We learned after the hostage standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas that the rabbi being held hostage waited for his opportunity and then threw a chair at the gunman, giving him and two other hostages time to run out the door. Rabbi Mike Rothbaum has written an essay about the ordeal and notes that the only thing that stopped a bad guy with a gun was a good rabbi with a chair.
What saved the hostages in Colleyvillle was a calm, kind presence and smart thinking — not guns, writes @Rav_Mike https://t.co/NqyEjuzRTI
— Alma (@hey_alma) January 20, 2022
“The only bloodshed that happened in the Colleyville synagogue was carried out by the FBI. Agents stormed the building after the hostages had escaped, killing the captor, oddly, only after the captives were all safe,” he writes.
The attacker chased them out of the building — pointing the gun at them. What stopped him at that point was being shot. If he had not been shot, it is possible (and likely) he would have shot them then.
Video of the actual event.https://t.co/7XDgpzQteL
— (((Izaak))) (@izaakb) January 20, 2022
Hostage taker was literally stopped by a gun as he tried to chase down and kill the fleeing kind presence.
— 3rd Rate Hero (@crimson_civet) January 20, 2022
The hostage-taker was literally stopped by someone with a gun… https://t.co/WnMAt12rmJ
— AG (@AGHamilton29) January 20, 2022
There’s literally video that shows the hostage taker running after the hostages, gun in hand, as they escaped and that’s when the FBI shot him…but ok? https://t.co/jOruJIoWGf
— Ashley ✡️🦁 (@ashleyblair21) January 20, 2022
The rabbi threw the chair not knowing if he would be shot because the hostage taker told them to get down on their knees. You did not listen to the hostages’ interview describing their terror. You make it sound as if it was a calm, pleasant time, & the rabbi threw a chair.
— Jill Blum (@JillBlum20) January 20, 2022
How about looking at the video which was shown over and over on CNN. It shows the hostage taker chasing the hostages with his gun pointed while one hostage falls and then dives into the bushes. Don’t ANY publications do minuscule research before tweeting?!
— Jill Blum (@JillBlum20) January 20, 2022
Imagine if he had a gun instead of a chair.
Imagine if 33% of them had guns.
— Nyadnar#17 (@Nyadnar17) January 20, 2022
Rothbaum continues:
“Not by might and not by power,” the prophet Zachariah famously taught, speaking on behalf of God, “but by My Spirit.” The religion of the armament fanatic, whether in the NRA or in our synagogues, reverses the formulation, relying first on force. Generally, we call that abdication of Jewish values in favor of those of the dominant secular culture “assimilation.” It is no wonder that some rabbis, including myself, prohibit guns from the grounds of synagogues.
“The armament fanatic.”
Curious. Can the bad guy still fog a mirror?
— Cloudy_Judgement Ð/₳ 💎 (@Cloudy_Judgemnt) January 20, 2022
Related:
Backpedal in progress! AP’s tweet about synagogue hostage-taker’s motive aged so horribly that it’s been deleted https://t.co/Sq89DJnLAi
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 17, 2022
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