European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor has called on the international community to take stronger and more far-reaching steps against those who perpetrate, fund and inspire radical Islamist terrorism.
Kantor’s statement comes after the latest wave of terrorist attacks in Europe, including the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, as well as a knife attack in western Finland that left two people dead and seven others wounded.
“How many victims of terror attacks until we take serious steps to identify and eradicate the groups that produce such monsters?” Dr. Kantor asked. ”We need to act now in order to prevent far greater casualties as the terrorists become more emboldened.”
“We need to find and dismantle the groups and cells which commit these barbaric acts and take tough action against those who preach and inspire them.”
The attack in Finland occurred only a few days after ramming attacks in Spain claimed the lives of 14 people and left more than a hundred injured, and a day before a man stabbed seven people on the street in the Russian Siberian city of Surgut before being shot dead by police. The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for that attack.
“While European citizens should carry on as normal, our authorities should not, and should be working together to find solutions to these threats,” Dr. Kantor declared.
“We need a holistic and coordinated global approach which will push back against these mass murderous groups, including far greater intelligence coordination and sharing, stronger powers to arrest and prosecute those that preach and inspire hatred, and harsher penalties against anyone who knows about the murderous radicalization of an individual and fails to notify the authorities.
“We must first understand clearly that we are at war to protect our values and freedoms,” he added pointedly.