14 May 2 • 2019
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Morales in the past about coming
to the synagogue armed because
he’
s trained, and he wanted trained
security. “Unfortunately, we couldn’
t
afford to have an armed security offi-
cer at every service, so whenever we
had extra help, we were grateful for
it,
” Goldstein said.
According to the report, Morales
had recently discovered his Jewish
heritage and drove more than 100
miles each way to the synagogue
from his home in El Centro, Calif., a
Mexican border city, the rabbi said.
After fleeing the scene in his vehi-
cle, Earnest called 911 and turned
himself into authorities. He was
pulled over and taken into custody
without incident.
Moments after the attack,
Goldstein wrapped his bleeding
fingers in a prayer shawl, stood on a
chair and spoke to his congregation,
he told CNN the day after the attack.
He recalled saying, “We are a Jewish
nation that will stand tall. We will
not let anyone or anything take us
down. Terrorism like this will not
take us down.
”
Authorities said they discovered
an online letter written by Earnest
filled with statements about kill-
ing Jews. The letter referenced
the recent shootings at the Tree of
Life Synagogue and mosques in
Christchurch, New Zealand, and
took credit for a recent arson at a
nearby mosque.
Goldstein told news outlets that
members of the congregation had
recently attended a city seminar
about what to do in an active shooter
situation. He said the training helped
“tremendously. They evacuated so
well, we had so many exit doors that
it was so effective. People ducked
down and they crawled out to safe
areas.
”
After he was released from the
hospital, Goldstein told reporters, “
A
little bit of light pushes away a lot of
darkness. We need a lot of light now.
“
And this coming Saturday, I per-
sonally feel, I want to appeal to all
the Jewish people to make an effort
to attend synagogue. We need to fill
up those rooms, not run away from
synagogue but, on the contrary, let’
s
fill up the synagogues.
” ■
JTA.org contributed to this report.
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HATRED STRIKES AGAIN
continued from page 12
ALLISON JACOBS DIGITAL EDITOR
The shooting at Chabad of Poway
near San Diego weighs heavily
among communities everywhere,
including Metro Detroit. Several
shared their experiences, opinions
and personal ties to the Poway
community:
RABBI HERSCHEL FINMAN
Herschel Finman, rabbi/founder
of Jewish Ferndale,
was at shul around 6
p.m. for Moshiach’
s
Meal, a custom that
ends Passover. While
celebrating, a con-
gregant turned to
him, revealing his
knowledge about a
shooting at a Chabad
synagogue in California.
“Right at that point, my heart
sunk, and the joy of the holiday
was sucked right out of me — and,
of course, my major concern was
what was going on in that Chabad
house and what we can do here to
possibly help,” Finman says.
Finally, around 10 p.m., Finman
learned the full story, including
that his colleague, Rabbi Yisroel
Goldstein, was one of the victims.
Finman and Goldstein were
acquaintances at the Rabbinical
College of Seattle. It was a small
program, with 14 students living
together under one roof.
“We basically saw each other
24/7 for two straight years,”
Finman says.
Goldstein is originally from
Brooklyn, N.Y., and has been the
rabbi of the Chabad of Poway for
more than 30 years.
“He is very lively and very dedi-
cated — a person who really want-
ed to get out and make his mark
on the world,” Finman says. “His
whole life he wanted to be where
he is now.”
While he has been praying for
Goldstein, who was injured, and
the Poway community, Finman has
been addressing safety concerns
from worried family members and
friends in the community.
“We’
re beefing up our security
and being very vigilant in dealing
with this type of a thing,” Finman
says. “At the same time, we are pro-
viding a place — if there is some-
thing that happens in Ferndale,
Jewish Ferndale is somewhere peo-
ple can go.”
RABBI MITCH PARKER
Saturday morning, Rabbi Mitch
Parker of B’
nai Israel
Synagogue of West
Bloomfield addressed
his congregation on
the last day of Pesach.
He was recounting
some of the difficult
moments in Jewish
history during the
month of April.
“As I am talking about blood
libels that took place around
Pesach and things happening in the
past, three hours later Jews are get-
ting killed again,” Parker says.
As he arrived at shul Sunday for
morning minyan, he spotted two
West Bloomfield police cars sitting
outside.
Aside from heightened security,
the service at B’
nai Israel had a
more somber tone.
“I usually talk about what hap-
pened in Jewish history in a given
day. Today, we just sat in silence
remembering what had happened.”
While he was grateful for the
police presence, Parker indicates
B’
nai Israel has increased security
overall since the Tree of Life mas-
sacre in Pittsburgh.
“We have to make sure that we
have adequate security. On the
other part, we have to work hard
to create a society where people
accept differences — where people
can appreciate others as opposed
to hate.”
RABBI NOAM GROSS
Rabbi Noam Gross, an educator
at Partners Detroit Young Jewish
Professionals, lived in Israel for
eight years, where
violent acts could
take place at any
point in time.
“The idea of
attacks on Jews is
unfortunately part
of the collective
Heroic Israelis
Several Israelis were in the Chabad of
Poway during the terrorist attack on April
27.
Almog Peretz, 34, is from Sderot — a
town near the border with Gaza that’
s
been subjected to rocket attacks where
residents have only 15 seconds after a
rocket alarm sounds to get to a bomb
shelter.
Peretz had only moved to California
from Sderot a few months before the
attack, according to reports in Haaretz.
He reportedly saved the lives of sev-
eral children during the shooting attack
and was hit by shrapnel in his leg as he
ushered them to safety. He told an Israeli
radio station he took the children to a
building in the back and hid them there.
“It doesn’
t matter where we go, we
have to look out for ourselves. In Sderot,
where I used to live, didn’
t they also fire
rockets at us? I didn’
t believe this would
happen in a place like this,” Peretz told
Israeli radio.
Israel Dahan, the father of 8-year-old
Noya Dahan who was wounded in the
attack, also moved with his family from
Sderot a few years ago. “We came from
fire to fire. We left Sderot after our house
was hit a few times. My mother’
s house
was hit. I was wounded,” he said.
Congregant Israeli Shimon Abitbol
immediately protected his grandson when
he heard the shots. “Without thinking
twice, I lay down on my grandson and
protected him,” Abitbol told Times of
Israel. “After I counted seven or eight gun-
shots and there was a lull — I assume the
weapon jammed — I took my grandson
and rushed outside through a side door;
we gathered all the children there.”
Abitbol, a paramedic with the Magen
David Adom service, also tried to perform
CPR on Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who later died
from her gunshot wounds. ■
Herschel
Finman
Mitch Parker
Rabbis React to the Shooting
Noya Dahan, 8, is
wrapped in the
Israeli flag at a
vigil in Poway.
PHIL RAIMI
Noam Gross
continued on page 16