Rabbi Charlie Citron Walker wrote an exciting post thanking all those involved in the release of him and three other worshipers who were held hostage for hours by a British citizen who broke into a Beit Yisrael synagogue in Texas, with the aim of freeing a Pakistani al-Qaeda operative imprisoned in the US.
"I am full of appreciation for all the prayers and support, all the law enforcement and first responders who took care of us, all the guidance that helped us save ourselves," the community rabbi Citron Volker published last night (Sunday).
"I am grateful to my family, to the CBI community, to the Jewish community, to the human community. I am grateful that I am alive," he noted a day after about 10 nerve-wracking hours.
On Saturday, a man with British citizenship and allegedly unarmed, whose name has not yet been released, entered the synagogue in the city of Colleyville in the morning during prayers, while the incident was recorded live via the venue's streaming service. Negotiations with the security forces who arrived at the compound and included YMCA teams, local police officers, and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a number that reached about 300 people.
Sources involved in the investigation told the Associated Press anonymously that the gunman had sought the release of Afia Sidiki, a Pakistani neurologist who is imprisoned in Texas on suspicion of having links to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
Hours of negotiations ended with the Bureau of Detective agents breaking into the synagogue and the kidnapper's death.
Also, it is not yet known whether he was killed by the agents' fire or by suicide.
None of the hostages were injured in the incident.
The working assumption of the investigative team is that this is a complex incident with possible international arms, evidenced by a statement from the British Foreign Office last night which announced that the gunman who carried out the hostage abduction was a British citizen.
Every single time I walk into a shul, kosher supermarket, or JCC a little voice in the back of my head asks me if today is the day.
I tell myself it's paranoia.
Days like today are why it does not go away.
Praying for the safety & swift release of the Jews in Texas.
- Alex (@JewishWonk) January 15, 2022
Meanwhile, Jews from the U.S. vented their frustration on social media.
I tell myself it's paranoia.
"Days like today (Saturday) are the reason it doesn't happen," tweeted Alex Zeldin, a columnist for The Jewish Forward. "What stuck in my head was how surprised I was. I was scared, yes. .
I was offline this Shabbat but the custodian of my synagogue told my rabbi before Mincha what was happening in Texas, and my rabbi announced it.
Before Mincha we said Tehillim.
What stuck me was how unsurprised I was.
Scared, sad, yes.
But not surprised.
- Mateo Levin (@MateoLevin) January 15, 2022
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