British Islamist killed in Hostage Taking in Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville Texas.
COLLEYVILLE, Texas, Jan 16 (Reuters) – An FBI Hostage Rescue Team stormed a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday night to free three remaining hostages of a gunman who had disrupted a religious service and began a standoff with police more than 10 hours earlier.
All the hostages were safely released on Saturday night and the gunman was dead, Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller told a news conference.
Britain’s foreign office confirmed the death of a British man in Texas, when asked to respond to a Sky News report that the gunman was a British national. The foreign office did not explicitly say the dead Briton was the gunman. read more
Tendance Coatesy 
Cant wait to hear the answer on where he managed to get a gun and whether or not he was on a watch list.
Doug
January 17, 2022 at 11:44 am
Tu BiShvat, the “new year of the trees,” begins tomorrow evening. Around the same time tonight, as twilight moved in at the end of Shabbat, I got word via a Jewish anarchist text thread of Texas.
The “birthday” of the trees has become a favorite holiday for many of us anti-Zionist+rad+queer Jews—and is actually one of four “new years” within a single Jewish year, making it feel extra special when one needs a boost in winter. There is an elaborate and even sensual ritual that accompanies Tu BiShvat, involving four combinations of two colors of wine and the tasting of four distinct types of fruit, symbolizing the four winds or directions, the cycles or seasons of life, and earth/water/air/fire (or action/heart/imagination/spirit).
We honor the tree of life (or the trees of life, one could say), and what sustains and nourishes life—even when the world seems cold. Sap is still running through the trees; life is still running through us—even if that’s tough to see or feel. Even if we’re hurting, or rather, being made to hurt, from the antisemitism that seems so difficult for others to see or feel—even when it’s in plain view on a near-daily basis in the so-called United States these fascistic days. Even if we’re hurting, too, because our Muslim friends are being made to hurt from Islamophobia.
I went outdoors after I got the news, bundled from head to toe in black, as if I were the bare branches of the trees, and I walked among the trees, tilting my head back so I could see their many branches—like so many arms interlaced in support for the weary, for the grieving—stretching across the darkening sky. I tried to find life in those trees, in their impending day of newness. I tried to avoid the impulse to look at my phone, to look at the news out of Texas of another synagogue on another Shabbat, like a Tree of Life synagogue on a Shabbat just a few years ago, or synagogues on Shabbat during pogroms in the villages of my ancestors.
Trauma has branches too. So does antisemitism—but it involves branches torn from the tree of life, the book of life.
We should be communing with the trees. Instead, #AntisemitismHurts.
#AntisemitismKills #WeMustOutliveThem
Trauma Has Branches Too
Cindy Milstein
https://cbmilstein.wordpress.com/2022/01/15/trauma-has-branches-too/
American Dream
January 17, 2022 at 2:11 pm
But according to the American political establishment this was not an attack on Jews, it just happened to be the building he picked to stick up. So, it’s nothing to do with anti-Semitism, unlike the ISLAMOPHOBIA which will now be unleased. Hug a Muslim, show them you care.
Sue r
January 17, 2022 at 4:58 pm
Where is THAT true? Or have you become a Science Fiction writer now?
American Dream
January 17, 2022 at 5:39 pm
Ask Mr Boden and the FBI.
Sue r
January 17, 2022 at 11:30 pm
Sue, you may well feel vindicated in your position but this is currently going around U.S. left radio circles:
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Democracy Now 1/18/21
Date: 2022-01-18 11:12
From: Sharon Scott
To: broadcasters@democracynow.org
Hello,
We were disappointed that Democracy Now! spent time highlighting the
case of Aafia Siddiqui on today’s episode following the discussion of
the hostage situation in Colleyville, Texas. If your producers had been
moved to discuss her situation on their own – in a different episode –
that would be one thing, but to directly discuss her case after hearing
the demands of the Texas terrorist proves that these types of hostage
situations actually work in terms of gaining media attention. In our
opinion, broadcasting such information may thereby encourage future
terrorist situations. While I am certain that is not your intention,
WXOX Louisville did not air this portion of the program today wanted to
let you know why we made this decision. Your voice is powerful and it
is important to stay aware of how it is being received.
Thank You,
Sharon
American Dream
January 18, 2022 at 5:34 pm
I don’t think terrorists lack encouragement. They do it anyway. They are very successful in generating publicity outside of mainstream media. Are you advocating censorship? People have the right to know. Also, it’s not a case of being ‘vindicated’, it’s a question of where do we go from here. Islamic anti-Semitism gives me no pleasure, just as anti-Black prejudice gives me no pleasure, they are all obstacles on the way to socialism.
Sue r
January 18, 2022 at 10:20 pm
The comments are of those who said them- nothing more, nothing less. I am not personally endorsing censorship, neither am I sure that the author of the statement is doing so either. Since I did not hear the Democracy Now! broadcast I won’t comment on the specifics of the content but I’m inclined to suspect that their editorial judgment could have been better.
Near to my house is a mosque originally started by Uni students because they needed somewhere to pray. Ultimately, I thinking it was subsumed by funding and control from Saudi Arabian sources. I don’t believe that I agree with them on various points about Sex, Sexuality, Gender, the Family, Authority, Capitalism, Nationalism etc. but I did support them when a conservative cleric of the Christian persuasion (more of a conman really) was harassing them. I joined a group of progressive or radical Jews who came out in solidarity every week to defend the mosque from this reactionary and his minions- and I feel quite good about having done so. The people from the mosque were quite gracious and kind and always appreciative of having some allies, even if the crew included at least one queer (i.e. transgender) rabbinical student. This to me, is Solidarity in action.
American Dream
January 19, 2022 at 12:26 am
Glad you were able to feel good about yourself. Let’s hope the favour is reciprocated if need be (and I sincerely hope it will not be.).
Sue r
January 19, 2022 at 2:57 pm
Oh, the folks from the mosque are always nice to me. I often go to the 24 hour halal shop across the street and they are great. Here by the way, is some content from yesterday’s Democracy Now!:
Texas Rabbi: Despite False Media Narratives, Synagogue Attack Brought Jewish & Muslim Communities Together
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Rabbi Kasten, I wanted to ask you about the — some of the corporate or commercial media immediately began framing this as Muslims attacking Jews. Your response? And also, could you characterize the response of the local Muslim community to this attack?
RABBI NANCY KASTEN: The local Muslim community was horrified, shocked, was at the ready to offer support and anything that they could do. Rabbi Cytron-Walker’s wife is the executive director of an interfaith alliance in Tarrant County and works with a lot of Muslims, and particularly Muslim women, who brought food while she was waiting in the church to see what was going on, brought comfort. The minute that a friend of mine, Imam Omar Suleiman, was made aware of what was going on, which was very early — it was just shortly after I found out about it — he texted my husband and me and said, “Is there any way that I can help?” And he is a very well-known imam with a high profile and went — actually went to Colleyville to see if he could help with the negotiators in any possible way. And he put himself at risk, frankly, because that area — you know, in our area of North Texas, Muslims are regarded with a lot of suspicion. And my husband and I were concerned that Imam Suleiman not put himself in danger in his attempt to help the negotiators and law enforcement.
AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, to say the least, the brother of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was perhaps in the most danger, because the networks kept repeating that he was the gunman inside, a well-respected architect in Houston.
RABBI NANCY KASTEN: Yes, I know. And, you know, again, the media can be blamed, but we also have to use our own ability to discern and our own knowledge of the people that we are in relationship with, and understand that the news cycle is going to do what it does. We’ve had enough experience with this. We have to pay attention to the trusted sources of information that we have.
AMY GOODMAN: Very briefly, The Texas Tribune reported this was the latest in a series of antisemitic attacks and incidents in Texas and beyond. Can you talk about those attacks?
RABBI NANCY KASTEN: You know, I think that there is an atmosphere of fear and fearmongering that has taken hold in the country, and Texas as a bastion of that, unfortunately. And unfortunately, it’s not limited to Jews. There is discrimination against people of color. There’s a lot of discrimination against Muslims, Asians and other groups. And it is fostered, in some ways, by our leadership in our state Legislature, in our national leadership by some members of Congress. And, you know, so it’s very worrisome.
But the Jewish community actually benefits from a lot of protection. Our governor, just recently, in the past legislative session, signed a bill into law called the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission, where he called upon a commission to teach people about antisemitism and the Holocaust. In the meantime, we have an anti-Sharia law in Texas that creates a lot of opportunity for very misguided and false information to be perpetrated about the Muslim community.
AMY GOODMAN: And the number one threat in the United States, according to the FBI, the link you have — and we just have 30 seconds — to, you see, to white supremacists.
RABBI NANCY KASTEN: Absolutely, absolutely. And again, I mean, I don’t want to label groups that are not white supremacist groups or people who are not particularly affiliated with them, but, once again, we do have members of Congress and state officials who enjoy the support of groups that are openly white supremacist groups.
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/1/18/texas_jewish_community_hostage_synagogue
American Dream
January 19, 2022 at 3:29 pm
A lot of people have a lot invested in the interfaith business. Sorry, if I’m cynical but this is just Trump Derangement Syndrome. As for the bit about Afia Siddique brother, so dishonest. The gunman himself referred to Me Siddiqi as his ‘sister’, he meant his sister in Islam but it was misunderstood, but Amy Goodman is trying to make out that the fellow was deliberately slandered. Also, Rabbi Karsten wants anti_Sharia law repealed, can anyone explain exactly what she means. Which parts of Sharia would progressive Jews like to see implemented?
Sue r
January 19, 2022 at 11:16 pm
Wow. Just wow. Do you think it’s okay for journalists to identify someone to the world as a violent hostage-taker when they should instead do a little investigative work like calling that person’s office in Houston before identifying them as the perpetrator? Do you have any idea really what anti-Sharia law is beyond the racist myths that animate and the far Right networks that propel it into action?
American Dream
January 20, 2022 at 12:48 am
Educate me, what are the anti-Sharia laws that progressives would like to see repealed? As for not contacting Afia Siddique brother in America, that’s par for the course with journalism these days.
Sue r
January 20, 2022 at 9:28 am
Here are a few quick citations:
Anti-Sharia law bills in the United States: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/02/05/anti-sharia-law-bills-united-states
TRACKING ANTI-MUSLIM LEGISLATION ACROSS THE U.S.: https://www.splcenter.org/data-projects/tracking-anti-muslim-legislation-across-us
Ban on sharia law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban_on_sharia_law
Anti-sharia laws proliferate as Trump strikes hostile tone toward Muslims: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/30/anti-sharia-laws-trump-muslims
American Dream
January 20, 2022 at 10:25 am
Wow, both sides of the pond mess up and we the public pay for the consequences yet again.
And what do we also see again, the famous quote, “lessons have been learned” but this time state side.
This,covid, the eggs to make an omelette analogy is becoming less palatable with every passing day.
Doug
January 20, 2022 at 2:08 pm
26 anti-Muslim groups gained over $100 million from charitable organizations in America
To say that Muslim Americans have been scrambling in their attempt to restore their public image to its pre 9/11 variant would be an understatement. Although 9/11 was 20 years ago, the rampant association between Muslim people and terrorists has yet to dissipate. At one point, it seemed as if the correlation was beginning to die down in the 2010s, but Donald Trump’s presidency in 2016 only caused the public distaste for Islam to grow substantially. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, anti-Muslim groups generated over 100 million dollars through various charity organizations between 2017 and 2019.
While the amount of money raised is a staggering display of how woefully misunderstood both Muslims and Islam are to most Americans, the bigotry behind the donations isn’t surprising. As if the years of negative media representation following the events of 9/11 weren’t enough, the hateful and anti-Islamic rhetoric of the 45th President only aided in furthering the global misinformation about Islam.
https://boingboing.net/2022/01/20/26-anti-muslim-groups-gained-over-100-million-from-charitable-organizations-in-america.html
American Dream
January 21, 2022 at 8:18 am
As Sharia law includes everything from the correct way to wipe your bottom to why you should murder your sister, it is not very precise to say ‘sharia law has been outlawed in USA’, it evades the issue of what exactly is being overruled. The Spicer Centre reference concerned a case of a husband raping his estranged wife. The husband argued that as he did not have intent, he had not committed a crime. The local court found in his favour. I think his ex-wife actually wanted a restraint order. However, a higher court reversed this by ruling that nonAmerican laws (is religious) are not applicable in America. This strikes me as reasonable. One has to ask what is the function of law, it is an agreed set of rules concerning behaviour and relationships and it enables society to exist. Ofcourse there are bad laws, history is the story of such laws being changed, but it is besic democratic theory. Sharia law is a religiously ordained law, it is immutable. Modern Islamic countries have been forced to creatively interprete Sharia or ignore it altogether, but as ever, it lingers on. By all means, Muslims should be allowed to wipe their arse how they like, but they should not be allowed to kill their cousin for showing an ankle.
As for the stuff about 9/11 etc, I don’t think it’s one event that’s fed an AntiiIslam animus. In case you had not noticed, America, rightly or wrongly, has been engaged in armed conflict with Islamic countries for the last couple of decades, mostly under Democratic Presidents. People draw their own conclusions, rightly or wrongly.
Sue r
January 21, 2022 at 11:27 am
Yes, the spectre of “Sharia Law” in the U.S. long been a Bogie Man of the Racist Right, based on myths and fabrications. The Islamophobia/anti-Arab Racism is in a dialectic with Imperialism. as is the case other such bigotries- and became much, much worse after 9/11 but preceded it. See for example Planet of the Arabs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC3hwKtv_OU or Reel Bad Arabs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhFLW8XiP6k
American Dream
January 21, 2022 at 2:01 pm