Anti-Semitism: Indian American Man Charged With Threatening Jewish Organization In New York

An Indian American man has been charged with making a death threat to a prominent New York-based Jewish organization. Deep Alpesh Kumar Patel, 21, from Sarasota, Florida, allegedly called the World Jewish Congress on Oct. 21, and left an expletives-laden voicemail saying he wanted to “cause mass genocide,” according to a criminal complaint released by the Justice Department. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, the Department of Justice said in a press release. 

Patel’s voicemail opened with him identifying himself by name, before launching into “an unhinged, expletive-riddled tirade against Jews,” the complaint said. “If I had a chance, I would kill every single one of you Israelis. Every single one of you! Cause mass genocide of every single Israeli.”

The complaint details Patel’s conversations with the police. When the officers asked him to describe the content of the telephone calls, he explained that he had called Jewish centers to express his family’s anger with Israel for the genocide of the Palestinian people. He stated that he did not intend to scare or threaten anyone, but that he wanted to use the harshest language possible to convey his anger.

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According to the organization’s website, the World Jewish Congress is “the leading international organization connecting and protecting Jewish communities globally, in more than 100 countries.” It aims to “foster the unity and represent the interests of the Jewish people, and to ensure the continuity and development of its religious, spiritual, cultural, and social heritage.”