Jewish Press of Pinellas County

Livestreamed services meant whole world could hear attack



Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker

For most of the Shabbat services streamed from Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, TX, in the course of the past two years only a few dozen people ever tuned in, mostly from their homes in the Fort Worth suburb.

But as the regular Shabbat morning service led by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker was transformed into a harrowing hostage situation Saturday, Jan. 15 thousands of people tuned in from all over the world.

“How many people are in there?” one woman commented on the video as she watched, the strains of the attacker’s voice audible on the stream. “Prayers,” another person wrote, as heart and anger emoji “reactions” flowed alongside the video, which was frozen on an empty bima.

Another comment summed it up: “OMG. Is this LIVE??”

It was – and it remained that way from around 10:40 a.m. to 2 p.m. – giving an unprecedented number of people a front-row seat into a dangerous attack on a Jewish community. It ended after nearly 12 hours with the four hostages safe, including the rabbi, and the attacker dead.

The dynamic was very different from past synagogue attacks, including the 2018 shooting at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh in which 11 Jews were killed during Shabbat services. There, news trickled out, but much remained unknown about what transpired inside the synagogue for some time.

At the synagogue attack in Poway, CA, in 2019, the gunman aimed to live stream the attack but was not successful.

In Colleyville, the streaming was not part of the violent attacker’s strategy but a function of the synagogue’s technology. The Reform congregation began streaming services in March 2020, shortly after shutting down because of the pandemic. Like many synagogues it eventually set up cameras that are permanently trained on the bimah, where they remained focused on Saturday after the hostage situation began.

Beth Israel, founded in 1998, was the first Jewish congregation in northeast Tarrant County. According to the Union for Reform Judaism, the temple has close to 160-member families.

All over the world, thousands of people listened as the disembodied voice of the armed attacker came through their computers. Their screens showed the silent prayer that ends the Amidah, the point in the service at which the attacker interrupted the prayers.

Those listening in included law enforcement representatives who benefited from being able to hear what was happening inside the synagogue and people close to the congregation who tuned in to see if people they know and care about were safe.

It likely also included people who had never heard of Colleyville before Saturday and people who may have never set foot in a synagogue before.

The attack’s transparency could be especially significant for them, Amy Asin, the vice president and director of Strengthening Congregations at the Union for Reform Judaism, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Most non-Jews don’t realize that Jews cannot worship free from fear,” said Asin, who works with Reform congregations such as Congregation Beth Israel on issues relating to security. “If this helps people understand that I’ll take it as a benefit.”

The fact that Beth Israel’s service was streaming likely changed the dynamics of the hostage situation, as well. The recent rise of the omicron variant meant that fewer people than usual were inside on Saturday morning; most of the people who participated in the service did so from home.

Only four hostages, including Rabbi Cytron-Walker, were taken, and the streamed audio made clear that he and others had built a relationship with the attacker.

“We have to remember,” Asin said, “that even if the sanctuary is empty of worshippers, the service leaders are still there, and we have to provide security for them.”

Michael Masters, the national director and CEO of the Secure Community Networ (SCN), which works to boost security in synagogues and other Jewish institutions, said the situation points to a core challenge as Jewish communities adapt to more pervasive streaming.

“What’s important is that there is a plan in place by the individual synagogues or institutions for managing those streams in live feeds,” Masters said. “So that if an incident does occur, or an event does occur, those can be accessed remotely or on site and shut off either remotely or on site.”

At the same time, he said, streaming can help law enforcement understand what is happening inside a synagogue during an attack.

Masters added that the synagogue underwent SCN training in August. “It was a full training,” he said. “We worked on a number of different scenarios and issues and we have been engaged with that congregation.”

In a statement to CNN, Rabbi Cytron- Walker said, “Without the instruction we received we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself. I encourage all Jewish congregations, religious groups, schools and others to participate in active-shooter and security courses.

According to recorded audio recovered from the livestream, the man was seeking the freedom of Aafia Siddiqui, a relative by marriage of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the chief architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Aafia Siddiqui is serving an 86-year sentence in the Fort Worth area for attempting to kill American military personnel after she was arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 on suspicion of plotting attacks in New York. She made multiple antisemitic outbursts during and after her trial including insisting that no Jews sit on her jury.

At one point, the attacker – who claimed to have explosives – called Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue in New York City, in an effort to have his demands met. (See related story, Page 4). He also reportedly called relatives during the standoff.

Jessika Harkay, a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, shared a number of quotes from the livestream in a series of tweets.

“Don’t cry on the f**king phone with me,” a man says at one point. “Don’t f**king cry on me. I have six beautiful kids … There are hostages in the synagogue who are going to die. … What are you crying for?”

“I’m going to die, are you listening?” the man says, repeatedly. “I’m going to die doing this all right? Are you listening? I’m going to die. Don’t cry about me.”

Following their rescue Saturday about 9:30 p.m., none of the hostages other than Rabbi Cytron-Walker was immediately identified.

Rabbi Cytron-Walker joined the congregation in 2006 after graduating from the Reform movement’s rabbinical school. Originally from East Lansing, MI, he has been known throughout his career for his passion for social justice issues and his interfaith outreach including to the Muslim community.

Following the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, Cytron-Walker delivered a sermon to his congregation in which he thanked the local community for standing by their side and offering support.

“Too many times in Jewish history we faced tragedy without love or support,” he wrote in remarks posted at the time on Facebook. “Too many times to count, we were left to pick up the pieces of tragedy and destruction. Believe me. The love and support matters….”

Shira Hanau, Philissa Cramer, Andrew Lapin and Ron Kampeas contributed to this story.

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