Mohamed Mohamed Abdi also had a Qur’an on his dashboard. Nonetheless, “authorities are trying to determine the motivations” that could have led him to do such a thing. This is because they are bound as a matter of policy to assume that Islam is a religion of peace that teaches love and tolerance; they cannot admit the existence of Islamic anti-Semitism. Indeed, this entire article is preoccupied (in sections I did not excerpt below) with the rise in anti-Semitism in the U.S., but never hints that this rise could be attributable to the increased Muslim presence here. The major Jewish organizations in the U.S. are likewise preoccupied with the alleged rise of the “far right,” and never say anything at all about Islamic anti-Semitism.

An update on this story. “Police exploring background of Seattle man arrested in vehicle attack outside L.A. synagogue,” by James Queally, Los Angeles Times, November 26, 2018:

Authorities are trying to determine the motivations and background of a 32-year-old Seattle man who allegedly tried to run down two men outside of a synagogue in Hancock Park last week in an attack that police have described as a hate crime.

Mohamed Mohamed Abdi was arrested outside of Congregation Bais Yehuda in the 300 block of La Brea Avenue Friday night and held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he yelled a number of anti-Semitic insults and barreled his car toward the two men around 9 p.m., Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Horace Frank said.

Abdi was driving a rental car past the synagogue when he began yelling profanity at a group of worshipers near La Brea and Oakwood Avenues, Frank said.

Concerned by Abdi’s actions, two men walked away from the larger group but kept their eyes trained on Abdi, who then made a U-turn and ran a red light while accelerating toward them, Frank said. The two men managed to evade him, and Abdi crashed into a parked car a short time later….

No one was injured at the scene, and Abdi is being held in lieu of $55,000 at Men’s Central Jail downtown, police said. A knife was found in Abdi’s car, but Frank said police do not believe he owns any firearms.

Frank expects the LAPD will ask the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office to pursue assault charges against Abdi. The department is working in conjunction with the FBI’s Los Angeles field office to investigate Abdi, and federal prosecutors may consider possible hate crime or domestic terror charges against him….

A native of Mogadishu in Somalia, Abdi is a U.S. citizen who emigrated to the Seattle area several years ago, Frank said. He rented a car and drove to Los Angeles sometime last week, though it was not clear if he knew anyone in the area or why he came to the city.

Investigators did not say if Abdi specifically targeted Congregation Bais Yehuda. A call to the synagogue seeking comment Monday was not returned, and the Seattle Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what, if any, history they had with Abdi.

Frank said Abdi’s chosen method of attack — driving toward a crowd of pedestrians — and the fact that he was carrying a knife were “very concerning.” He noted that Abdi’s actions mirror those of other terror attacks in recent years, where so-called lone wolf assailants have used a rented vehicle rather than a firearm or explosive device to cause carnage in open spaces….