of this closely and joins me now. Hi, Odette.

F (3:41)

Hey, Scott.

A (3:41)

Let's start with what we know about these incidents right now.

F (3:45)

Well, the attempted attack in New York City last weekend allegedly involved two young men from Pennsylvania. According to charging documents, they were there to hurt people who were conducting an Islamophobic protest at the mayor's mansion. They allegedly made explosive devices that contained a material TATP that is not readily available. Fortunately, Scott, nobody was seriously hurt. And now they face charges of material support to a foreign terrorist organization, isis. Then yesterday we had two attacks, one at Old Dominion University where one victim was killed. Investigators have not yet stated a motive, but the suspect, who was found dead, had served time in prison previously after pleading guilty to material support of isis. Separately, there was the attack at a synagogue outside of Detroit. There the only fatality was the suspect himself. And here two investigators are looking into a motive. But what we know is that the individual was a naturalized Lebanese American citizen. And NPR learned that last week an Israeli strike in Lebanon killed two of his brothers and wounded his parents and sisters in law.

A (5:00)

Okay, so this happened at Temple Israel yesterday. There has been more and more concern about rising anti Semitism in the U.S. how does this attack fit into the bigger picture?

F (5:13)

Yeah, I spoke about this with Michael Masters. He's the national director of the Secure Community Network, which does threat monitoring and safety training for the Jewish community across North America.

G (5:24)

We have said for a number of years that we are in the midst of the most complex and dynamic threat environment facing not just the Jewish community, but the United States. In our country's history, this threat environment continues to get worse.

F (5:39)

Now Masters says there have been three big inflection points in recent years. Scott. First was the war in Gaza. We all recall the attention that fall on anti Semitism on college campuses. There were attacks on Jews, including a group in Boulder that was holding a vigil for the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. And also you'll recall the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. then Masters said there was a resurgence of threats against Jews this past summer when the US bombed a nuclear facility in Iran. But he says since attacks on Iran began this month, there has been an unprecedented increase. They monitor social media, and Masters says typically they see about 3,000 violent posts directed toward the Jewish community on an average week. That has increased 95% since three conflict began.

A (6:34)

It seems like there's this sudden uptick in attacks or attempted attacks where ISIS comes up or is involved or as a motivation. What's going on here? What should we understand?

F (6:45)

So again, we still don't know very much about the attack at Old Dominion, but since the US war on Iran began, there has been a surge of calls by ISIS and other militant jihadist groups overseas to commit these kinds of attacks in the US and Western countries. Now, since ISIS was essentially run out of Syria and Iraq years ago, it has doubled down on a more decentralized model. Scott. So instead of directing attacks, it's using online platforms to indoctrinate and assist violent actors across the world. Now, we should note that ISIS inspired attacks account for a small proportion of violent extremist attacks in the US Last year there were about seven. But even so, one of those was the deadliest terrorist attack of that year. It occurred in New Orleans.

A (7:38)

As you talk to people and look at all of these facts, are you finding any common threads?

F (7:43)

Yeah, a couple of things. First, across the board, whether we're talking about anti Semitic terrorist attacks or ISIS inspired attacks, there is concern that social media is part of the problem. You know, over the last year, tech companies have greatly pulled back on content moderation. And over that time, ISIS recruitment, propaganda and anti Semitic content have become more and more present on mainstream social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

A (8:10)

You're talking about this and it just seems hard to say. One or two or three policies or steps would really make a difference.

F (8:16)

It's really tough. You know, I think every time there's an incident like this, people ask, could law enforcement have stopped it? And this hope just seems less and less possible with these individual actors who may be radicalized by the Internet or by the war or by dehumanizing hate speech that's increasingly tolerated in this country, that is.

A (8:37)

NPR's Odette Youssef. Thanks so much.

F (8:39)

Thank you.

A (8:42)

This episode was produced by Connor Donovan and Mark Rivers with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Andrew Sussman and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Before we go, a word of thanks to our Consider this Plus listeners who support the show, you make it possible for NPR journalists to report the stories you hear on the podcast. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors and unlock bonus episodes of Consider this. You can learn more at plus.NPR.org. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Scott Detrow.

H (9:18)

Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon prime members can listen to Consider this sponsor free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get consider this plus@plus.NPR.org that's plus.NPR.org.