Washington/New Delhi– Members of the American-Jewish community have expressed deep gratitude to India following reports that Islamist terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar, a key figure behind the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was killed in India’s recent counter-terrorism offensive, Operation Sindoor.
Azhar, a top commander in the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the younger brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, was reportedly among dozens of militants eliminated when Indian forces struck nine high-value terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). One of the primary targets, the “Markaz Subhan Allah” complex in Bahawalpur—JeM’s headquarters and training facility—was destroyed in the operation on Wednesday.
Azhar was not only involved in Pearl’s abduction and brutal murder but also played a central role in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which led to the release of Masood Azhar from Indian custody.
News of Azhar’s death has sparked a wave of appreciation across social media, with prominent American-Jewish figures and commentators praising India for delivering long-overdue justice.
“India delivered justice for the brutal murder of American-Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl by eliminating Abdul Rauf Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed commander and key conspirator behind Pearl’s kidnapping, torture, and beheading,” American activist Amy Mek wrote on X. “Operation Sindoor struck at the heart of terror, hitting Jaish-e-Mohammed strongholds and sending a clear message: India will not stand by while radicals slaughter non-Muslims. To India, we say thank you.”
Former U.S. Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, Ellie Cohanim, echoed the sentiment. “For too long, we did not see justice for the evil beheading of Daniel Pearl. Personally grateful to the government of India,” she posted. “Daniel Pearl is forever memorialized by his last words, echoing thousands of years of Jewish history and persecution: ‘My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.’”
Prominent voices such as author Pamela Geller, human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky, and Israeli journalist Emily Schrader also praised India’s action.
“Thank you to our Indian friends for eliminating one of the key terrorists behind the 2002 execution of Danny Pearl,” Ostrovsky wrote. “The Jewish and Indian people are two proud nations, both fighting against the forces of Islamic terror.”
Schrader added: “Justice. Thank you, India, for eliminating the monsters who beheaded Daniel Pearl.”
The United States has long sought accountability for Pearl’s killing, a crime that shocked the world for its brutality and its symbolic targeting of a Jewish-American journalist. His murder became one of the earliest global symbols of extremist violence in the post-9/11 era.
The JeM compound in Bahawalpur, now reduced to rubble, was one of the most prominent hubs for terror activity in the region. Its leader, Masood Azhar, remains one of India’s most wanted fugitives, accused of orchestrating numerous terror attacks, including the 2019 Pulwama bombing that killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel.
India’s latest operation marks a significant escalation in its counterterrorism efforts and has been hailed by supporters at home and abroad as a firm stand against transnational terrorism. (Source: IANS)
