In a special interview, Rabbi Ari Hart, Rabbi of Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue, describes the Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis as “a wake up call.”
“It’s very scary, very upsetting,” he tells Israel National News. “It seems like so many times I turn on my phone [after Shabbat] and something horrible has happened, there’s been an attack on the Jewish people.”
He mentions the Tree of Life synagogue attack, the Poway synagogue attack and the Monsey Hanukkah attack.
“It’s a wake up call. I think all Jews need to take security very seriously, and thank G-d for the State of Israel that we have a place to go that is safe and it reminds us of the importance of that,” Rabbi Hart says.
There has been controversy over the way the FBI and some in the media have categorized the attack. Does Rabbi Hart believe it was an antisemitic terror incident?
Rabbi Hart unequivocally says it was.
“Obviously it’s antisemitic terror. Anyone who says it’s not is… this is a man who thought Jews controlled America, who of all the places to target chose a synagogue, who was trying to liberate a woman who is known for making very antisemitic statements, who refused to have Jews on the jury of her trial. Obvious antisemitism and anyone who say it’s not or hesitates to call it such must be called out. This has to be called out for what it is – it’s antisemitic terror.”
Rabbi Hart’s mentions his synagogue’s special initiative, Solu - a community outreach partnership between his synagogue and the Bright Star Church in Chicago.
“Solu is an example of what’s possible here in America. We have partnered with an African American community on the South Side of Chicago, a place known for violence and for despair and challenges; a place that the Jewish community actually has keep roots in,” he says. “My father grew up on the South and West Side of Chicago. We’ve come together to do good. We can work together to address issues of violence and of trauma in the city of Chicago.”
Pastor Harris of Bright Star Church, who they worked with, is “ a great friend of the State of Israel and of the Jewish people. He spent time in Israel and visited the Natal Centre for Victims of Terror in Tel Aviv. He was so taken by the model of community-based trauma support that he said we need to bring this to the South Side of Chicago. We want to bring in the trainers from Natal,” Rabbi Hart explains.
He adds: “We want to give 100 percent credit to the Israeli government and Natal for making it happen. And they brought the model of trauma therapy based on Israeli victims of terror to victims of violence on the South Side.”
They recently “worked together to support Pastor Harris’s efforts. Most recently we built a literacy center.”
“Children who were already vulnerable to negative educational outcomes have really suffered [during the pandemic],” he says.
The center provides training, tutoring and literacy skills for kids in public schools. It has after school programs and offers free meals, free books and mentorship support.
“This is a way that the Jewish community and the Black community can work together. And tell a different story about the relationship between our communities,” he says. “We’re trying to create positive realities on the ground… working together to help the common good.”
How did members of his synagogue react to working with a church? He explains that they aren’t working directly with the religious side of the church. They are working with a separate nonprofit called Bright Star Community Outreach, which is a community social services charity, not a religious organization but a group that “helps the community where there’s a lot of need.”
“People in the Black community have responded positively, excited, encouraging us, working with us, partnering with us,” he says. “It’s been amazing. From the Jewish community, it’s been a great outpouring of positive response and support. People want to see this kind of work being done.”