Perhaps the scariest comment to emerge from the successful rescue on Saturday night of Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and three of his congregants was made by the officer in charge, Matthew DeSarno of FBI Dallas in his public briefing after the hostage crisis was resolved. After ending an eleven-hour stand-off with an Islamic terrorist, Malik Faisal Akram, —whose only known demand was the release of Aafia Siddiqui—DeSarno remarked that the attack was a terrorist event not an anti-Semitic incident. The fact that the terrorist invaded Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, not a bowling alley or a nightclub did not appear to register with the articulate agent in charge. As David Baddiel—the British writer, critic, and comedian—observed once again on Sunday, quoting the title of his new book, I guess, Jews Don’t Count.
The recent rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States and throughout the world appears not to have registered with the public and even with law enforcement officials. To be clear, all Muslims do not hate Jews or hate Israel, but the sole demand made by Akram on Saturday was for the release of a Muslim terrorist serving an 86-year prison sentence in a facility near Colleyville. Her conviction was for trying to kill U.S. service personnel serving in Afghanistan.
Apparently, she and Akram believed—as have anti-Semites for generations--that attacking Jews does not evoke a public outcry as would attacking women, LGBTQ’s, or people of color. The world simply does not care that much about Jews. Furthermore, when this is combined with a general declining sympathy for Israel both on the left and the right in America, invading a synagogue once again becomes a “reasonable” target. As Dara Horn expands in her recent short and compelling new book, People Love Dead Jews.”
This is the third Synagogue assault during services in the United States since the October 2018 attack in Pittsburgh. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) there has been a dramatic surge in anti-Semitism in the U.S. since 2017. While Saturday’s attack did not involve a loss of life except for the hostage, this incident will undoubtedly elevate the to an even higher the surveillance and security at Synagogues and places where Jewish organizations operate. The reaction to this targeted attack against Jews, however, raised two underlining questions.
First, while the FBI did walk back its initial failure to classify the Colleyville attack as anti-Semitic, it is bizarre that law enforcement officials were unable to recognize that the perpetrator did not attack a Christian study group or an exercise spa---but invaded a synagogue during its regular Saturday worship hours. Regardless of Akram’s demands, this was an attack against Jews and Jewish religious worship.
Second, except for television stations and social media (which is self-driven), many major newspapers closed down their Sunday night press without even referring to this breaking story on their front pages. If they could not cover the story on their front page, it seems the growing nature of these incidents should have compelled them at least to flag this breaking news. Sadly, had it been other religious, social, or cultural groups--other than Jews—that were under attack, many papers would likely have been energized to focus attention on the seriousness of this incident. Given the heightened increase in anti-Semitism in the United States and throughout the world, it would seem that it should have merited as much attention as Novak Djokovic being refused permission to participate in the Australian Tennis Open.
Anti-Semitism and anti-Israel feeling is growing in the United States. Since the Holocaust, America had become a more and more hospitable place for Jews to live without fear or with less prejudice. The trend, however, is shifting and there is a palpable sense of discomfort among many American Jews. Political polarization has certainly contributed to this crisis, but verbal attacks against Jews from both the political right and left have increased the willingness of violent individuals to translate the words to action. The comfort level for Jews in America is declining in 2022.
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