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{{Short description|2021 antisemitic attack}} |
{{Short description|2021 antisemitic attack}} |
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{{Merge to|Congregation Beth Israel (Austin, Texas)|discuss=Talk:Congregation Beth Israel (Austin, Texas)#Proposed merge of Austin synagogue arson into Congregation Beth Israel (Austin, Texas)|date=March 2024}} |
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[[File:Congregation_Beth_Israel_(Austin,_Texas)_Front_Entrance_Dec_2023.jpg|thumb|Congregation Beth Israel in 2023]] |
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On 31 October 2021, an arson attack at [[Congregation Beth Israel (Austin, Texas)|Congregation Beth Israel]], a [[Reform synagogue|Reform Jewish synagogue]] in Austin, Texas, damaged the synagogue's front doors and stained glass windows, causing more than $250,000 in damage. Franklin Sechriest admitted to conducting the attack out of his hatred for Jews and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on 29 November 2023. |
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==Background== |
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In October 2021, the [[Goyim Defense League]] (GDL), a [[Neo-Nazism|Neo-Nazi]] antisemitic group, organized a spate of antisemitic incidents in Austin.<ref name="JTApled" /> On 25 October, the GDL hung a banner from a bridge over the [[MoPac Expressway]] in Austin that read "Vax the Jews". Several days earlier, antisemitic graffiti had been found at [[Anderson High School (Texas)|Anderson High School]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hanau |first1=Shira |title=Neo-Nazi group hangs |
In October 2021, the [[Goyim Defense League]] (GDL), a [[Neo-Nazism|Neo-Nazi]] antisemitic group, organized a spate of antisemitic incidents in Austin.<ref name="JTApled" /> On 25 October, the GDL hung a banner from a bridge over the [[MoPac Expressway]] in Austin that read "Vax the Jews". Several days earlier, antisemitic graffiti had been found at [[Anderson High School (Texas)|Anderson High School]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hanau |first1=Shira |title=Neo-Nazi group hangs 'Vax the Jews' banner in Austin, blocks from JCC and synagogues |url=https://www.jta.org/2021/10/25/united-states/neo-nazi-group-hangs-vax-the-jews-banner-in-austin-texas-just-a-few-blocks-from-jcc-and-synagogues |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2021-10-25}}</ref> |
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Congregation Beth Israel served approximately 710 households.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Vigdor |first1=Neil |title=College Student Charged in Arson at Texas Synagogue |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/us/austin-synagogue-fire-arson.html |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=[[New York Times]] |date=2021-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213083659/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/us/austin-synagogue-fire-arson.html |archive-date=2023-02-13}}</ref> |
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==Attack== |
==Attack== |
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On 31 October 2021, the front doors and stained glass windows at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, Texas, were damaged in a fire.<ref name="JTApled">{{cite news |last1=Cramer |first1=Philissa |title=Man pleads guilty to hate crime in 2021 arson that damaged Austin, Texas, synagogue |url=https://www.jta.org/2023/04/10/united-states/man-pleads-guilty-to-hate-crime-in-2021-arson-that-damaged-austin-texas-synagogue |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |date=2023-04-10}}</ref> According to the synagogue, the arson caused more than $250,000 worth of damage.<ref name="Rebuilt">{{cite news |last1=Hajdenberg |first1=Jackie |title=Stained glass from Texas synagogue targeted by arson rebuilt into 3D eternal flame |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/stained-glass-from-texas-synagogue-targeted-by-arson-rebuilt-into-3d-eternal-flame/ |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=[[Times of Israel]] |agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2023-09-07}}</ref> |
On 31 October 2021, the front doors and stained glass windows at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, Texas, were damaged in a fire.<ref name="JTApled">{{cite news |last1=Cramer |first1=Philissa |title=Man pleads guilty to hate crime in 2021 arson that damaged Austin, Texas, synagogue |url=https://www.jta.org/2023/04/10/united-states/man-pleads-guilty-to-hate-crime-in-2021-arson-that-damaged-austin-texas-synagogue |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |date=2023-04-10}}</ref> According to the synagogue, the arson caused more than $250,000 worth of damage.<ref name="Rebuilt">{{cite news |last1=Hajdenberg |first1=Jackie |title=Stained glass from Texas synagogue targeted by arson rebuilt into 3D eternal flame |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/stained-glass-from-texas-synagogue-targeted-by-arson-rebuilt-into-3d-eternal-flame/ |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=[[Times of Israel]] |agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2023-09-07}}</ref> |
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==Investigation and prosecution== |
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==Aftermath== |
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Ten days after the attack, authorities arrested 18 year old Franklin Barrett Sechriest, a student at [[Texas State University]] and a member of the [[Texas National Guard]].<ref name="JTApled" /> He resigned from the |
Ten days after the attack, authorities arrested 18 year old Franklin Barrett Sechriest, a student at [[Texas State University]] and a member of the [[Texas National Guard]].<ref name="JTApled" /> He resigned from the national guard before conducting the arson. Stickers with Nazi propaganda and swastikas were recovered from Sechriest.<ref name="NYT" /> According to security footage, Sechriest's vehicle was at the synagogue before the fire started, and he was seen carrying a container and toilet paper to the doors of the synagogue before being observed running away after the synagogue was ablaze.<ref name="AP">{{cite news |title=Texas man who set fire to an Austin synagogue sentenced to 10 years |url=https://apnews.com/article/austin-texas-synagogue-arson-prison-sentence-f1b9aaed17c5339aa5cc34c1a6358715 |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=2023-11-29}}</ref> |
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Sechriest admitted that he conducted the attack at the synagogue because of his hatred for Jews. According to federal investigators, Sechriest wrote racist and antisemitic entries in his personal journal before committing the arson. Several days after the arson, he wrote, "I set a synagogue on fire."<ref name="AP" /> They also found bomb-making supplies in his car.<ref name="JTApled" /> |
Sechriest admitted that he conducted the attack at the synagogue because of his hatred for Jews. According to federal investigators, Sechriest wrote racist and antisemitic entries in his personal journal before committing the arson. Several days after the arson, he wrote, "I set a synagogue on fire."<ref name="AP" /> They also found bomb-making supplies in his car.<ref name="JTApled" /> |
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According to the synagogue's rabbi, members of the interfaith community donated more than $100,000 toward the recovery efforts.<ref name="NYT" /> |
According to the synagogue's rabbi, members of the interfaith community donated more than $100,000 toward the recovery efforts.<ref name="NYT" /> |
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==Aftermath== |
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Almost two years after the arson, Congregation Beth Israel held its first Shabbat services in the building on August 25, 2023. Due to damage to the main sanctuary, the synagogue converted its social hall into a temporary space for worship. It refashioned the stained glass windows into an [[Ner Tamid|eternal flame]].<ref name="Rebuilt" /> |
Almost two years after the arson, Congregation Beth Israel held its first Shabbat services in the building on August 25, 2023. Due to damage to the main sanctuary, the synagogue converted its social hall into a temporary space for worship. It refashioned the stained glass windows into an [[Ner Tamid|eternal flame]].<ref name="Rebuilt" /> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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{{coord missing|Texas}} |
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[[Category:21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations in the United States]] |
[[Category:21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Antisemitism in Texas]] |
[[Category:Antisemitism in Texas]] |
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[[Category:Arson in Texas]] |
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[[Category:Crimes in Austin, Texas]] |
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[[Category:Arson in 2021]] |
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[[Category:October 2021 crimes in the United States]] |
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[[Category:2020s in Austin, Texas]] |
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Revision as of 08:47, 3 May 2024
On 31 October 2021, an arson attack at Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform Jewish synagogue in Austin, Texas, damaged the synagogue's front doors and stained glass windows, causing more than $250,000 in damage. Franklin Sechriest admitted to conducting the attack out of his hatred for Jews and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on 29 November 2023.
Background
In October 2021, the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a Neo-Nazi antisemitic group, organized a spate of antisemitic incidents in Austin.[1] On 25 October, the GDL hung a banner from a bridge over the MoPac Expressway in Austin that read "Vax the Jews". Several days earlier, antisemitic graffiti had been found at Anderson High School.[2]
Congregation Beth Israel served approximately 710 households.[3]
Attack
On 31 October 2021, the front doors and stained glass windows at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, Texas, were damaged in a fire.[1] According to the synagogue, the arson caused more than $250,000 worth of damage.[4]
Investigation and prosecution
Ten days after the attack, authorities arrested 18 year old Franklin Barrett Sechriest, a student at Texas State University and a member of the Texas National Guard.[1] He resigned from the national guard before conducting the arson. Stickers with Nazi propaganda and swastikas were recovered from Sechriest.[3] According to security footage, Sechriest's vehicle was at the synagogue before the fire started, and he was seen carrying a container and toilet paper to the doors of the synagogue before being observed running away after the synagogue was ablaze.[5]
Sechriest admitted that he conducted the attack at the synagogue because of his hatred for Jews. According to federal investigators, Sechriest wrote racist and antisemitic entries in his personal journal before committing the arson. Several days after the arson, he wrote, "I set a synagogue on fire."[5] They also found bomb-making supplies in his car.[1]
On 10 April 2023, Sechriest pled guilty in the Western District of Texas to two federal charges, including the destruction of religious property, which is a hate crime. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped a third charge of the use of a fire to commit a felony. Prosecutors consulted the synagogue's board of directors, who voted to approve the deal.[1][6]
On 29 November 2023, Sechriest was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release post-prison, and ordered to pay $470,000 in restitution to Congregation Beth Israel.[5]
Reactions
In a statement, Texas State University stated that it "decries this hateful act of bigotry and violence and all the antisemitic events perpetrated recently in Austin, San Antonio and San Marcos...The Texas State University community stands in solidarity with our Jewish students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members who have been impacted."[3]
According to the synagogue's rabbi, members of the interfaith community donated more than $100,000 toward the recovery efforts.[3]
Aftermath
Almost two years after the arson, Congregation Beth Israel held its first Shabbat services in the building on August 25, 2023. Due to damage to the main sanctuary, the synagogue converted its social hall into a temporary space for worship. It refashioned the stained glass windows into an eternal flame.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Cramer, Philissa (2023-04-10). "Man pleads guilty to hate crime in 2021 arson that damaged Austin, Texas, synagogue". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Hanau, Shira (2021-10-25). "Neo-Nazi group hangs 'Vax the Jews' banner in Austin, blocks from JCC and synagogues". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d Vigdor, Neil (2021-11-15). "College Student Charged in Arson at Texas Synagogue". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-02-13. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ a b Hajdenberg, Jackie (2023-09-07). "Stained glass from Texas synagogue targeted by arson rebuilt into 3D eternal flame". Times of Israel. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Texas man who set fire to an Austin synagogue sentenced to 10 years". Associated Press. 2023-11-29. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Texas man pleads guilty to setting fire to Austin synagogue". Associated Press. 2023-04-07. Retrieved 30 November 2023.