H eadlines
Livestreamed Services Meant Whole World Could
Hear Texas Synagogue Attack
NATIONAL SHIRA HANAU AND PHILISSA CRAMER
| JTA.ORG
FOR MOST OF THE Shabbat
services streamed
from Congregation Beth Israel in
Colleyville, Texas, over 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 on 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 stage.
Another comment summed
it up: “OMG. Is this LIVE??”
It was — and it remained
that way for a significant
amount of time before being
taken offline, giving an unprec-
edented number of people a
front-row seat into a dangerous
attack on a Jewish community.
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.
Like Congregation Beth
Israel, Tree of Life began
streaming its services in 2020
after the COVID-19 pandemic
made in-person
prayer dangerous.
10 JANUARY 20, 2022
A gunman aimed to stream
his attack on a synagogue in
Poway, California, in 2019,
inspired by the perpetrator of
a mass killing at two mosques
in New Zealand who streamed
the violence on Facebook. But
he was not successful.
In Colleyville, the streaming
was not a promotional strategy
by a violent attacker but a
function of the synagogue’s
technology. Congregation
Beth Israel began streaming
services in March 2020, shortly
after shutting down because of
the pandemic, and like many
synagogues it eventually set
up cameras that are perma-
nently trained on the bimah,
where they remained focused
on Saturday after the hostage
situation began.
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 represen-
tatives 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 Jan. 15 and
people who may have never set
foot in a synagogue before.
The attack’s transparency
could be especially signifi-
cant 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
For a significant amount of time after a gunman took four people hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in
Colleyville, Texas, the synagogue’s livestream continued to broadcast.
Screenshot works with Reform congre-
gations 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
experience for the hostages,
as well. The recent rise of the
omicron variant meant that
fewer people than usual were
inside that morning; most of
the people who participated in
the service did so from home.
Only four hostages, including
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 worship-
pers, the service leaders are still
there, and we have to provide
security for them.”
Some time into the crisis,
the livestream was taken down,
causing community members
who had been watching with
concern to be plunged into
darkness. JEWISH EXPONENT
“The live stream got shut
down and I have no idea what’s
happening anymore,” tweeted
Ellen Smith, a congregant who
commented widely during the
crisis. Michael Masters, the
national director and CEO
of the Secure Community
Network, which works to boost
security in synagogues and
other Jewish institutions, said
the situation points to a core
challenge as Jewish commu-
nities adapt to more pervasive
streaming. “What’s important is that
there is a plan in place by the
individual synagogues or insti-
tutions 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 enforce-
ment understand what is
happening inside a synagogue
during an attack.
The streaming also allowed
some inaccurate informa-
tion to proliferate, such as
the idea that the attacker was
the biological brother of the
woman he hoped to free from
imprisonment. In fact, he had
called her “sister” as an expres-
sion of solidarity.
That’s all part and parcel
of the streaming of Jewish
communal life, which acceler-
ated because of the pandemic
but should be understood as
a permanent shift, according
to Lex Rofeberg, senior Jewish
educator at Judaism Unbound.
“There are dangers in lives-
treams being so accessible in
moments of intensity. There
are also really positive pieces,”
Rofeberg said.
“There’s a way in which
livestreaming breaks open
our ideas about geography,”
he added. “When I can go on
Facebook Live or YouTube Live
or synagogue websites, that
creates a new form of trans-
geographical connection that is
powerful — and unfortunately
adds to some of the pain in a
moment like this.”
Though the livestream
offered limited information
See Attack, Page 20
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
H EADLINES
ISRAELBRIEFS Government Promises
Citizenship to Hunger
Striking Convert
A CONVERT OF African-
American descent who began
a hunger strike in an attempt
to be recognized as an Israeli
citizen ended his protest aft er
receiving assurances from the
government that he would
receive full citizenship by
January 2023, Th e Jerusalem
Post reported.
David Ben Moshe received a
letter from Tomer Moskowitz,
head of the Population,
Immigration and Border
Authority on Jan. 11 that he
would receive an immigration
certifi cate on Jan. 1, 2023.
He has lived in Israel for more
than four years, is married to
an Israeli woman and has two
children. He has sought citizen-
ship under the Law of Return. Th e
Interior Ministry’s Population
and Immigration Authority
rejected his request in November
2020; under the Law of Return,
citizenship can be denied if the
applicant has a criminal record,
which Ben Moshe does.
Ben Moshe started the
hunger strike on Jan. 6 in front
of the Interior Ministry.
Five Jewish Israelis Arrested
by Shin Bet Suspected of
Spying for Iran
Th e Shin Bet security service
arrested fi ve Jewish Israelis on
Jan. 12 and accused of them
assisting an Iranian operative
in gathering intelligence and
making connections in Israel,
Th e Times of Israel reported.
Th e suspects told investigators
they knew that Rambod Namdar
may have been an Iranian intel-
ligence operative, but continued
their communications with him,
the Shin Bet said.
Th e suspects — four women
and one man — are Jewish
immigrants from Iran or
the descendants of Iranian
immigrants. A court-ordered
gag barred their names from
publication. Th e Shin Bet said the
suspects took photographs of
strategically signifi cant sites,
including the U.S. Consulate in
Tel Aviv; tied to form relation-
ships with politicians; and
provided information about
security arrangements.
Stolen Torah Scrolls
Recovered Israel Police retrieved and returned
three Torah scrolls that were
stolen over the Jan. 8-9 weekend
from a Jerusalem synagogue, Th e
Jerusalem Post reported.
A gabbai, or synagogue
administrator, reported the
theft aft er a suspect placed the
scrolls in garbage bags and left
the building.
“Aft er an intensive investi-
gation, police investigators were
able to locate the stolen Torah
scrolls in a storage unit in the
city — and this morning the
scrolls were returned to their
owners,” said Lior Ben Shalom,
an offi cer in the Department of
Investigations and Intelligence
at the Lev Habira police station.
Police arrested a suspect on
Jan. 12. Th e scrolls were found in
a suitcase inside the storage unit.
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MATCH Satellites Built by Israeli
Students Sent into Space
Eight small satellites built
by Israeli junior high school
students were launched into
space on Jan. 13 from Cape
Canaveral, Florida, aboard a
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Th e
Times of Israel reported.
Th e student teams worked
on the “Tevel” program
for three years in collabo-
ration with the Israel Space
Agency and the Science and
Technology Ministry. The
satellites will perform a variety
of tasks and can be controlled
at several locations in Israel.
Students and officials
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Consumer Goods Prices
in 2021 Show Highest
Increase in 13 Years
Th e cost of consumer goods in
Israel increased by 2.8% in 2021
— the highest rate in 13 years
— according to Central Bureau
of Statistics data released Jan.
14, Globes reported.
Th e consumer price index
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showed sharp rises in clothing
and footwear (1.1%), home
furnishings (0.7%) and food
(0.5%). In addition, the average
prices for homes across Israel
grew by 10.6%.
Th e Finance Ministry has
announced upcoming legis-
lative amendments to raise
taxes on those buying a second
home. Th e move is intended to
moderate home buys by real
estate investors; the idea is to
increase the supply of homes
on the market, thus lowering
prices. ●
— Compiled by
Andy Gotlieb
BUSINESS DIRECTORY
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MEET YOUR MATCH!
from the Israel Space Agency
gathered in Herzliya and
watched the live launch.
“Th e project connects the
best that is in science, the
best in space and the best in
you,” said Uri Oron, the space
agency’s director general.
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JANUARY 20, 2022
11