‘This is an American problem; it's not a Jewish problem': Tree of Life chair reacts to Boulder attack
Michael Bernstein, board chair of the Tree of Life, an organization which aims to uproot antisemitism, speaks to Bianna Golodryga about the rise in safety concerns for Jewish communities in the US and beyond.
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CBS News
8 hours ago
- CBS News
Amid wave of attacks on religious facilities, Justice Department pledges action
Alan Hausman paused mid-sentence during the phone call, then said he is still dogged by "survivor's remorse." Hausman said he can clearly remember trying to drive up a road to get to the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh after he was alerted to a shooting. But the road was impassable. The memories of the aftermath are indelible. "Every time I see another attack, it's like someone picked the scab off of my wound," said Hausman, who is the president of the synagogue's board of directors. He was not attending the synagogue on the day of the October 2018 shooting spree that killed 11 people. The massacre resulted in 63 counts including hate crime charges, resulting in the conviction and a death sentence against the gunman. Hausman, who is an emergency management official in Pittsburgh, said the Tree of Life now has armed security, as do other religious institutions and organizations in the city and region. The houses of worship have installed new alarm systems, and have roving security guards in parking lots, to deter future threats, he said. The Tree of Life synagogue on the fifth anniversary of the attack on October 27, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Justin Merriman / Getty Images According to FBI data and Justice Department officials who spoke with CBS News, the Tree of Life tragedy didn't slow the targeting of religious institutions, but was an early warning of the recent wave of planned attacks. FBI crime reports reviewed by CBS News show assaults or attacks against people at churches, synagogues, temples and mosques surged nearly 100% between 2021 and 2023. In an interview with CBS News, assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon referenced a growing stack on her desk of criminal cases that allege the targeting of religious centers. "I think it's a form of terrorism, because attacks on churches are meant to terrorize people," Dhillon said. "And they're meant to deter people from going there. And so it makes everyone feel unsafe." On June 18, Justice Department prosecutors secured a 25-year prison term in the case of Rui Zhang of Virginia. Zhang was convicted of targeting a Haymarket, Virginia, church for an attack. Prosecutors alleged Zhang had written a manifesto, and that he was inside a Sunday service at the church with a semiautomatic handgun, two magazines of ammunition, and two knives. He allegedly had additional ammunition, knives, and a canister of bear spray in his nearby car. In April, the Justice Department also secured a conviction of an Arizona man of targeting a series of churches. According to investigators, Zimnako Saleh "traveled to four Christian churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado, wearing black backpacks. At two of those churches, Salah planted those backpacks, placing congregants in fear that they contained bombs. At the other two churches, Salah was confronted by security before he got the chance to plant those backpacks. Photos of backpacks and movements from the day of the attempted attack inside the churches were included in charging documents. Dhillon said civil rights investigators have marshalled a more focused effort to combat the targeting of houses of worship. "We want to shut that threat down by making sure that no one is feeling like churches, houses of worship, people of faith are soft targets in the United States," Dhillon said. "That is why it's a priority." The increasing wave of threats against religious centers is – at least partly – driven by emerging white nationalism or the targeting of minority groups or churches that are welcoming to LGBTQ communities, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal-leaning nonprofit organization which focuses on civil rights issues and combating hate crimes. "About one in 10 of the attacks that we documented in the first six months of 2024 were also focused on 'welcoming' religious communities," said R.G. Cravens, an SPLC researcher. "We have seen an uptick in synagogues being targeted for similar things like vandalism, graffiti and harassment since the October 7th (attacks) in Israel," Cravens added. "And those come in a lot of forms that often do indicate the hard right white nationalist and white supremacist groups are involved." Dhillon directed CBS News to several other recent cases under investigation by the Justice Department. In February, Kevin Colantonio, 36, of Rhode Island pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for setting multiple fires around the exterior of a predominantly black church in North Providence. The federal criminal cases yield the possibility of lengthy prison terms. Zhang's prison term runs through the year 2050. Dhillon said the Justice Department's new leadership has an urgency in tackling these cases, pointing to hate crime charges filed against a man who allegedly used Molotov cocktails to attack peaceful marchers in Boulder, Colorado, on June 1. "We were all over it. And we filed what has been described to me as the fastest hate crime criminal complaint in recent history," Dhillon said. "It is important for the community being targeted to feel and see that the United States is taking these crimes with the utmost seriousness." The Justice Department is preparing for an August court hearing in the case of Elias Rodriguez, who is accused of targeting and murdering two Israeli embassy officials in Washington, D.C. last month. Rodriguez allegedly shot and killed the victims — a couple about to become engaged, according to Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S. — as they were leaving the museum, which is located in the heart of the U.S. capital. According to police and video from the scene, he shouted "free, free Palestine" as he was being taken into custody. Within 24 hours, the Justice Department announced that the case was being investigated as a potential hate crime. Rodriguez is being held in pretrial detention.
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
Archaeologist uncovers ‘persuasive' evidence of true location where Jesus turned water into wine
A historian believes he's found the location of Jesus Christ's first miracle – and has newfound evidence to back it up. Scripture gives limited details about Jesus' first miracle, which is said to have taken place at Cana. The Gospel of John states that Jesus turned water into wine during a wedding in the village. Advertisement 'Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons,' the gospel states. 'Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water,' so they filled them to the brim.' The passage continues, 'Then he told them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.' They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.' The prevailing theory states that Kafr Kanna, an Israeli town in the Galilee, was the true location of Cana. Pilgrims have long venerated the site, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1914. 4 The Gospel of John states that Jesus turned water into wine during a wedding in the village. Getty Images Advertisement But historian Tom McCollough says that Cana was actually located five miles north of Kafr Kanna. The site, called Khirbet Qana, was a Jewish village from 323 B.C. to 324 A.D. McCollough taught religion and history at Centre College until his retirement in 2017. He told Pen News that Khirbet Qana presents the most compelling evidence so far. '[No other village] has the ensemble of evidence that makes such a persuasive case for Khirbet Qana,' he said. Advertisement The main piece of evidence is a series of tunnels used by Christians — marked with various crosses and references to Christ, which date back over 1,500 years. 'We have uncovered a large Christian veneration cave complex that was used by Christian pilgrims who came to venerate the water-to-wine miracle,' McCollough said. 'This complex was used beginning in the late fifth or early sixth century and continued to be used by pilgrims into the 12th-century Crusader period.' 4 The site, called Khirbet Qana, was a Jewish village from 323 B.C. to 324 A.D. Universal Images Group via Getty Images Advertisement During his excavation, McCollough also uncovered an altar and a shelf with a stone vessel. He noted that there was space for five additional jars — consistent with the biblical account of six stone jars. On the walls of the complex, his team of excavators also uncovered references to Kyrie Iesou, a Koine Greek phrase meaning Lord Jesus. 'The pilgrim texts we have from this period that describe what pilgrims did and saw when they came to Cana of Galilee match very closely what we have exposed as the veneration complex,' he said. Speaking to Pen News, McCollough also used the work of Flavius Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, to back up his argument. 'His references to Cana align geographically with the location of Khirbet Qana and align logically with his movements,' he said. 'The reference to Cana in Josephus, the New Testament and in the rabbinic texts would argue the village was a Jewish village, near the Sea of Galilee and in the region of lower Galilee.' 4 He noted that there was space for five additional jars — consistent with the biblical account of six stone jars. Universal Images Group via Getty Images Advertisement He added, 'Khirbet Qana fulfills all of these criteria.' McCollough also argued that Kafr Kanna wasn't recognized as a pilgrimage site for Cana until the 18th century, which disputes the Catholic narrative about the site. 'At this point, the Franciscans were managing Christian pilgrimage and facilitating easy passage rather than historical accuracy,' he claimed. All in all, McCollough believes his excavations could bolster the case for the historicity of the Bible, and that his findings 'warrant at least a reconsideration of the historical value of John's references to Cana and Jesus.' Advertisement 'Our excavations have shown that this was in fact a thriving Jewish village located in the heart of much of Jesus' life and ministry,' he said. McCollough added, 'For the Gospel of John, Cana [was] in some ways Jesus' safe place or operational center. It is a place he and his disciples return to when they encounter resistance in Judea.' 4 On the walls of the complex, his team of excavators also uncovered references to Kyrie Iesou, a Koine Greek phrase meaning Lord Jesus. Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The most recent research comes as archaeologists across the world work on uncovering sites from the Bible. Advertisement In March, an archaeologist working at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre spoke with Fox News Digital about finding proof of an ancient garden at the site, consistent with scripture. Earlier this year, a group of Israeli archaeologists uncovered evidence of a biblical battle at the city of Megiddo in northern Israel.
USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
BYU QB Jake Retzlaff faces suspension, future uncertain after sexual assault civil suit
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff is anticipating a seven-game suspension for violating the university's honor code and is likely to leave the program, according to multiple reports on June 29. The move stems from a civil lawsuit filed against Retzlaff in May, alleging that he sexually assaulted a woman at his home. The woman, who claims that Retzlaff "raped, strangled and bit" her, is suing Retzlaff for alleged battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, seeking damages of at least $300,000. Retzlaff's lawyers denied the allegations in a response to the lawsuit filed on June 28, describing them as 'ridiculous and bizarre.' REQUIRED READING: BYU QB Jake Retzlaff denies sexual assault allegations in response to lawsuit BYU, which is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has an honor code that states that students must 'live a chaste and virtuous life,' which includes 'abstaining from sexual relations outside marriage between a man and a woman.' The university has issued disciplinary measures against athletes before for premarital sex, perhaps most notably in March 2011, when standout forward Brandon Davies was dismissed from the university's men's basketball team, which was No. 3 in the country at the time. In his first and potentially only full season as the Cougars' starter, Retzlaff helped guide BYU to an 11-2 mark and a victory in the Alamo Bowl against Deion Sanders and Colorado. Retzlaff completed 57.9% of his passes for 2,947 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while also rushing for 417 yards and six touchdowns. He gained national attention beyond the field as a Jewish quarterback representing a school with an overwhelmingly LDS student population, earning him the nickname 'BYJew' and a name, image and likeness deal with kosher food company Manischewitz. Should Retzlaff leave, BYU has two other quarterbacks on its roster: McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet, who transferred into the program from Utah State and Western Michigan, respectively. News of Retzlaff's suspension and likely departure was broken by the Salt Lake Tribune, citing unnamed sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
