Samantha Woll: What to know about slaying of Detroit synagogue leader
On Saturday morning, Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death at her home in the city’s Lafayette Park neighborhood. Police said Monday that Woll’s killing did not appear to be an act of antisemitism, with Detroit Police Chief James E. White revealing that “a number of people that give us interest” had been identified. He otherwise offered few new details about the killing.
The killing came two weeks after a brutal attack on Israel by Hamas militants, which resulted in the death of 1,400 people, most of them civilians — and was followed by devastating Israeli airstrikes that have claimed thousands of Palestinian lives while also fostering a humanitarian crisis.
Across the United States, pro-Palestinian protests have erupted in many cities and on many college campuses. The timing and tenor of those protests have led many American Jews to worry about their safety. American Muslims also fear that they will be blamed for the attack by Hamas, a fundamentalist group that seeks the complete elimination of Israel.
In that context, the news of Woll's killing only caused anxieties to spike, to make raw feelings even more so.
“We may not know the motive for Samantha Woll’s murder, but we know her brutal death only feeds into the fear our Jewish brothers and sisters are feeling,” wrote New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who represents the largest Jewish community in the United States, in a social media post. “May her killers be brought to justice. May the cycle of hatred end. And may her memory be a blessing.”
'She lived to love and loved to live'
Woll, 40, was leader of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit. She was also active in Democratic politics, having worked for both Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan, and the state’s attorney general, Dana Nessel.
“Sam’s loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community,” said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, echoing widespread shock at her killing from elected officials across the state.
In keeping with Jewish custom, which calls for a funeral to take place within 24 hours of a death, Woll was buried on Sunday. Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities continued to look for a motive for the killing, which instantly made national news.
“She had unbridled joy and an infectious laugh. She had the most incredible compassion. Most importantly, she lived to love and loved to live,” her obituary said.
According to news reports, Woll attended a wedding on Friday night, leaving shortly after midnight.
“There was no evidence of forced entry at Woll's home, her body displayed no defensive wounds and there was a large Israeli flag in the residence that appeared to be untouched,” reported NBC News, citing law enforcement authorities.
“We have a number of people that give us interest," Chief White said on Monday. "We are just short of calling one of the people a suspect.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday that President Biden, “like everyone else, is paying close attention” to the investigation into Woll’s killing.
Recommended reading:
BBC News:American Jews and Palestinians face fear and hatred
Los Angeles Times:'The left has really let us down.' Why many American Jews feel abandoned
Rise in antisemitic incidents
Although police say they have not found evidence to show Woll’s killing was motivated by antisemitism, the attack occurred as more stark incidents of antisemitism have been reported across the nation, including vandalism and even physical assault. American Jews have reported feeling that they have to conceal their identities, or their support for Israel. Many were doing so before the Hamas attack.
Since the attack, there has “definitely” been “a large increase in the amount of incidents reported to ADL compared to the same time period last year,” wrote Jake Hyman, associate communications director of the organization formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League, in an email to Yahoo News.
Some American Jews believe they have been subjected to a “coordinated effort” led by pro-Palestinian activists “to silence Jewish voices and create an atmosphere of fear that denies and delegitimizes Jewish identity," according to human rights attorney Brooke Goldstein.
“Jewish people are not safe anywhere now,” an Orthodox Jewish woman, Henya Chein, told NBC News. She and other Jews have embraced gun ownership, a trend that preceded the Oct. 7 attacks but appears, at least anecdotally, to have spiked since then.
Recommended reading:
Yahoo News: How antisemitism became an American crisis
Deseret News: The disturbing rise of antisemitism on elite U.S. campuses
Muslims fear reprisals
Both Jews and Muslims have been on edge since the deadly Hamas incursion into Israel. In a brutal attack two weeks ago, a white Illinois landlord is alleged to have fatally stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy. His mother was critically injured in the attack.
“We must without equivocation denounce antisemitism,” President Biden said in an Oval Office address last week. “We must also without equivocation denounce Islamophobia.”
Law enforcement authorities predict that hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims could rise. “We expect to remain in a heightened threat environment in the near-to-medium term — even if a diplomatic solution to the crisis is found,” a new Department of Homeland Security assessment warns.
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