Jihadist calls for Letterman's assassination: Online message urges readers 'to cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever'

John Paul Filo / AP: An online jihadist is calling for the death of late-night host David Letterman.

 

By Anna Chan

TODAY staff and wire

Late-night host David Letterman is the target of an online jihadist, according to the website SITE Intelligence Group.

Adam Raisman, an analyst at SITE, told EW.com that the threat was posted on a website called Shumukh-al-Islam, and is used by al-Qaida.

“It’s a clearing house for al-Qaida material, it gets the most al-Qaida supporters,” he told EW.

SITE told EW.com that the poster became upset at a joke on "Late Show With David Letterman."

According to NYDailyNews.com, the "Late Show" segment that upset the person who posted the message showed Letterman drawing his finger across his neck when talking about the death of senior al-Qaida member Ilyas Kashmiri.
 

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The message reportedly threatens Letterman's life, saying, "Is there not amongst you a Sayyid Nosair al-Masri (may Allah release him) to cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever. Just as Sayyid (may Allah release him) did with the Jew Kahane."

Letterman is not Jewish.

Nosair was acquitted in a state trial of the murder of Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League,  in 1991. Nosair was later retried and convicted in federal court.

A spokesman for the FBI told the Associated Press that the agency is looking into the threats. "We take every potential threat seriously," he said.

CBS has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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