Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Hero 
Rabbis
Hero 
Rabbis

I

t was another shocking occurrence. 
In Colleyville, Texas, a deranged 
person, spouting antisemitic tropes 
and slanders, took four people hos-
tage at the Congregation Beth Israel. 
One of the hostages was 
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-
Walker. The crisis began 
when the rabbi decid-
ed to aid a seemingly 
peaceful stranger at the 
door of the synagogue. 
That person was any-
thing but peaceful.
The situation soon 
became a national and international 
story, and we all nervously waited 
for news as the event unfolded. The 
11-hour ordeal ended when Rabbi 
Cytron-Walker threw a chair at the 
hostage-taker, a brave act that allowed 
two congregants and himself to escape 
without harm; one hostage had been 
safely released earlier. The FBI finally 
admitted that the act was “committed 
by a terrorist exposing an antisemitic 
world view.” 
It is disquieting — an under-
statement — that, once again, 
Americans and, in particular, Jewish 
Americans, experienced an act of 
domestic terrorism. Of course, this 
is in the wake of recent shootings 
in 2019 at the Chabad of Poway, 
California, and at the Tree of Life or 
L’Smicah Congregation in Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvaia, in 2018. Sad to say, these 
are just two of a long list of antisemitic 
acts over the past few decades, with a 
notable resurgence over the last few 
years.
“Hero” is an overused word in 
modern times. But, if anyone deserves 
hero status, it would be Rabbi Cytron-
Walker. He was in a tough situation, 
but his calm resolve and decisiveness 
saved the lives of the remaining hos-
tages, his congregants. 
During the interviews with and 
reports about the actions of Rabbi 
Cytron-Walker, I was reminded of the 

tragic circumstances surrounding the 
assassination of Rabbi Morris Adler. 
There are several similarities between 
the events and, more to the point, the 
actions of the rabbis. In each case, 
there was a deranged, disgruntled 
perpetrator and the setting was a 
synagogue. At Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek, Rabbi Adler’s synagogue in 
Metro Detroit, however, the outcome 
was tragic.
What stands out to me is the nature 
of the rabbis as leaders. Both demon-
strated kindness toward a person in 
need. Rabbi Cytron-Walker attempted 
to provide aid to a stranger at the 
door. Rabbi Adler met several times 
with Richard Wishnetsky in an effort 
to help the mentally ill, 23-year-old 
Jewish man who eventually shot him 
on Shabbat morning, Feb. 12, 1966. 
Most of all, when faced with immi-
nent danger, both showed their cour-
age and put the safety of their congre-
gants first. Like Rabbi Cytron-Walker, 
Rabbi Adler was also courageous. 
When Wishnetsky approached the 
bimah and shot his pistol in the air, 
there were hundreds of people in the 
pews. Rabbi Adler’s first reaction was 
to get members out of harm’s way: “I 
know the boy. I’ll handle him,” he said.
Unfortunately, after the bimah was 
cleared, Wishnetsky shot Rabbi Adler 
and then himself. The full story of 
this horrific event can be found in 
the pages of the JN in the William 
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History.
In the aftermath in Colleyville, 
Rabbi Cytron-Walker said, “We have 
to be hospitable, and we have to be 
secure. And we have to find ways to 
strike that balance.” This is an hon-
orable and generous perspective, one 
which shows the best of the human 
spirit that both rabbis had and have in 
abundance. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for free at 
www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

70 | FEBRUARY 3 • 2022