The Latest Breaking News from Charlie Cytron-Walker

Chicago center trained rabbi, other hostages at Texas synagogue who escaped safely

Secure Community Network, a nonprofit based in River North, ‘saved our lives,’ one hostage said. It works with the FBI and the Homeland Security Department to protect Jewish facilities across the country.

Chicago Sun-Times · Feb 11, 2022

Rabbi held hostage in Texas synagogue tells Congress that houses of worship need more security funds

WASHINGTON — The Colleyville rabbi held hostage with three congregants by a man demanding release of an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist urged Congress on Tuesday to provide more security funds for houses of worship.

Tribune News Service · Feb 9, 2022

Rabbi held hostage in Texas synagogue urges more security funds for houses of worship

WASHINGTON — The Colleyville, Texas, rabbi held hostage with three congregants by a man demanding release of a terrorist linked to al-Qaida urged Congress on Tuesday to provide more security funds for houses of worship.

Tribune News Service · Feb 8, 2022

Hostages talk about what happened while held captive inside Texas synagogue for 11 hours

DALLAS — A Colleyville rabbi held captive this weekend for more than 11 hours inside Congregation Beth Israel said Monday that he and two others escaped after he threw a chair at the hostage-taker.

Tribune News Service · Jan 18, 2022

‘We were terrified’: Texas rabbi and congregants detail hostage drama

The British hostage-taker was originally welcomed and offered tea before the situation turned ‘tense and terrifying’

The Guardian - US · Jan 17, 2022

Texas hostage siege: Rabbi tells how he threw chair at Malik Faisal Akram to escape synagogue attack

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker speaks out about the ‘terrifying’ ordeal at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville

The Independent UK · Jan 17, 2022

Rabbi says he threw chair at synagogue hostage-taker before lunging for the door

DALLAS — A Colleyville rabbi held captive this weekend for more than 11 hours inside Congregation Beth Israel said Monday that he and two others escaped after he threw a chair at the hostage-taker.

Tribune News Service · Jan 17, 2022

Colleyville Rabbi credits survival to active-shooter training

"It was terrifying. It was overwhelming and we're still processing."

Axios · Jan 17, 2022

Attacks on America’s Jewish community on the rise long before Colleyville, experts say

FORT WORTH, Texas — The hostage standoff inside a Colleyville synagogue Saturday reignited fears of antisemitic violence with news headlines that circled the globe. But for many Jewish Americans, the threat of such an attack — even at a small-town synagogue in North Texas — is something they live with…

Tribune News Service · Jan 17, 2022

Support flows to 'changed' Texas synagogue after standoff

The tight-knit congregation at a Texas synagogue where four people were held hostage by an armed captor during a 10-hour standoff over the weekend traces its roots back to a gathering organized over 20 years ago by a handful of families who were new to the area

The Independent UK · Jan 17, 2022