Guest post by Israel Ellis
Named after Zionist banker Zalman David Levontin, Levontin Street is a leafy enclave home to a mix of historic Bauhaus buildings, amongst modern gentrified condos, trendy cafes, boutique hotels and a blend of Tel Aviv’s heritage and contemporary urban culture.
There is a peaceful, tender moment in a Tel Aviv Saturday morning that completely contradicts the usual bustling noise of everyday life.
The Shabbat is a separation of the week, regardless of your secular or religious belonging. It is the day of rest for the entire Jewish State.
The quiet is a welcome respite in a place densely absorbed in the stress that comes within the heart of a city in the center of Israel, especially in these times.
That idyllic peace was interrupted by the indistinguishable “pop pop” of gunfire just beneath the balcony of the Levontin flat where moments before a young couple indulged the beginning of the day in the quiet of a morning coffee out on the balcony overlooking the street.
As my 20-year-old son was sorting out his wardrobe for a semester abroad in Italy, a 19-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank village of Tulkarm walked up to the Levontin cafe and started stabbing a random bystander in what would be acknowledged as a terrorist attack.
The assailant dashed for another attack and he was taken down by an armed civilian.
As a parent of an IDF soldier on reserve duty, the last place I needed to worry about was this quiet street lined with Sycamore and Ficus trees.
Neither was the 30-year-old victim of the stabbing, a reservist having just returned from months of military duty in the north waiting to enjoy a morning with friends.
Though it may seem so from the outside looking in, there is nothing random about this attack or the assailant. There never is.
Just as there is nothing random about January 1, 2025, when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas, carried out a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. World’s apart and yet much more related than anyone would prefer to acknowledge.
Let’s deconstruct.
A fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal confirmed with the Iranian regime’s terrorist-backed proxy Hamas whereby we saw the release of three Israeli women kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza for 471 days.
In exchange, Israel would release 90 dangerous offenders. This is the first lot of several detainees in what will become a painful exchange under these sham negotiations that are once again another example of the impossible situation Israel is placed in.
Hours before the Levontin terror stabbing, Israel is under attack as 2 inter ballistic missiles are launched from Yemen compliments of the Houthi, a terror proxy, very much like Hamas that is controlled by Iran.
It is material to recognize that a terror attack or a truce with Hamas does not go down without the consent of the Iranian regime and the funding of Qatar, who, in a twist of the perverse, is negotiating for the hostage release.
Why then would the proxies of terror taunt and work to derail the ceasefire and hostage deal? Very simply, it’s all about leverage.
Peace does not further the cause of Iran – the further escalation of violence does. Iran’s primary objective is to continue to victimize the Palestinian people to detract from their Nuclear ambitions.
A peace deal does not work for their end game of Global Jihad.
The young man from Tulkarm who was likely dropped off inside of Tel Aviv, knife in hand, with specific instructions knew he was going to die that morning.
He also knew that his family would be paid handsomely by the Palestinian pay-for-slay policy of the Fatah movement, very likely supported with money from Qatar.
Every terrorist’s family receives a lifetime pension for their sacrifice in the cause of the “resistance”, this is why you see mothers celebrating in the street and candies being handed out – within moments of the news of his death posters, pre-produced of the “Shahid” will be on placards, glorifying their child’s sacrifice.
And who is this boy? I can almost guarantee he likely suffers from developmental mental health issues, is disenfranchised, and is socially rejected.
He is used as a pawn in a conflict he knows nothing about. The terrorist is not a lone actor.
He is identified and groomed, brought before some secretive brigade the evening before and given the exact directions of what to do. It is his day now. The young man is manipulated into believing that he is doing God’s will with the idea of everlasting martyrdom.
The suicide brigade is receiving instructions from someone higher up in the chain of command.
The Levontin terrorist attack is not a singular event by a lone wolf. What is happening on the streets of Tel Aviv, and the streets of New Orleans is connected – the result is the martyrdom by someone who is convinced to carry this out a suicidal act. These terrorists are inventories in the waiting. That is what Jihadism is about.
With President Trump’s new Presidency and the much-needed win for the return of Israeli hostages, the stakes are high. Iran wants to derail this deal and embarrass the President.
Unfortunately, the headcount does not stop here, Iran will pull out the stops to distract from their nuclear ambitions.
The victory is not sweet enough that these terrorists have been given a seat at the table, they are lovers of death and they are meeting the lovers of life on a battlefield that we are unprepared for.
The world has gone MAD, and the sooner we recognize the true deconstruction the sooner we can deal with the antidote to terrorism.
Israel Ellis is the author of The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone MAD
