Appeared on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's multiple news platforms in January 2022 and was written as a localized piece in the immediate aftermath of a standoff inside a Texas synagogue. Go here for the original story.

 

 

BY ANTHONY CONROY

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An attack on a synagogue Saturday in Texas ended safely for four hostages, but more than 1,000 miles away in Pittsburgh, the incident was another jolt for the Jewish community here, many of whom have been left traumatized by the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life/Or L’Simcha synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

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On Saturday, the British national who held the four people hostage was killed following a 10-hour standoff at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, near Dallas. The Reform congregation’s rabbi was among the hostages. An FBI spokesman said the hostage-taker was specifically focused on an issue not directly connected to the Jewish community, and there was no immediate indication that the man was part of any broader plan. 

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While the man’s motivations are not yet clear, his actions were felt in Pittsburgh by a community still recovering from the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, in which a gunman killed 11 worshippers, marking the deadliest attack on Jews in American history. 

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“When I first heard the news … my heart dropped, because we’ve seen this before in Pittsburgh,” said Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, “and our first moves were on how to keep our community informed and resilient through all of it.”

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He said the Jewish Federation reminded its members that the attack in Texas didn’t seem to be part of a larger move against Jewish sites and people.

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The federation’s director of community security, Shawn Brokos, said federation officials were able to learn “early on” that the Dallas incident was isolated — it “was a targeted event and not a coordinated attack, and that there were no security implications for Pittsburgh.”

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Still, she said, “anytime there is an attack on the Jewish community, it really resonates here in Pittsburgh because of what we went through in 2018, so it brings the attack on the Tree of Life building back to the forefront.”

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Ms. Brokos said it was important to keep the community informed “to relieve some of that anxiety we know they might be experiencing.” She said the Texas incident — a hostage event rather than an active-shooter event — is “a trauma that resonates from seeing another community go through” something that required law enforcement intervention.

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Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, the spiritual leader at Tree of Life/Or L’Simcha Congregation, said congregants who survived the Texas incident may be physically unharmed but will be “forever changed.”

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“We awoke this morning relieved that all who were held hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville are alive and safe, and grateful for the work of law enforcement during yesterday’s horrific events,” Rabbi Myers said in a statement released Sunday.

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“And yet, alongside that relief, my heart is heavy. While everyone is physically safe, they are also forever changed. My own community knows too well the pain, trauma and lost sense of security that comes when violence forces its way in, especially into our sacred spaces.

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“We offer our heartfelt support and prayers of healing for those who were held hostage and everyone at Congregation Beth Israel as they begin to grapple with what has happened. We likewise hold our entire Jewish community in our thoughts, knowing all too well the sorrow and fear that such heinous attacks hold for each of us.”

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Ms. Brokos said she is concerned that the Texas incident could inspire copycats and more attacks on Jewish sites and community members.

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“Absolutely [I’m concerned],” she said, adding that the Jewish Federation made it a priority to let local law enforcement know “to make sure they were aware of what was happening.”

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She said Pittsburgh police provided additional patrols on Sunday at synagogues and religious school services “just as a precaution. Sometimes, just seeing that extra law enforcement presence, it kinda gives you that little extra piece of mind.”

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Mr. Finkelstein said he’s encouraged by the messages he saw on social media while events unfolded in Texas.

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“What I saw were posts from our Jewish community and Jews around the world [that were messages] of solidarity, support and hope,” he said. “There was a post going around on Facebook just praying for everyone that seemed to be repeated over and over and over again … .”

Similarly, in the wake of the Tree of Life attack, the city and region rallied to support the Jewish community. During incidents in Highland Park and Etna, Ms. Brokos said, community leaders — not necessarily Jewish community leaders — held all-inclusive forums to address the incidents.

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“The message is: ‘Our town is no place of hate. We’re not OK with this.’ And we need to educate and spread the word,” she said.

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Still, Ms. Brokos said, “we have absolutely seen a rise in antisemitic events. There’s no doubt about that. We track them at the Jewish Federation. We have a reporting mechanism where members of the community can file a report with us and then we will follow up with law enforcement.

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“So, this past year, in 2021, we saw double the amount of incidents in our Pittsburgh Jewish community compared to 2020. We also saw a rise in violent, antisemitic actions in the Pittsburgh community.”

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She said much of that rise was the result of a wave of antisemitic sentiment caused by the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian military group Hamas in March 2021.

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“That certainly increased the threat tempo,” Ms. Brokos said.  “[There’s even] “a portion of the population — believe it or not — that still blames COVID on the Jewish community. So we’re dealing with some of that.”

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She also said part of the rise is due to the fact that more members of the Jewish community are reporting incidents, something that wasn’t always the case.

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In the Texas incident, law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity said the hostage-taker demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to the al-Qaida terrorist group who is in a federal prison in Texas. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials.

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Rabbi Myers said that, regardless of the suspect’s motivations, it’s time to move past hate and violence.

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“Congregation Beth Israel’s Rabbi [Charlie] Cytron-Walker is known for his interfaith work, and we can think of no better response to yesterday’s events than to reject all forms of hate,

Islamophobia among them — to do otherwise would serve only to perpetuate the fear and hate that led to yesterday’s events,” Rabbi Myers said in his statement.

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“We must all put our efforts toward helping to build a world in which antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate no longer play a role in any human community."