Who is the group suspected of being behind attacks on Jewish targets in Europe?

An explosion in a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, on March 9, and another, five days later, outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. An arson attack in London against four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a non-governmental organization of the Jewish community, last Monday (March 23). These are three of at least six attacks against Jewish targets in Europe this month alone that are believed to be by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Companions of the Right).

“Although most of the attacks caused material damage rather than casualties, analysts believe their main objective was psychological impact, intimidation of Jewish communities and the spread of propaganda messages.”says a report published on Tuesday (March 24) by Israel’s Diaspora Ministry, which calls for increased vigilance among Jewish communities and greater coordination with local authorities.

The suspicion is that this group has links to Iran, as videos of the attacks and claims quickly circulated on Telegram channels linked to Shiite networks and pro-Iranian accounts. But there are also those who claim that this is not a new group, but is linked to the Iraqi militia Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (designated terrorist by the US in 2024 and also known as Ashab al-Yamin), whose leader was killed in a US and Israeli operation on February 28.

The report points to the similarity of the group’s symbol – a raised arm holding a rifle pointing to the right with a globe behind it – with that of other groups linked to Tehran, like the Lebanese Hezbollah, or even the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps itself. The difference is that instead of an AK-47 the weapon is a Dragunov. “Analysts suggest that this difference may be intentional, serving as a tactic to create plausible deniability and obscure direct attribution,” they say.

“This new organization appears to be a growing trend in Europe,” Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said in a briefing online on Tuesday (March 24) organized by the Europe-Israel Press Association (EIPA) and the Middle East American Press Association (AMEPA).

“And when they start burning synagogues and ambulances we know what will happen, becauseWe follow the same pattern in Australia. First they burned synagogues and eventually we have Bondi beach, with 15 innocent people being massacred at a Hannukah event”, he said.

“We are extremely concerned about what we are seeing now in Europe,” said the minister, who considers, however, that the next major attack will be in Canada, where there have been several shootings and where he suspects that the Revolutionary Guard is active. “It seems that terrorists in Canada are better equipped and the security forces of the Jewish community are not authorized to be armed,” he recalled.

Chikli is very critical of “progressive governments”, considering that there is a “clear correlation” between them and “the rise of anti-Semitism” – pointing the finger at the open-door immigration policy and the recognition of the Palestinian State following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 and when there were still Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.

“It may not be politically correct to say, but there is a serious problem with Radical Islam that it does not operate in a vacuum, but in closed communities that do not want to integrate”these. “Multiculturalism has destroyed Europe. It’s a catastrophe and I don’t think some countries will be able to regain control.”