Past incidents targeting Jewish Americans may have saved lives during Colleyville synagogue ordeal

The past few years have been an especially frightening time for many Jewish Americans, even before the hostage situation at Colleyville’s Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday. Preparing for the worst may have helped the hostages stay alive. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the leader of the synagogue and one of the hostages, said in a statement on Sunday that his congregation has been prepared for this kind of incident. “Over the years, my congregation and I have participated in multiple security courses from the Colleyville Police Department, the FBI, the Anti-Defamation League, and Secure Community Network,” Cytron-Walker said. “We are alive today because of that education. I encourage all Jewish congregations, religious groups, schools, and others to participate in active-shooter and security courses.”

Four people spent hours trapped inside the Colleyville synagogue, after a gunman entered the synagogue during Shabbat services. The FBI has identified the suspect as Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old man from the United Kingdom. An FBI team freed the hostages and Akram died. Authorities have not specified his cause of death. Congregation Beth Israel president Michael Finfer said there was “a one in a million chance” that the gunman picked his small suburban synagogue in Colleyville. “We know that a situation of this magnitude could increase the concern many of us live with on a day-to-day basis due to antisemitism,” Finfer said. “It is important to note that this was a random act of violence.” Still, the hostage situation comes during a time that has many Jewish institutions thinking about their security. Antisemitic incidents have been reported at historically high levels in recent years, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The deadliest antisemitic attack in American history was in 2018, when a gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.