Two Israelis, who are among more than 30 surviving victims injured in Terrorist attack in New Orleansare reservists who got leave from the Hamas war and decided to come to the United States as tourists, an Israeli diplomat told Fox News Digital.
Elad Shoshan, Israel’s consul for the southwestern United States, is based in Houston but traveled to New Orleans after the truck attack that also killed 14 victims as they celebrated New Year’s on the famous Bourbon Street.
Shoshan said the families of the two injured Israelis want their names to remain confidential. They are not locals and two are Israeli tourists. Both are in their mid to late 20s and decided to come to the United States for about a month and a half.
“They came after a long time, serving as soldiers in Israel and the war, and they were given permission to go and just refresh themselves or take their minds off it. And that was the purpose of them coming here and traveling,” Shoshan told Fox News Digital. “They were called into the reserve to serve in the present war. So they participated and participated and contributed like many other citizens of Israel who were called into the reserve. And again, they came here to travel.”
As soon as he learned that Israelis were injured in New Orleans, Shoshan said he jumped on a plane to the city and was in contact with federal authorities. He said police told him Israelis were not targeted.
“What we know so far is that it was not an attack specifically on Israelis or Jews, it was an attack on Americans, on tourists from all over the world to see how they can – how the perpetrator can cause as much damage as possible and unfortunately kill as many people as possible Shoshan told Fox News Digital. “They were on the line of scrimmage and they got hit by a rush at the very, very beginning.”
The FBI said the now-deceased suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a rented Ford pickup through the crowd Bourbon Street entertainers in an attack that officials say was inspired by the Islamic State.
Federal investigators now say they believe Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran and American citizen, became radicalized. He grew up Muslim in Texas.
Shamsud Din-Jabbar is shown in an undated photo released by the FBI after he drove his pickup truck down Bourbon Street in New Orleans and died in a shootout with responding officers. (FBI)
Shoshan said it was an “unfortunate irony” that two Israelis who were fighting terrorism in their home after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks became victims of terror in the United States.
The diplomat added a warning to the US about Islamic extremist ideology, arguing anti-Israel protests in US cities and Ivy League campuses that include anti-Semitic rhetoric and calls for a “global intifada” signal that “the West is next”.
“It’s an unfortunate irony that we’re dealing with this in the Middle East and in Israel day in and day out all the time before October 7th. But a lot after October 7th. And I think they definitely don’t expect to have a terrorist attack in the French Quarter in New Orleans and New Year’s Eve,” Shoshan said. “If you read the signs, and when I say read the signs, I’m talking about the actual board. When they say, when people demonstrate and say ‘globalize the intifada,’ and we say the West is next.”
“People don’t just say that people are actually entrenched, that they want violence, people who want to kill, people who want to cause harm and want to cause terror. But we see that more and more in the world. We see it happening in the US, and we’ve seen that in the past,” he said. “Nothing new has caused this simple hatred that we face in Israel every day for many, many years. And I think the West, mainly our greatest ally, the US, seeing so much hateful rhetoric, so many demonstrations against the West, against America, against Israel, saying loud and clear that they want to export violence from the Middle East to the US, and we saw that happening just two days ago.”
Military personnel walk down Bourbon Street on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
The terrorist threat has increased in the US with the border crisis. The FBI found bomb-making materials in the Shabbar’s home in Muslim-majority Houston neighborhood.
Shoshan said that in the past year alone, there have been two separate arrests in Houston of individuals who allegedly crossed the border with the intention of harming Israelis, Jews and, specifically, the Israeli consulate in Houston.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE VICTIMS OF THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN NEW ORLEANS
“I think the main message we see from Israel to the US is to be firm in any action, by any means necessary. That means if you want to put out a fire, you can put out 80% of the fire 100% because the other 20% will grow back and collect will more fire and more damage later. We have to focus on him just to deal with him on a daily basis. he said. “I was in communication with the here the authorities.”
“The FBI and other agencies are helpful and helping us a lot at this time. And I hope the American people will better understand that we are dealing with something that is mutual,” he added. “The threat is mutual, it’s not just our part of the world, it’s a global threat. And in this situation, you have to be firm. You have to do anything and everything possible to eliminate that threat.”
The two injured Israelis were supposed to end their trip to the US in Florida with their uncle, but did not make it there. The uncle came to New Orleans after the attack, as did the immediate family of the victims, who flew in from Israel.
Security personnel investigate the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle plowed into a crowd, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Shoshan said the men ended up going to New Orleans for New Year’s Eve and “basically stumbled upon the scene.”
One of the men was more seriously injured than the other. He suffered head trauma, internal injuries and injuries to his extremities. Shoshan said doctors were still trying to stabilize him after he had already undergone “two head surgeries”.
“We’re hoping the next few days will decide if he’s going to make it. We’re hoping and praying for that,” Shoshan said.
The other Israeli was more moderately injured and underwent two different operations on his limbs, Shoshan said. He also has internal injuries but has shown significant improvement in the last 48 hours, the diplomat added.
“He seems much more stable, communicative and responsive,” Shoshan said.
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Shoshan thanked the medical staff and authorities in Louisiana, as well as the FBI. He said he was also grateful for the outpouring of support from New Orleans’ small Jewish community of about 12,000.
“We at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do everything necessary to support and help every Israeli in need, no matter where they are,” he said. “And no matter what happened to him or her, we do that all over the world. And that’s part of our role as diplomats who are in different missions around the world.”
