Arson investigators in Austin, Texas, are looking into the cause of a
late-night fire at the city's Congregation Beth Israel on Sunday
evening.
According to the Austin Fire Department, it was a "small, exterior fire" that caused no injuries.
A charred door at Austin's Beth Israel synagogue
The Jewish community in Austin has been rocked in the last 10 days
with several cases of antisemitic, including the anti-Semitic Goyim
Defense League hanging a banner saying "Vax the Jews" over a major
highway – the MoPac Expressway on the city's west side – just a few
blocks away from the Dell Jewish Community Center and several
synagogues.
The group, headed by Jon Minadeo II, is a "small network of
virulently anti-Semitic provocateurs," according to the Anti-Defamation
League.
It raised the banner on two separate occasions, the first on Oct. 23, a Shabbat afternoon.
Liora Raz, executive director of the group Stop Antisemitism, told JNS:
"We stand in solidarity with the Austin Jewish community as they
continue to be terrorized by white supremacist Jon Minadeo II and his
ilk. Hate-filled words often manifest into hate-filled actions; we hope
whoever is found responsible for Sunday's synagogue fire will be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The national office of the Anti-Defamation League posted on social
media that its Austin branch is working with community leaders and
investigators "to ensure that if this was an intentional anti-Semitic
attack, those who committed it will be held responsible."
Religious leaders of all faiths, law-enforcement personnel, and local
politicians gathered in Austin on Monday just hours after someone set
fire to the exterior of a synagogue there.
"Our Jewish community is here as a partner one presence among many in
a stunning coalition of backgrounds to call for a strengthening of
moral respect in our community," said Rabbi Neil Blumofe of Congregation
Agudas Achim during the interfaith gathering on Monday afternoon. "In
order to chase away the hate and violence with steadfast and dependable
care and attention."
Held outside B'nai Abraham, the oldest synagogue
building in Texas, Blumofe said: "Let us continue to raise each other up
by tending to friendship. … Let us never retreat from the opportunity
we have to make our home in Austin a home in which we are proud."
Rabbi Kelly Levy, associate rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel, also
spoke, praising the Austin Fire Department for its quick action, which
she said "greatly minimized damage to our building."
"As a native Texan, this hatred breaks my heart," she said. "We will
be compassionate and resolute because our love for humanity strengthens
our resistance to hatred."
"We will be OK," she emphasized. "We will continue to flourish and thrive."
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