Adam Sobel Week 12 - Terrorist Attack Against a Jewish Synagogue
On January 15th, 2022, a group of 4 reform Jews were praying in their synagogue near the Dallas area in a place called Colleyville. That Saturday morning, Malik Faisal Akram interrupted the service with a firearm to say that he had allegedly planted bombs throughout the synagogue in order to keep the people there hostage. However, no explosives were later found. Authorities believe that this specific synagogue was chosen for the hostage situation due to its close proximity with Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth. That military base was where an al-Qaeda terrorist, Aafia Siddiqui, was being held for her crimes and previous terrorist attacks. Akram demanded to trade her freedom for the lives of the hostages. The 10-hour standoff ended with all of the hostages safely escaping, but Akram was killed during the escape.
Rabbi Cytron Walker said that he had the cell phone number of the Colleymore Police Department Chief and was keeping in constant contact about the situation from the inside. He said that he was "constantly looking for an opportunity to leave, [but] it was very, very hard to find an opportunity where [they] all could leave". Hostage negotiators were able to negotiate for the release of one hostage from Akram so that only 3 more remained. Later, Cytron Walker claimed that he threw a chair at Akram in order to cause a distraction so that the last 3 people could escape. Once they had exited the building, the police outside had stormed the building to detain Akram, but it ended in a shooting instead and Akram was killed. However, he was the only casualty in the whole situation.
This event is very sad to me as a Jew, but it really made it hard for me because when I first heard about the attack my first thought was, "what's new?". We live in a world where shootings, terrorist attacks, and hate crimes occur so frequently that many people aren't surprised by them at all anymore. Once I realize this, I became really sad and angry about the state of our world. The next day, I was at my synagogue because I work there with students every Sunday. During Tefillah, the head Rabbi and the school principal were explaining to the students what to do in the event of a terrorist attack and assuring them that there was security personnel that would be able to protect them. It felt awful to have to hear that being said to 2nd graders. I would never have imagined myself being given that speech when I was 8 and I think it is terrifying that kids at that age have to worry about terrorist attacks and the safety of their friends and family in Jewish spaces. However, I also felt a little hope because of all the people that were talking about Jews becoming a united front against the rise of antisemitism. This attack allowed more Jews to speak their opinion about antisemitism, and it also helps to show the world about the importance of Israel as a state. What do you think? Are you more saddened by the aftermath of the hostage-situation and the start of our world, or are you more hopeful for the change that you think may come?
I am so saddened by this hostage attack on a synagogue in Texas. The world needs to not respond once something huge happens that makes public television, but instead, show awareness because it sadly occurs more than people are aware of. Hearing from the Rabbis and congressmen who were either on zoom doing services or physically at the scene gave me chills because they express how grateful they are to still be alive, but truly that should of never even happened in the first place. Antisemitism is a thing that may never disappear, but if we educate, it will help for people to understand the true meaning of being Jewish and to respect other religions.
ReplyDeleteAs antisemitism still continues in the world, it may seem like the Jewish people around the world are losing hope, but we are not. That's what's so amazing about the Jewish people, and it's why we continue to live on and survive through all of these horrific attacks: we never lose hope. One day, these antisemetic attacks will not be as frequent.
ReplyDeleteThis saddens me. I am honestly more sad about the situation, as I really don't think that significant change will come in the near future. Hopefully, eventually, these sick attacks will stop, and we Jews can live without being in constant fear. I am confident that if we keep resisting these attacks, one day, they won't happen anymore!
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad to see that these attacks are still happening, but unfortunately this is reality. As it stands antisemitism is only rising, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. Hopefully we can see a world, where one day, there is peace.
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