Philadelphia [US]: Jason Isaacson, Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), has strongly condemned the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it a “brutal” and “horrific” assault that “shaken India to the core.” He compared the incident to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, drawing parallels in the targeting of civilians based on religious identity.
In an interview with ANI, Isaacson said:
“The massacre of 7th October 2023 by Hamas was brutal and it has left a very deep scar…That attack echoes in my mind as I see what has happened in Jammu & Kashmir. It was a brutal and horrific attack on people vacationing and singling them out as Hindus. A terrorist act which has shaken India to the core. It has also horrified people worldwide…It has echoes of what happened on October 7, 2023, in Israel.”
He acknowledged similarities between Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in their ideological motives, particularly in identifying and targeting civilians based on religion.
“Yes, that is the characteristic of the terrorist. Their motivation is to identify others as evil that need to be wiped out in some genocidal campaign. It is certainly characteristic of Hezbollah’s feelings towards Jews, and has characteristics of a certain movement that has targeted Hindus.”
Isaacson voiced his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India’s resolve to combat terrorism:
“PM Modi has pledged to root out these terrorists, and he has the full support of my country and other friends of India around the world.”
He also suggested that Pakistan’s involvement cannot be ruled out, highlighting the possibility of support from Pakistani society, military, or intelligence in enabling such operations.
“It doesn’t take too large a stretch of an imagination to think that if no funding or support for this movement is provided by the elements within the Pakistani society, or military, or intelligence services, if such a force can operate that has a clear motivation to drive India out. It is not a big leap of imagination to think there may be some Pakistani involvement.”
The Pahalgam Attack
On Tuesday, terrorists launched a deadly attack on tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, and injuring several others. This marks one of the worst terrorist incidents in the region since the 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.
Isaacson’s remarks underscore the growing international concern over cross-border terrorism and the increasing parallels drawn between global terrorist organizations and their methods of targeting civilians based on religious and ethnic identity.