The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is removing what they admit is a “highly inappropriate plate” with “JIHAD123” on it, after a tipster sent a photo of the plate to the South Shore Press.
After numerous inquiries from the South Shore Press to officials at the NYS DMV pertaining to the validity and appropriateness of the plate, state officials confirmed it was an actual plate they issued, and promised to pull it based on questions and information from the South Shore Press.
“Our system was updated in 1991 to exclude plates containing that word from being issued, however, an error in the system allowed this one to get through. As soon as we became aware of this plate, we took immediate action to remove it from the road and are actively working to adjust the system filter so this never happens again,” said New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Director of Information Walt McClure.
The word “Jihad” is seen by many in the Jewish community as an offensive term promoted by terrorists as a mission to eliminate Israel and kill Jews.
According to the Director of National Intelligence terrorist guide, Islamic terrorist organizations use the phrase "Jihad" to promote the destruction of Israel.
The European Council on Foreign Relations documents numerous cases where Palestinian/Islamic terrorist organizations use the specific phrase "Jihad" in their quest to destroy Israel.
When contacted by the South Shore Press and shown the “JIHAD 123” license plate issued by the NYS DMV, New York State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn) questioned how it could have ever been issued and gotten past controls to stop it from being on the road.
Yeger wants the NYS DMV to go one step further and refer the plate holder, who the South Shore Press is not identifying, to law enforcement for their review.
“A case can be made that the NYS DMV should immediately forward the identity of this plate holder to the FBI for investigation. It says out loud the state of mind of this person. Anyone who wraps themselves in the cloak of JIHAD should at the very least be on the radar of our top law enforcement agency,” said Assemblyman Yeger exclusively to the South Shore Press.
According to personalized license plate guidelines found on the NYS DMV website, there are specific controls in place to prevent a plate such as “JIHAD 123” from being issued. They include but are not limited to denying plate requests that:
“Personalized plates bearing a plate number that represents a word, phrase, expression, or that has a meaning, connotation or format that the commissioner deems objectionable shall not be issued.”
Such plates shall include, but need not be limited to, those that the commissioner determines are
(i) obscene, profane, vulgar, repulsive, depraved, or lewd;
(iv) are derogatory, contemptuous, degrading, disrespectful or inflammatory;
(v) express, describe, advertise, advocate, promote, encourage, glorify, or condone violence, crime or unlawful conduct
Ross Brady, a Jewish member of New York State Conservative Party and a former candidate for Congress wondered to the South Shore Press how the plate “JIHAD 123” could have slipped past strict controls.
“Obviously, this is a patently absurd outcome by a tone-deaf bureaucracy. It speaks to either a neglectful or an incompetent bureau of the state of New York. I don’t know if this would happen in another state,” said Brady.
The New York State DMV promised to ensure the “JIHAD 123” plate is permanently taken off the road.
“As reflected in our regulations, DMV has zero tolerance for plate combinations that promote violence, and that includes plates that contain the word “JIHAD”, said McClure.
As for the Jewish community and reaction to the existence of a “JIHAD 123” license plate, many pointed the South Shore Press in the direction of data that showed anti-Semitic incidents have skyrocketed 360% in the aftermath of the October 7th, 2023 attacks in Israel, according to the Anti Defamation League.
“You want to be woke? Maybe they (NYS DMV) should wake up to the fact that we should not be putting JIHAD123 a plate. Most people look at the word JIHAD and automatically think about hatred and call for the death of Jewish people, but it is more than that. The jihad is against the West. Against the infidels. And those infidels are all of us with western-style free-thinking Jewish or not,” concluded Ross.