Muslim Veterans Offer To Guard US Synagogues Following Wave Of Anti-Semitic Threats

They're not letting their faith divide them.

Following a spike in bomb threats against synagogues in the US, Muslim veterans have vowed to help protect Jewish places of worship.

In a show of cross-faith unity, many Muslim military veterans have tweeted their support for Jewish people.

I'm a #MuslimMarine in Chicagoland area. If your synagogue or Jewish cemetery needs someone to stand guard, count me in. Islam requires it.

— The Muslim Marine (@MuslimMarine) February 27, 2017

I echo @MuslimMarine - I'm a Muslim Veteran in Arizona & will readily stand guard at any Jewish Synagogue or Cemetery at ANY hour. #WeAreOne https://t.co/dprgkvxyVF

— Nate Terani 📎 (@nateterani) February 27, 2017

Houston area Jewish community I spent ten years protecting our country and I will gladly protect Jewish places of worship if you need me! https://t.co/nUQpTFwxvA

— Khalid whalid (@Khalidwhalid1) February 28, 2017

It was not only veterans who offered their services either...

I'm a Muslim in DC. If your synagogue needs someone to stand guard, I'll stand guard. Islam requires it. https://t.co/kw4acYBuPK

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) February 27, 2017

I'm no marine, but I'll stand guard if needed. https://t.co/qtSJ5YQ0JH

— That One Jerk (@1UnknownCritic) February 27, 2017

I'm a Muslim in #Harrisburg. If your synagogue or community center needs someone 2 stand guard, I will stand guard 4 you. Islam requires it.

— Momin (@BhattiMomin) February 28, 2017

There has been a surge of bomb threats against synagogues, Jewish centres and schools around the US, and Jewish cemeteries have also been vandalised.

On Monday alone there were threats made against numerous Jewish centres and at least one school in California, Washington, Nevada and Arizona.

The FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are probing the threats.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the vandalism and bomb threats were serious, unacceptable behaviour and that the department will “do what it can to assist in pushing back ... and prosecuting anybody that we can prove to be a part of it.”

This is not the first time Muslims have pulled together to help people from the Jewish community in the US.

A Muslim-led fundraising drive raised nearly £125,000 to repair a Jewish cemetery vandalised in an act of anti-Semitism last month.

A row of more than 170 toppled Jewish headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery
A row of more than 170 toppled Jewish headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery
Tom Gannam / Reuters

Around 150 headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, were toppled last weekend, causing heartache for relatives of those buried there.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community center in Philadelphia issued a statement condemning the vandalism and dispatched a team to help with cleanup and security.

“We are deeply disturbed by the continuing attacks against our Jewish brothers and sisters,” the organisation said in a statement.

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