January 15th marks one year since a gunman entered Congregation Beth Israel and held four people hostage during a live-streamed Sabbath service.
COLLEYVILLE, Texas — Tucked within a Colleyville neighborhood is a safe space that was filled with terror a year ago.
Jan. 15 marks one year since a gunman entered Congregation Beth Israel and held four people hostage during a live-streamed Sabbath service.
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, Jeff Cohen, Shane Woodward and Larry Schwartz were held at gunpoint in the synagogue as a suspect, Malik Faisal Akram demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a convicted terrorist being held in Fort Worth.
“It’s been tough,” Cytron-Walker told WFAA’s Adriana De Alba during a sit-down interview days before the one-year anniversary.
Cytron-Walker has since relocated to a North Carolina synagogue, a move that was planned before the hostage standoff took place.
“I’ll never be the same person that I was before that day,” Woodward said.
On that Saturday morning a year ago, Cytron-Walker welcomed Akram in with hot tea and conversation. Akram told them he was seeking shelter. His story seemed to check out, Cytron-Walker said.
Then, Akram turned on them. Cytron-Walker heard the sound of a gun click, and the 11-hour hostage standoff unfolded.
“He threatened us that whole time,” Woodward said. “The gun never left pointing at the four of us. The whole time, his finger was sitting on the trigger.”
86-year-old Schwartz, who was recovering from a surgery at the time, was the first hostage released around six hours into the standoff.
“He [Akram] called my name and said,’ Larry, how are you doing?’ I said, ‘I have to go to the restroom. He says, ‘Okay, you’re like my dad, I’m gonna let you go.”
Newly-obtained bodycam footage from Colleyville police shows the moment officers walked Schwartz into a safe vehicle and drove him away from the synagogue. In the bodycam footage, Schwartz is heard asking officers if he could call his wife to let her know he was safe.
The remaining three hostages inside were given permission by their hostage-taker to call their loved ones several times throughout the tense situation.
“Those were among some of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had,” Cytron-Walker said.
“Mine was, I’m at CBI (Congregation Beth Israel), there’s a gunman, he says he’s got a bomb, I love you… remember me,” Cohen said.
Their path towards healing remains a challenging journey, but they have hope.
“The fact that we can share stories with one another is such a beautiful thing,” Cytron-Walker said. “That to me is healing, and that to me is gratitude and heartwarming.”
“I would say we’re healing, I would not say we’re healed,” Cohen said.
Cohen, who has since become President of Congregation Beth Israel said Congregants are still concerned about their safety during large gatherings. Despite the never-ending cycle of enhancing already-tight security measures, fear within the Congregation persists.
Anti-semitism is the culprit, they told WFAA.
Congregant Anna Eisen, a therapist, author and daughter of holocaust survivors travels across the country to speak out against anti-Semitism. She shares the story of what happened in their synagogue on Jan. 15.
“I don’t feel safe,” Eisen said. “I’ll feel safe when we don’t have to have armed guards because we’re Jews. He came looking for Jews. He was hunting Jews.”
Eisen told WFAA she received daily threats and hate messages from strangers on social media.
“Yes, there was a good outcome [on Jan. 15], but it reminds us it was indeed a terrible day for the congregation, for this community, because we lost our innocence.”
During the standoff, Akram told the hostages he chose to target a Jewish synagogue because the U.S. “only cares about Jewish lives and Jews control the media, the world and the banks.”
Anti-Semitism is what drove him to incite violence against their Congregation, Eisen said.
“This is exactly the issue,” Cohen said. “People hear these often enough, and people begin to internalize them. That’s why it is so important for the rest of us to stand up and when we hear these things, we challenge them.”
Through their shared trauma and efforts to stop hate against the Jewish community, the four have formed a unique bond.
Cytron-Walker remains the hero rabbi who saved their lives.
“He [Cytron-Walker] yelled run… something that never occurred to any of us. He tossed a chair at him and we were out the door,” Cohen said.
There was no pre-planned discussion of the exit or coordination.
Exclusive WFAA footage shows the moment Cohen fell on his way out of an exit door. He tried to hide, then he heard the gunman come out.
“He did try to fire,” Cohen said. “The gun jammed… all that happened in a split second.”
Despite the attack on their Congregation, Cytron-Walker told WFAA welcoming in the stranger was their calling. Several of the hostages told WFAA they followed security protocol that day and believed Akram’s story was legit when he first entered the synagogue.
“We need to be able to find ways to do both,” Cytron-Walker said. “Have both safety and security and find ways to offer that sense of hospitality.”
“We’re taught that this is how you treat people,” Cohen said. “You don’t worry about, is he in your tribe? What color is he? Does he worship like me? This is what we’re taught, and to live it is important.”