Five Lessons from Colleyville

No Jews were killed when a gunman took four hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas on January 15. It was nothing less than a miracle. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn as much from this incident as we did from deadly attacks that targeted Jews around the country, from Pittsburgh and Poway to Jersey City (remember Jersey City? Assailants killed three people at a kosher market there in December 2019). I, for one, am treating the hostage attack in Colleyville as if Jews had been killed, because they easily could have, and as a reminder to not brush off this moment of time in American Jewish history. I’ve learned many lessons from Colleyville:

We have allies, many of them wonderful and in positions of great power. But more than ever, I now believe that we are increasingly on our own. 

Jews Have Allies, But We’re Still on Our Own 

Jews have allies, many of them wonderful and in positions of great power. But more than ever, I now believe that we are increasingly on our own. 

This is less so in America, fortunately, but Colleyville taught me that even in this exceptional country, we have to fight for ourselves. Case in point: When Jews are killed simply for being Jews, they are buried twice: Their bodies are buried in the ground, and their stories are buried in the press and on social media. Don’t believe me? See last Sunday’s print edition of The New York Times. The major story on Colleyville was on the 19th page. Yes, the 19th page. 

Social Media, By Its Nature, Magnifies Performative Sympathy

Some Americans couldn’t have cared less about Jews being taken hostage. The day after the incident, #antisemitism wasn’t even in the top 30 trending Twitter hashtags in this country.

And then, there was the repulsive silence of many elected officials during the hostage situation. For hours, they didn’t say anything, and yet, they spoke louder than anyone, because their silence said it all. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who has repeatedly put Jews at risk with her vocal Israel hatred, tweeted support to the “Beth Israel community and synagogue family.” In response, AISH HaTorah CEO Rabbi Steven Burg replied, “Said the arsonist to the firefighters…” 

Jews Know When We’re the Target

Like many American Jews, I was horrified when an FBI special agent initially stated that the incident wasn’t “specifically related to the Jewish community.” 

On January 17, the FBI said it is now investigating the hostage standoff as a “terrorism-related incident.” That’s an upgrade, though it still doesn’t mention antisemitism. But ask many Jews, from wholly secular to totally observant, and they will assert: If it walks like an antisemite and talks like an antisemite, it probably is an antisemite. 

The assailant, 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram, took four Jews hostage in an attempt to secure the release of his self-proclaimed ideological “sister,” Aafia Siddiqui, whom Afghan police arrested in 2008. Siddiqui possessed instructions on how to make explosives as well as papers describing New York landmarks. According to prosecutors, after her arrest, she picked up an M4 army rifle and shot at American soldiers. Nicknamed “Lady al-Qaeda,” Siddiqui was convicted in 2010 and is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in Texas for the attempted murder of American troops and FBI agents. 

Here’s the best (and by that, I mean worst) part of Siddiqui’s story: During her trial in the U.S., she demanded that all jurors be DNA-tested to ensure they weren’t Israeli or Zionist, just “to be fair.” She also dismissed her legal team because, you guessed it, she said her lawyers were Jewish. Naturally, it takes a whole other level of Jew hatred to do such a thing. In a letter to then-president Barack Obama, Siddiqui said that Jews “have always back-stabbed everyone who has taken pity on them and made the ‘fatal’ error of giving them shelter.” Did I mention that Siddiqui is a neuroscientist?

Jewish Kindness Is Ubiquitous 

It’s truly a sad day when Jewish kindness becomes a liability, especially at a synagogue. 

Ironically, it was Akram, the deceased hostage-taker, who knocked at the welcoming door of Congregation Beth Israel on January 15. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the courageous rabbi who is being praised for his calming presence amid 11 hours of terror, allowed Akram to enter believing he needed shelter. Cytron-Walker told CBS that he not only let Akram inside, but made him a cup of tea. This is not because the rabbi was naive, but because as someone who has studied Judaism, Cytron-Walker knows about the Jewish imperative of offering hospitality to strangers (“hakhnasat orchim”). It’s truly a sad day when Jewish kindness becomes a liability, especially at a synagogue. 

Words Matter, Especially If You’re CAIR 

Remember what I said about Siddiqui, the Pakistani woman convicted of trying to kill Americans, who also demanded DNA tests to prove the jurors in her case weren’t Zionists? In November 2021, the Texas chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) demanded her release during an online event titled “Injustice: Dr. Aafia and the 20-year legacy of America’s wars.” The speakers were none other than Siddiqui’s attorney and everyone’s favorite Jew-basher, Linda Sarsour. That same month, CAIR and other American Muslim organizations met with members of Congress to lobby for Siddiqui’s release during a “Free Dr. Aafia Advocacy Day” in Washington, D.C. How do we know that Akram, the hostage-taker, didn’t interpret such advocacy as a literal call to action? To be fair, CAIR national deputy director Ed Ahmed Mitchell called the incident “antisemitic,” adding, “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community … No cause can justify or excuse this crime.” 

No cause, with a few exceptions. Let us remember the words of CAIR San Francisco executive director Zahra Billoo, who, last November, warned listeners at an American Muslims for Palestine convention: “Know your enemies.”

She also said, “When we talk about Islamophobia, we often think of the vehement fascists … but I also want us to pay attention to the polite Zionists, the ones that say, ‘Let’s just break bread together’ … We need to pay attention to the Anti-Defamation League, we need to pay attention to the Jewish Federation, we need to pay attention to the Zionist synagogues, we need to pay attention to the Hillel chapters on our campuses.”

Does CAIR really believe that words don’t matter? On Twitter, Adiel Cohen, a pro-Israel influencer based in Tel Aviv, astutely observed, “Remember a month ago when CAIR’s Zahra Billoo said we ‘need to pay attention to ‘Zionist’ synagogues’? Well, attention was paid.”

In the end, we’re still reckoning with what happened in Colleyville. If Jews can be taken hostage in a previously little-known town in Texas, they are at risk everywhere. We all need to sound the alarm of Jew hatred with greater magnification and gravity: Houston, we have a problem.

Tabby Refael is a Los Angeles-based writer, speaker and civic action advocate. Follow her on Twitter @RefaelTabby