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Opinion ‘We all have to be prepared’: Hero rabbi from Texas testifies before Congress
The following is the testimony that Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker of Congregation Beth Israel, Colleyville, Texas delivered before a Congressional hearing on Feb. 8, 2022. It was shared with the Forward in advance and printed here with permission. Chairwoman Demings, Chairwoman Slotkin, Ranking Member Cammack, Ranking Member Pfluger, thank you for the opportunity to share some…
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Opinion I’m a pulpit rabbi. This is the true cost of keeping synagogues safe
In the aftermath of the hostage situation at a synagogue in Texas, every Jewish institution in America, no matter the size, is once again reckoning with the overwhelming financial, material and spiritual costs of keeping our communities safe in a country where weapons of mass murder are available off the shelf at Walmart. I’m a…
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Opinion I have been racially profiled by the police. I still want them protecting our synagogues
Like millions of Jews, the hostage crisis at Congregation Beth Israel affected me deeply. Even here in Canada, my concern was with the hostages, but I also dreaded the conversation of security would soon emerge. After every antisemitic attack on a synagogue, we have a communal conversation about increased security and armed guards at synagogues,…
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News U.K. Jews, already under tight security, say the Texas synagogue attack is not a cause for panic
LONDON, England – As American Jews are grappling with how to maximize security measures, concerned about their safety, Jewish leaders in the United Kingdom are cautioning against panic in the aftermath of Saturday’s attack at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. “I don’t think the fact of anti-Jewish terrorism came as a shock to anyone,”…
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Fast Forward After Texas synagogue attack, Lipstadt urges Jews: Go to shul this weekend
Deborah E. Lipstadt, President Biden’s nominee to serve as the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, is calling for Jews to attend shul this weekend in light of the Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis. And none shall make YOU afraid-Lev26:6:Jews-Orthodox/Reform/Conservative/Reconstructionist/JCC/Havurah/Atheist/Break-fast/Proud&Not so/LQBTQ/Straight/Unsure/Educated/Don’t know an Alef vs. Bet: SHOW UP IN SHUL THIS SHABBAT/SHOW UP…
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News ‘Now it is an imperative:’ Synagogue hostage-taking prompts a hard look at security
Once the hostages at Beth Israel were safe, Jews turned their attention to every other synagogue — and Jewish community center, day school and camp. Just how secure are they? And what should be done to make them safer? Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the spiritual leader of the Texas synagogue, said he drew on security training…
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Fast Forward Park East: Fired rabbi says accusations of synagogue coup are ‘completely unfounded, and personally hurtful’
(JTA) In his first public comments since being fired from Park East Synagogue two weeks ago, Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt defended himself against charges of an “insurrection” and illegal activity and raised concerns about his former congregation’s future. Goldschmidt was abruptly fired from Park East, the wealthy Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, by the…
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Opinion Want to fill seats in shul? Take a lesson from southern evangelicals
It will not surprise anyone that Christianity is alive and well in the South. Take a stroll on a Sunday morning in Little Rock and you’ll see groups of young, markedly hip people with tattoos and asymmetrical haircuts gathering and chatting every few blocks. Children are everywhere, and the cheer is so contagious, you’d think…
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News Zohran Mamdani has represented Astoria’s Jews for 4 years. What do they think of him?
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