Colleyville Rabbi: Synagogue Hostage-Taker Believed Jews Control the World

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who was taken hostage with two other Jews at a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue by jihadist Malik Faisal Akram on Sunday, told the Jerusalem Post that Akram believed Jews control the world.

A transcript is as follows:

TOVAH LAZAROFF: There’s been a lot of talk about this incident and the connection to antisemitism. Do you see this as an antisemitic incident? Do you think this was random or attacked because you were a synagogue? If so, what does this attack say about antisemitism in Texas and the United States?

CHARLIE CYTRON-WALKER: Of course this was an antisemitic attack. This person came in because he targeted a synagogue–because he thought that Jews control the world. The notion that Jews control the world is untrue and it’s an idea that is antisemitic at its essence. The fact that he believed this wholeheartedly. He thought that America would save Jewish lives over and above anyone else. This idea is so damaging, that Jews control the media, government, and so many people will toss it out there, will assume it, will make an off-handed remark about it. This is the kind of thing that needs to be called out every time.