Posted on 04/14/2015 4:49:55 PM PDT by SJackson
At about the same time today, Monday, April 13, 2015, that thousands of people were gathering in Overland, Kansas, to celebrate "Faith, Love & Walk" in honor of three shooting victims of the April 13, 2014, attack on a Jewish Community Center and assisted living home, a bullet was fired at Nashville's West End Synagogue, Nashville's largest Conservative Jewish congregation.
The bullet hit the building about 90 minutes before the scheduled start of the annual Tennessee Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration at the Tennessee state capitol a few miles away.
At about 8:30 a.m. today, a maintenance worker working outside the synagogue heard a loud "pop" sound. When he walked to the front of the synagogue, which faces the wide, tree-lined West End Avenue in the affluent area of Nashville, he found the hole in a metal window frame. No other shots were heard or detected, and no one was injured, Nashville police say.
The timing of the bullet strike with the anniversary of the 2013 attack in Kansas and the coming this week, on April 16, 2015, of Yom HaShoah, the worldwide Holocaust Remembrance Day, has put Jewish leaders in the adjoining areas on alert. Shortly after the incident, the Birmingham Jewish Federation was notified of the Nashville attack by the Secure Community Network (SCN), the security arm of the North American organized Jewish community. SCN is affiliated with Jewish Federations of North America, and works closely with the US Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies to address threats to Jewish communities throughout the country, Birmingham Jewish Federation assistant executive director Daniel Odrezin said in a release Monday.
"Every synagogue and Jewish institution has been notified through our security team," said Mark Freedman, executive director for the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee in a statement to The Tennessean. "Naturally we are always concerned when incidents especially like this one come up."
In Huntsville, Jewish leaders are taking note, adding that the Huntsville Police have long helped Jewish congregations in the city feel safe.
"The Temple has had a long-standing positive relationship with the city of Huntsville and the police department, not only through their presence at all our large functions, but also because of their overtures of support over the years," said Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar of Huntsville's Temple B'nai Sholom. "We're saddened to see that our neighbors just a hour and 45 minutes north has reason to take extra precautions. A sacred community should always be just that -- sacred and safe for everyone."
Students at the Akiva School, a Jewish K-6 school a few miles from West End Synagogue pulled the blinds in classrooms Monday and cancelled all outdoor recess Monday, according to WSMV TV in Nashville. Police said they will be posting patrols at the school during the morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-up times for the next few days as a precaution.
Nashville police are working with the FBI and TBI in the investigation, and other Jewish organizations in the Nashville are receiving "enhanced law enforcement security," the Nashville police say in a release.
The police ask that anyone with information about the bullet strike at West End Synagogue contact the Nashville-area Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and qualify for a cash reward. Electronic tips can also be sent by texting word "CASH" along with the message to 274637 (CRIMES) or online at NashvilleCrimeStoppers.com. Police are hoping that someone saw a vehicle pull over in front of the synagogue at the time of the shooting.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Obama voters on the loose.
There aren’t enough police to guard every Jewish institution, shual or school, so we Jews need to create a “Shomrem” organization of former Jewish policemen and other Jews who are willing to stand guard whenever and wherever necessary.
Also raise the issue of Concealed Carry in both schools and shuals. They do it in Israel, esp. after Maalot massacre of over a dozen young Jewish students by the PLO.
There was a holocaust in Tennessee?
In the US most use private security, frequently off duty leos. In France, 12,000 police and military protect Jewish institutions. Would take far more here, should the haters become more active. Of course as you note, US gun ownership would be a significant deterrent.
I’d grab the first and closest moslum, and start “asking some questions”.
In New Jersey some Muslim punk threw firecrackers at a synagogue while screaming “Allahu Akbar!!!”
Would have been fitting if ten Jewish men had suddenly emerged & beaten this jihadi punk to a pulp.
Tennessee's contribution to American culture, the KKK, Moon Pies and Jack Daniels...
They tend to work for the post office, easy to spot them.
Thanks!
Good-sized muzzie contingent in Tenn.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.