Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

Charlie Cytron-Walker, the rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, let the hostage-taker inside the synagogue in January because the man appeared to need shelter. The gunman had knocked on a glass door and Cytron-Walker took him in and made the 44-year-old British national a cup of tea, the rabbi said.

Malik Faisal Akram, of Blackburn in northwestern England, then held Cytron-Walker and three others hostage. After an 11-hour standoff with authorities, the rabbi threw a chair at the hostage-taker to initiate their getaway.

In remembrance of the crisis, Congregation Beth Israel has donated two items to the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, according to the Jerusalem Post. They are the teacup and the chair that were involved that day.

The items will be displayed in a new exhibit on modern-day antisemitism in America.

The museums president and CEO Misha Galperin told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency via email that the cup and chair are symbolic of fundamental Jewish values: Welcoming strangers and Redeeming captives.

They also represent the basic American ideals of embracing newcomers and bravery in the face of danger, Galperin wrote. This is what Jewish Americans aspire to be and what the Weitzman Museum aspires to represent.

Opening this spring, the exhibit will also include a video interview with Cytron-Walker and the three congregants who were held hostage, according to the Jerusalem Post.

We look forward to a time when future generations will not endure this antisemitic hatred, Congregation Beth Israels board of directors said in a statement. The Weitzman Museum will play a large part in allowing the public to visit and learn as well as protect religious freedoms for Jews in America and worldwide.

Read this article:

Colleyville synagogue standoff artifacts going to Jewish museum - The Dallas Morning News

Category: Synagogue
Tags: