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Alleged Israeli Serial Killer Arrested in Atlanta

‘Flint Slasher’ was headed for Tel Aviv

by
Liel Leibovitz
August 12, 2010
Sketch of the killer.(Ma'ariv)
Sketch of the killer.(Ma'ariv)

These last few years have been good to Israelis trying to make it in the States, from the first Israeli player in the NBA to the first Israeli model on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Today, we can most likely add another to this list of firsts: The first Israeli serial killer to do his deeds stateside.

Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested Abd el Azam, an Arab Israeli citizen, as he was boarding a Tel-Aviv-bound Delta flight in Atlanta. He was later handed over to the FBI. El Azam is suspected of stabbing twenty victims in four states, killing at least five people and earning the moniker the Flint Slasher after the Michigan town where he reportedly began his violent spree.

Local authorities connected with the case suspect that the motive for the crimes was good ol’ fashioned racism—all of his victims were black or Hispanic. “I believe [the killer’s] motivation was pure hatred,” said Joseph Price, chief of police in Leesburg, Virginia.

Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.