Chair thrown by Colleyville rabbi at hostage-taker is going into national museum
Congregation Beth Israel is donating to a museum the chair that Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker threw at the man who held synagogue members hostage for 11 hours in January, giving them a split-second chance to escape.
The chair, along with a tea cup that the rabbi used to serve the stranger before he took them hostage, will also go on display at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.
Beth Israel’s board of trustees voted recently to donate the items to preserve history and highlight the importance of combating anti-Semitism and hate.
Malik Faisal Akram, a British citizen, traveled to Colleyville from New York with the intention of trying to secure the release of Aafia Siddiqui from a federal prison in Fort Worth. The Pakistani neuroscientist was arrested after 9/11.
The hostage crisis unfolded Jan. 15 when Akram knocked on the synagogue’s door, and Cytron-Walker let him inside, thinking that he needed shelter. Akram took the rabbi and three people hostage as the Shabbat service was live-streamed, to the horror of members watching at home. The 11-hour standoff involved dozens of law enforcement officers including the FBI. None of the hostages were injured.
The Congregation Beth Israel’s board said in an emailed statement to the Star-Telegram that the incident continues to add to the rise of anti-Semitism across the country. “The Weitzman Museum is the ONLY museum in the nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and interpreting the American Jewish experience for people of all faiths to be able to see and learn ways to combat this hatred,” the statement said.
The Weitzman, which is reopening in May, will feature an exhibit showing the chair and tea cup from Congregation Beth Israel. The exhibit will also feature an interview with Cytron-Walker who has advocated nationally for more security at synagogues.
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Cytron-Walker said during interviews that he initially didn’t see Akram as a threat and offered him a cup of tea. Cyrton-Walker was widely praised for keeping Akram calm during the 11-hour ordeal.
The rabbi saw an opportunity to escape when Akram poured a soda. He shouted for the others to run.
Moments later, Akram was killed when the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team stormed the building.
In March, Cyrton-Walker announced he is relocating to a synagogue in North Carolina in July.