Synagogue Hostage Crisis Response

COMMUNITY MEMBERS GATHER ON THE COMMONS IN RESPONSE TO SYNAGOGUE HOSTAGE CRISIS

Ithaca community members gather Jan. 22 on The Commons in response to a hostage standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. Nolan Saunders/The Ithacan

BY OLIVIA STANZL

Members of the Ithaca community gathered in family,” Burton said. “The desecration of any house is an act that strikes all places of worship and somefreezing temperatures Jan. 22 at the Bernie Milton Pavilion on The Commons in solidarity as a response to a hostage standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. During a Jan. 15 Shabbat worship at Colleyville’s Congregation Bethel Israel, 44-year-old Malik Fasil entered the synagogue and held members of the Congregation Bethel Israel hostage for more than 10 hours. At 5 p.m. one hostage was released and it was not until 9 p.m. that the other three hostages escaped. Fasil was killed after the hostage rescue team breached the building. Assault, harassment and vandalism against Jewish people remain at near-historic levels in the U.S., according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In 2020, the ADL recorded 2,024 antisemitic incidents, making it the third-highest year since ADL began tracking in 1979. The Ithaca gathering lasted 30 minutes and attracted approximately 40 members of the community. Leaders of local Ithaca congregations like Hillel at Ithaca College, Tikkun v’Or, Cornell Hillel, Al-Huda Islamic Center, First Baptist Church and Temple Beth-El came and shared their statements of support with the Jewish community. Cantor Abbe Lyons, Jewish chaplain of Hillel, led the group in prayer and also opened and closed the gathering. Mahmud Burton, president of the Al-Huda Islamic Center in Ithaca, said a violation of any house of worship impacts everyone, no matter what their religious beliefs may be. “An injury that falls on your family is felt on my thing we must all stand unequivocally against in all circumstances.” Rabbi Ari Weiss, director of Cornell Hillel, spoke about the current climate Jewish people face in the world today. “How sad it is that after thousands of years of Jew hatred, antisemitism is alive and well in America today,” Weiss said. “That there are individuals in America and around the world who still believe in classic antisemitism tropes such as ‘Jews control the world.’ How sad it is that there are those that will act on that information and terrorize Jewish people.” A 2021 study done by the American Jewish Committee showed that while 90% of American Jewish people believes that antisemitism is a very serious problem, only 60% of the general public agrees. The survey also found that one in four Jewish people had been a vicitm of antisemitism within the past year. Rabbi Rachel Safman from Temple Beth-El said these hateful tropes have the potential to turn into justifcation for further hate crimes. “I’m not talking about crimes against Jews because you see it doesn’t end with the Jews,” Safman said. “It never ends with the Jews. From statements about Jews, the spewers of hate move on [and] sooner or later to similarily dangerous statements about Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Muslims, gays and so forth.” Safman said that after the hostage situation in Colleyville, she and other members of the Jewish community were evoked to wonder why crimes continue to be committed against Jewish people. “It’s my community that spent last Saturday glued to their computer screens, radios and televisions waiting to hear if once again our fellow Jews were going to be gunned down for the crime of showing up for Shabbat worship, for testing our faith in God and our belief the world will be better than what it is now,” Safman said. In the past few years, the City of Ithaca and Ithaca College have experienced acts of antisemitism. In October 2020, businesses in Downtown Ithaca were vandalized with antisemitic and racist graffti and posters, according to The Ithaca Voice. In April 2019, a swastika was found on a dorm door in Talcott Hall. In February 2022, two swastikas were found on the college campus. The frst was found drawn in condensation on a window in Baker Hallway on Feb. 4 and the second was discovered drawn on a poster in the James J. Whalen Center for Music on Feb. 8. In order to combat antisemitism and create a better climate for the Jewish population, the college is taking part in Hillel’s International Campus Climate Initiative for the 2021–22 academic year. The college’s Hillel had open drop-in hours Jan. 17 so that the college community had a space to process the hostage standoff that occurred in Texas. Ithaca College sophomore Alexa Tamis attended the gathering and has been a member of Hillel since her freshman year. Tamis said that hearing about antisemitic events that occur around the world has an impact on how safe she feels. “Already living on a campus is scary, especially after last semester’s bomb threats,” Tamis said. “When you tie religion into it and the antisemitic people in the world, it’s scary. Especially for people who go to Hillel every Friday night, it’s scary knowing that something like that could happen and that there are people out there who would do such a thing to those who are just trying to practice their religion.” Tamis said that she felt the event brought the Jewish and Ithaca community together and that she was surprised the event was attended by so many, including those who don’t practice Judaism. “It was so nice to see so many people from other religions and beliefs coming together,” Tamis said. Sophomore Carly Weiss joined Hillel in Fall 2021. Weiss said that she feels protected and safe at Hillel knowing she has a group of people to lean on when antisemitic attacks occur around the world. Weiss attended the gathering and said she was moved by how many different religions were there to support her Jewish community. “I was so moved when a stranger reached out to hold my hand as the cantor sang the fnal song,” Weiss said. “I later found out that she was not even Jewish and that she was there for support. Her act of kindness made me feel safer to be in a gathering about Judaism.”