Thursday, August 26, 2010
Temple Beth Shalom and its Neighbor, the Islamic Society of Boston
Temple Beth Shalom of Cambridge, MA sits almost directly across the street from the Islamic Society of Boston's mosque and cultural center. In October of 2000, security was beefed up at the "unofficial" synagogue for Harvard and MIT Jewish students. Uniformed police were visible in front of and around the 75 year old shul. A week earlier, the second or Al Aqsa intifadah began in bloody earnest. One of the synagogue's members had just suffered the loss of her brother, brutally murdered in Schechem, heroically trying to save Torah scrolls from destruction by a Palestinian mob. During the Rosh Hashana service the Rabbi, a decidedly left-leaning individual, referred briefly to the murder as simply the "passing" of a relative of a congregant.
Although conserv-a-dox, the synagogue had a reputation for far-left causes, including the Palestinian "narrative." When I asked one of the members why this night was different from all other nights - in terms of security - I got a jittery response that the police presence was requested just in case a "crazy person" got into the shul. When I suggested that the police detail was hired because of the proximity of the mosque - whose connections to The Muslim Brotherhood and a convicted terrorist had recently been revealed - I was the one called "crazy."
And so it goes.
Ten years later, the Boston Combined Jewish Philanthropies has just issued a security alert.
Security Alert
JEMS was notified of two separate suspicious incidents that occurred on Thursday evening at one of our local synagogues. The incident was reported to the police and the BRIC (Boston Regional Intelligence Center).
Incident Overview
On Thursday, August 19, two separate incidents took place at a local synagogue. In the afternoon, two Middle Eastern individuals were seen coming through what is usually a locked gate area on the side of the building. The woman was wearing a burka (Muslin women's head covering) which is what brought their attention to a synagogue member. The member tried to get their attention, tried to make eye contact and the couple moved quickly away.
In the same evening, two Middle Eastern men were seen near their automobile which was parked in the synagogue "lot" with Virginia license plates. One of the men approached a member asking questions about times the synagogue is open, when services take place, is the synagogue open during the holidays and used the word "knesset", which the member found very strange. The questioning became a bit more forceful and insistent and that is when the member left the area. When the member returned to the area several hours later, the men were gone as was their car.
The incident was reported to synagogue leadership and followup has been completed. The synagogue and police will continue to be on high alert regarding continued presence of suspicious individuals
Recommendations
Remind your members that they are always the front line in protecting your institution. Although there were no physical threats made and no obvious attempt to damage the premises, the members of this synagogue did the right thing by being suspicious of these people and bringing their suspicions to the synagogue leadership.
With the upcoming High Holidays, it is imperative to remain vigilant and if there are suspicious people, bags, discussions or automobiles near your organization or synagogue, do not hesitate to call 911 immediately. Be prepared to provide the 911 operator with the following information:
- Exact location of the threat or danger you observed
- As much detail as you can provide about the emergency; Try to stay calm and take note of the circumstances of the event, including physical descriptions of the perpetrators, license plate numbers and directions of travel
- If a person is injured, tell the dispatcher as much as possible about how the injury happened and the person's condition
In non-emergencies you have a great asset to draw upon - your experience - when deciding what is suspicious. You know what is normal for your neighborhood, workplace and daily routines. If a behavior or an event seems to be outside the norm or is frightening, let law enforcement authorities know.
When reporting suspicious activity it is helpful to give the most accurate description possible of the situation including persons you observed, vehicles that were involved, the cause of your concern and where any suspicious persons have gone. Try to remember the exact time and place that you witnessed the suspicious activity.
Contact your local law enforcement agency and JEMS in the event you are told of, overhear or observe someone:
- Engaging in a suspicious activity, such as someone unfamiliar to you loitering in a parking lot, government building or around a school or playground
- Discussing a future plan for a terrorist act
- Using a gun or other weapon in an unlawful manner
- Discussing mail or delivery of a dangerous package or letter
- Discussing a bomb or explosive device
- Planning to release a poisonous substance into the air, water or food supply
- Bragging or talking about killing or harming citizens in terrorist attacks or claiming membership in an organization that espouses killing innocent people
Having toed the J Street line of tolerance and sensitivity to all things Muslim, the Boston CJP will no doubt pull this alert and apologize for it soon. Is "social justice" best served by such an affront to their Muslim neighbors? "Middle Eastern individuals"? Really, now. How islamophobic is that? No doubt they were merely engaged in "bridge building" and "interfaith dialogue". How presumptuous and bigoted of the CJP to assume they were up to no good and perhaps even terrorist scouting. And what about all those innuendos about "Virgina license plates" and suspicious questions. Sounds like a clear case of "othering" the stranger.
And that list of potential terrorist threats...sounds a lot like those right wing Israelis being needlessly suspicious of their Muslim neighbors. It seems that the CJP is even uninformed as to the nature of the "burqa." Not just a Muslim woman's head covering", it is, of course, the head to toe enrobement of a woman's face and body, a practice that we as westerners and Jews have no right to criticize, of course.
My favorite warning is the bit about being suspicious of people discussing bombs, not to be outdone by the last one - claiming membership in a group that "espouses killing innocent people." They're referring to skinheads of course.
After all, who among us is truly innocent? As Imam Rauf reminds us, America has bloodier hands than Al Qaeda.
Looks like it's time for some serious sensitivity training at the Boston CJP.
[Crossposted from JStreetJive.]
Does Temple Beth Shalom really think it will escape notice and the due attention which Muslims are instructed to pay towards Jewish people if the temple and its members "make nice?"
Surely the members of this temple are familar with certain Qur'an passages? For example,
Sahih Bukhari Hadith Volume 4, Book 52, Number 176: Narrated by 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.'" Sahih Bukhari Hadith Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177: Narrated by Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."
Found in http://www.truthandgrace.com/muslimkillcommands.htm
This same instruction is found in the very Charter, at Article 7, of the organization (Hamas) now controlling Gaza, found at,
http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/documents/charter.html
Being blind by birth or accident is unfortunate. Being blind by choice can be deadly stupid.
I once heard some very good advice from a Holocaust survivor, "When someone tells you that they want to kill you, believe them."