Islamic State Syndrome is a term used by Zionist Union MK Ksenia Svetlova, who is an expert on the Middle East and Islam, to define the fascination the brutal Sunni terror group holds for mainstream Muslims, especially young, impressionable ones.
In a column on the Channel 2 website, Svetlova writes that as early as two years ago, little children running the streets of Arab towns in Israel yell to each other Daesh, the group’s Arabic acronym, and call the strongest kid in the gang Baghdadi – the last name of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, leader of IS.
Svetlova says a “concerned teacher from Lod,” a mixed city, “told me that for some kids in lower classes IS people are a kind of supermen. They see kids their own age in Islamic State videos and are impressed. They buy the dolls imported from China that have a knife in their hand [a shipment of such dolls was caught by Israeli customs last month].” Because IS has what Iran will never have, writes Svetlova: amazing marketing skills.
Svetlova’s column is published two days after a lethal shooting attack in Tel Aviv by an Israeli Arab named Nashat Milhem. While Milhem’s family claim he is insane, the attack bears striking similarities, albeit on a smaller scale, to the November 13 Paris attack claimed by Islamic State.
No group has claimed responsibility for Milhem’s attack and he is still at large.
File: Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi giving a sermon. (screen capture: YouTube)
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel