Hostage situation at shul in Texas

DrMom

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 6:35 am

I had read that the synagogue was practically empty because of covid concerns. Many congregants chose to "attend" remotely instead, and that is why the entire incident was livestreamed on Facebook.

amother

Amber

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 6:44 am

Yes thats what I read as well DrMom. Though who knows what details may come out. I am always interested in sources for cutting edge updated info -- like rubber ducky reported here before I saw anywhere else!

Just so relieved and happy that it is verifiable that the people taken hostage are now safe B"H.

Such trauma!

And the rising anti semitism is of great concern.

Raisin

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 6:49 am

DrMom wrote:

I had read that the synagogue was practically empty because of covid concerns. Many congregants chose to "attend" remotely instead, and that is why the entire incident was livestreamed on Facebook.

Yes many non orthodox shuls are still livestreaming services. Sad

But 4 people - rabbi, bm boy and parents.

amother

Amber

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 7:18 am

crazy

then who was the "old man" the first hostage and only one the terrorist released?

I guess I just really don't like to think this was some poor boy's bar mitzvah!

amother

Petunia

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 7:48 am

Raisin wrote:

a friend on fb mentioned it was a bar mitzvah...no idea where she got this info from.

There is no mention in any mainstream news source (that I have seen) of a bar mitzvah.

imasinger

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 8:08 am

DrMom wrote:

Read about this on motsei shabbat in the Israeli press and in a few US media outlets. For fun, I checked the NYTimes and LATimes websites. Not a peep.
This morning I saw this on the NYTimes:
https://web.archive.org/web/20.....ville

No mention of the fact that the hostage-taker was the brother of a Muslim Pakistani terrorist who blamed Israel for being caught and jailed, and that his motivation was to use the hostages to negotiate her freedom.

You can read about her here:
https://www.dallasnews.com/new.....ogue/

The news I saw said that the attacker here was not the brother of the woman in jail, and that brother denounced the hostage taker.

Here's one of many MSM pieces on it.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/16......html

I imagine the villain of this piece used "sister" in a more general sense.

amother

Aster

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 8:37 am

Muslims call each other brother and sister.

My relative in Dallas says this was the closest shul to the airport. So bh it wasn't a shul full of people including little kids.

amother

Yolk

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 9:13 am

amother [ Ghostwhite ] wrote:

What do you mean? If a palestinian child has to undergo heart surgery you should not have rachmunes? The child is not human because he is palestinian?

Israel provides medical care to Muslims all the time. They travel into Israel specifically for that. There have been times when Muslims have gotten transplants ahead of Jewish Israeli citizens.
They are not an apartheid state.
Arabs are part of the government.
Where do you get your news from?

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 9:19 am

Raisin wrote:

Yes many non orthodox shuls are still livestreaming services. Sad

But 4 people - rabbi, bm boy and parents.

At the live press conference last night around 11:30 pm the police spokesman specifically said the hostages were all adults in answer to a reporter's question.

And the NYT had coverage of it, too, last night--you may have had to scroll down a bit. All the same details as on fox news btw.

Not that I think so highly of the NYT. But it's incorrect to say they had no coverage as the situation was unfolding--they did.

DrMom

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 10:12 am

amother [ Amethyst ] wrote:

Well I couldn't find it anywhere. It must have been pretty well-hidden. The story today neglected to mention anything about the hostage-taker's motivation (freeing a Muslim terrorist). Oopsie. Maybe that was there too in some out-of-the-way corner of their internet site that I just could not locate?

All the info was on the top of the page on Fox News.

amother

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 10:14 am

DrMom wrote:

It was literally on the front page.

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:09 am

DrMom wrote:

I found it easily. Def mentioned his motive re the terrorist in prison. Additionally it had an article about the threat of violence at American Jewish institutions in the past couple years. Mentioned both white supremacists (like in Pittsburgh) as well as from terrorists on the left.
But I have an online subscription maybe if not, you don't get the full view?

amother

Yolk

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:10 am

amother

Yolk

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:15 am

Does the world even care?

DrMom

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:25 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It was literally on the front page.

When I looked, the NYTimes front page was about Omicron and a tennis star in Australia. I scrolled down for quite a bit and found nothing.

Same for the LATimes.

I checked the WaPo and found a tiny blurb 3-4 articles down the page with hardly any detail.

Then I went to Fox News and it was front and center.

When the NYTimes eventually ran a story on it, here is the content:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2.....ville

Quote:

Live Updates: SWAT Team Responds to Hostage Situation at Dallas-Fort Worth Area Synagogue
A man could be heard on a livestream of a service shouting at people inside. Officials were not releasing further details.

Here’s what you need to know:
The standoff at the temple in Colleyville, Texas, has lasted for hours.
The synagogue is a tight knit community that came together in the 1990s.
The standoff at the temple in Colleyville, Texas, has lasted for hours.

Heavily armed police officers and F.B.I. negotiators were responding on Saturday to a hostage situation at a synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where a man who was inside could be heard shouting on a livestream, the authorities said.

There appeared to be four hostages, one of whom is a rabbi, being held by a man at Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, according to a federal law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The Colleyville police said that F.B.I. crisis negotiators were in communication with the man.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said President Biden had been briefed on “the developing hostage situation” in Colleyville, a city of about 26,000 residents that is about 15 miles northeast of Fort Worth.

“He will continue to receive updates from his senior team as the situation develops,” Ms. Psaki said on Twitter. “Senior members of the national security team are also in touch with federal law enforcement leadership.”

Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Department of Public Safety was also on the scene of what he described as a “tense hostage situation.”

“They are working with local and federal teams to achieve the best and safest outcome,” Mr. Abbott said.

Katie Chaumont, an F.B.I. spokeswoman, said that nearby residents had been evacuated. She declined to say if the man was armed.

The congregation had been holding a scheduled Sabbath service at 10 a.m. It was being live streamed on its Facebook page when, the police said, they were called at about 10:41 a.m.

On the livestream, a man could be heard shouting about dying and not liking police officers, although the context was not clear because the stream was inaudible at times. A video of the livestream did not show what was going on inside the synagogue.

The man could also be heard asking to get his sister on the phone before the livestream stopped.

“It’s a deal,” he said at one point. “It’s a deal I had with you.”

Congregation Beth Israel, which was established in 1999 with 25 families as members, now has just over 100 members, according to Giovanni Capriglione, a state representative whose district includes Colleyville.

“Our whole community is feeling for them,” Mr. Capriglione said.

The congregation has been led since 2006 by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who is known for bringing different faiths together.

“He has brought Christian groups, and various Muslims groups together,” Mr. Capriglione said. “He is not someone who is railing against one faith or another. He’s the exact opposite.”

The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said he was “closely monitoring” the standoff.

“We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers,” Mr. Bennett said on Twitter.

U.S. Representative Colin Allred of Texas said he was praying for the congregants in Colleyville.

“No one should have to fear something like this may happen in their place of worship,” he said on Twitter.

The Fort Worth police said officers had stepped up patrols around synagogues in the city in response to the hostage situation.

Synagogues and Jewish institutions across the country have increased security in recent years after attacks and repeated threats of violence. Some have installed cameras and locks while others have hired armed guards.

The security measures have been prompted by the looming threat of antisemitic violence after attacks like the one that killed a woman at a synagogue in Poway, Calif., in 2019, and another that killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

The synagogue is a tight knit community that came together in the 1990s.
In the late 1990s, a small group of Jewish people who had relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area from across the country came together to create a new community for themselves. It began at a Yom Kippur breakfast, extended into Shabbat services and potluck dinners, and, before long, became a synagogue. Its founders called it Congregation Beth Israel.

Over the years, the congregation became an extended Jewish family in Colleyville, a small town of about 25,000 people. Today, it has about 200 close-knit members.

Before Saturday, when a livestream of a Shabbat service captured a hostage situation unfolding, the congregation was known for community building activities at a nearby community center, a Hanukkah Hoe Down and a community Seder.

The lead rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker, was known for building alliances with other faith-based organizations, said Giovanni Capriglione, a state representative who has been in office for nine years. A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rabbi Cytron-Walker was believed to be among four people taken hostage.

“The fact that it happened here is shocking,” Mr. Capriglione said on Saturday. “He has brought Christian groups and various Muslims groups together. He is not someone who is railing against one faith or another. He’s the exact opposite.”

The congregation began small, with about 25 members in the summer of 1999. The first religious services were held at a rented church facility. A school with 75 students opened shortly after, according to the synagogue’s website.

The synagogue quickly established itself as a refuge for the local Jewish community by buying a Torah dating back to the Holocaust from Eastern Europe and receiving donations of prayer books. By 2001, its congregation had grown to about 60 families, according to the synagogue’s website.

After years of planning its design and final look, a 160-seat sanctuary opened in late January 2004. Two years later, the synagogue welcomed Rabbi Cytron-Walker, who “continues to serve our community today,” the website reads.

“They’re a kind, loving congregation who are very supportive of one another and of the community,” said Beverly Powell, a state senator who knows the region well. “We have formed a very caring relationship with them. And so we’re keeping them in our prayers today.”

No mention of the hostage taker's motives. No mention that his intention is to free a terrorist (a US-educated Pakistani) imprisoned for attacking US troops in Afghanistan. They just gloss right over those details. Interesting what they choose to report.

Maybe there was more info on their homepage during some brief interval. That's all there is now. The stories about the tennis player are still there, as are the stories about Omicron.

Last edited by DrMom on Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:32 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:31 am

DrMom wrote:

Maybe not on the international version?
I don't know, I checked both fox and the nyt after Shabbos when I heard the news (was alerted by a substack I am subscribed to) around 8 pm or so and it was clearly on the front page and both had the same details and photos. Actually the NYT had a bit more coverage, they had a short article about the rabbi of the temple, another about the reactions of people living in the neighborhood, another about the rising threat to Jewish religious institutions in the U.S. But as I said, I have an online subscription and have full access to all NYT articles. Maybe if you don't have a subscription you can't get a full view.

amother

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:32 am

DrMom wrote:

Don't know what to tell you, other maybe suffering from confirmation bias.

fleetwood

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:35 am

DrMom wrote:

It was on CNN and all the local New York news for hours last night. I guess you aren't able to watch it bec you aren't in the U.S.

DrMom

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:35 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Don't know what to tell you, other maybe suffering from confirmation bias.

If you are referring to me, I asked my DH and my oldest son to look at the newspaper websites with me and nobody could find it.

DrMom

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 11:40 am

Here is what I found just now front and center on the Fox News website:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/tex.....ional

Look at all the interesting investigative info you would never know if you just read the NYTimes article (at least the one that stayed on their website for some reasonable length of time):

Quote:

Texas synagogue accused hostage taker was British national
Texas authorities say suspect who died at Fort Worth-area scene had demanded release of convicted Pakistani terrorist

Synagogue hostage-taker demanded release of terrorist 'Lady Al Qaeda' during standoff with police
Muslim scholar Dr. Qanta Ahmed joined 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to discuss the hostage-taker's demands and the role of antisemitism in the attack.

The man who allegedly held Jewish worshippers hostage at a Texas synagogue was a British citizen.

The suspect who died at the scene after allegedly taking hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, near Fort Worth, Saturday was a British national, according to the U.K. government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

"We are aware of the death of a British man in Texas and are in contact with the local authorities," a spokesperson for the office said in an emailed statement to Fox News Digital.

TEXAS HOSTAGE SITUATION: ALL HOSTAGES ‘ALIVE AND SAFE,' GREG ABBOTT TWEETS AFTER HOURS-LONG ORDEAL

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department, Justice Department, the FBI Dallas Division and the Colleyville Police Department early Sunday seeking additional comment.

It’s unclear how the individual entered the U.S. or if he had a criminal background.

The hours-long hostage incident ended Saturday night with the hostages safe and the man holding them dead, according to authorities. The man allegedly had demanded the release of a Pakistani woman who is imprisoned nearby on charges of trying to kill American service members in Afghanistan.

That woman, Aafia Siddiqui, is serving an 86-year prison sentence after being convicted in Manhattan in 2010 on charges that she sought to shoot U.S. military officers while being detained in Afghanistan two years earlier. She’s a Pakistani neuroscientist who studied in the United States at prestigious institutions — Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Top FBI and Justice Department described her as an "al-Qaida operative and facilitator" at a May 2004 news conference and warned of intelligence showing al-Qaida planned an attack in the coming months.

In 2008, she was detained by authorities in Afghanistan. American officials said they found in her possession handwritten notes that discussed the construction of so-called dirty bombs and that listed various locations in the U.S. that could be targeted in a "mass casualty attack."

Inside an interview room at an Afghan police compound, authorities say, she grabbed the M4 rifle of a U.S. Army officer and opened fire on members of the U.S. team assigned to interrogate her.

She was convicted in 2010 on charges including attempting to kill U.S. nationals outside the United States. At her sentencing hearing, she gave rambling statements in which she delivered a message of world peace — and also forgave the judge. She expressed frustration at arguments from her own lawyers who said she deserved leniency because she was mentally ill.

"I’m not paranoid," she said at one point. "I don’t agree with that."

Pakistani officials immediately decried the punishment, which prompted protests in multiple cities and criticism in the media. The prime minister at the time, Yousuf Raza Gilani, called her the "daughter of the nation" and vowed to campaign for her release from jail. In the years since, Pakistani leaders have openly floated the idea of swaps or deals that could result in her release.

Faizan Syed, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the group considers Siddiqui to have been "caught in the war on terror" as well as a political prisoner who was wrongly accused through flawed evidence.

He nonetheless strongly condemned the hostage-taking, calling it wrong, heinous and "something that is completely undermining our efforts to get Dr. Aaifa released."

The woman, known as "Lady al Qaeda," has also garnered support from accused militants in the United States. An Ohio man who admitted he plotted to kill U.S. military members after receiving training in Syria also planned to fly to Texas and attack the federal prison where Siddiqui is being held in an attempt to free her. The man, Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, was sentenced in 2018 to 22 years in prison.

Siddiqui is being held at a federal prison in Fort Worth, where she was attacked in July by another inmate at the facility and suffered serious injuries, according to court documents.

Before the Texas hostage incident ended, authorities and others were worried about a repeat of such tragedies as the Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh in October 2018, where 11 people were killed, or the Poway, California, synagogue shooting near San Diego in 2019, where there was one fatality.