Disparities on antisemitism among Jews, others in survey shared at Fort Worth synagogue
A man distressed with the imprisonment of a person at a federal medical penitentiary in Fort Worth held hostages at a synagogue in Colleyville because he had a distorted assessment of the power held by Jews, a Jewish organization official said on Sunday.
At a presentation in Fort Worth of a survey on prejudice or discrimination against Jews, Amy Berger, the assistant director of the American Jewish Committee’s Dallas office, offered the explanation of the hostage-taker’s thinking as an example of subtle antisemitism.
“I think that’s what we saw in Colleyville when the gunman came to the synagogue thinking that he could use the Jews to somehow get a prisoner out of jail,” Berger said.
The erroneous evaluation of power is a demonstration of antisemitism that is less obvious than chants or painted swastikas, Berger suggested.
Armed with a gun, Malik Faisal Akram, 44, took the hostages on Jan. 15 at Congregation Beth Israel. He demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the first female terrorism defendant arrested after Sept. 11, 2001.
Siddiqui, who was convicted in 2010 on charges connected to the attempted murder and assault of U.S. officers and employees in Afghanistan, is held at Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth.
An FBI special agent shot Akram, a British citizen, dead, authorities have said. The hostages were not injured. One was released, and three escaped just before FBI agents breached the building.
Berger spoke on Sunday at Beth El Congregation in Fort Worth at a presentation of The American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America survey.
Survey interviews found that 90% of American Jews surveyed believe antisemitism is a problem and that 60% of the general adult population responded with that answer. Eighty-two percent of Jews reported that in the last five years antisemitism has increased. Forty-four percent of the general population had that answer.
The survey interviews occurred before the Colleyville hostage crisis.
“It would be interesting to see if that 48% perhaps will rise a little bit after recent events. I’m sure at least in our North Texas community it certainly would,” said Joel Schwitzer, the AJC regional director in Dallas.
Nearly four in 10 Jews had changed their behavior to conceal that they are Jewish, the survey found.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and U.S. Reps. Mark Veasey and Kay Granger spoke at the presentation.
In remarks to about 65 people who were in attendance, Parker referred to a visit to Fort Worth that U.S. President Joe Biden plans for Tuesday. The mayor suggested that Biden, who will discuss military veteran matters, would better spend his time on other affairs.
“I frankly wish he would stay in D.C. and help us shepherd through what’s happening in the world,” Parker said. “But I’m honored to greet him here in Fort Worth and have him here in our city and talk about these very, very difficult times we’re facing as a country.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2022 at 6:46 PM.
