Terror Suspects Admits Synagogue Bomb Plot
One of two New York men charged last year with plotting to blow up synagogues and churches in Manhattan pleaded guilty on Tuesday to 10 charges and faces a decade in prison.
Ahmed Ferhani, 27, admitted to conspiring to attack the biggest synagogue in Manhattan as well as churches to send a message of violence to non-Muslims. Ferhani, who was arrested in May 2011, entered the plea in New York State Supreme Court.
Justice Michael Obus said he intends to sentence Ferhani to 10 years in prison. The judge said that after his sentence, Ferhani, an Algerian immigrant who lived in the borough of Queens, may be deported to Algeria.
Ferhani and another man, Mohamed Mamdouh, were arrested after they purchased three guns, ammunition and what they believed was a live grenade. Police have said the two discussed growing beards and curls to disguise themselves as Hasidic Jews before planting explosives in synagogues.
Ferhani appeared in court without Mamdouh.
Police officials have said the men have no known ties to terror organizations, with the police commissioner calling the pair “lone wolves” after their arrest.
At Tuesday’s court appearance, prosecutors read for the first time from transcripts of Ferhani discussing his plans with an undercover detective two days before his arrest, after purchasing what he believed to be a live grenade.
In the transcripts read in court by Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Margaret Grandy, Ferhani expresses a desire to blow up 10 synagogues “with one transmission button.”
“Imagine that,” Ferhani said, according to the transcripts. “Imagine the ruckus and chaos.”
Defense attorneys have argued that the Ferhani has emotional and mental issues that authorities were aware of before he became the subject of the undercover investigation and eventual sting operation.
Ferhani “has been getting institutionalized since he was 17 years old,” defense attorney Lamis Deek said after the court proceeding. “The NYPD was called to his house more than a dozen times. They would show up at his house and then take him to Bellevue” hospital.
Deek said Ferhani has behaved in ways that indicated he might attempt to harm himself.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump mandates universities to report foreign funding, a demand of pro-Israel groups
-
Fast Forward Exclusive: Trump nominee apologizes for praising Nazi sympathizer while awaiting Senate confirmation hearing
-
Fast Forward Global antisemitism has declined since Oct. 7, Tel Aviv University says
-
Yiddish World VIDEO: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising commemoration highlights women ghetto fighters
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.