What happened
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old Lebanese-born U.S. citizen, attacked Temple Israel, a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, by ramming his truck through the front doors. The truck contained commercial-grade fireworks and jugs of flammable liquid. Ghazali died in the attack, but miraculously, none of the 140 preschoolers or staff members were killed or seriously injured.
The attack is believed to have been motivated by the death of Ghazali's two brothers in an Israeli airstrike approximately 10 days earlier. The FBI has designated the attack as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.
The incident highlights the growing concern of antisemitic attacks in the United States and Europe. In the six days following the attack, over 8,000 calls for violence against the Jewish community were tracked. The Jewish Federations of North America spends over $750 million annually on security for Jewish communities.
Similar attacks have occurred in Europe, including an explosive device detonating at a synagogue in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and an attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam. A group calling itself the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right has claimed responsibility for these attacks, which are believed to have potential Iranian state links.
In the UK, there have been several antisemitic incidents, including the arson of four ambulances belonging to a Jewish emergency medical service and the stabbing of two Jewish men in broad daylight. The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in Britain in 2025, more than double the 2022 figure.
