Jewish convert to Islam pleads guilty to incitement

A Jewish convert to Islam pleaded guilty to inciting violence, including a call to leave Chabad headquarters in New York “a message from Islam.”

“Yousef Mohamid Al-Khattab (a.k.a. Joseph Cohen), 45, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty yesterday to using his position as a leader of the ‘Revolution Muslim’ websites to use the Internet to place others in fear of serious bodily injury,” said an Oct. 31 statement from the Alexandria, Va., office of the FBI.

Al-Khattab pleaded guilty in US District Court. He faces a sentence of up to five years when he next appears in court, in February.

Many of his incendiary calls were made during Operation Cast Lead in 2009, among them a call to seek out leaders of Jewish federations “and deal with them in their homes.” He also posted a map with directions to Chabad headquarters and, according to The Washington Post, called on his readers to “make EVERY attempt to reach these people and teach them the message of Islam or leave them a message of Islam.”

The Post said al-Khattab was a dual Israeli citizen. A before-and-after photo on the Vosizneias news website showed a younger al-Khattab when he was a haredi Orthodox Jew.