Article

Teen Charged in Synagogue Arson Attack; Brooklyn Antisemitic Assault Prompts $10K Reward; Michael Flynn Calls for ‘One Religion’ in US

ADL Headlines newsletter

November 18, 2021

THE WEEK’S BIG 3

An 18-year-old college student and recent member of the Texas State Guard who is accused of setting a fire at an Austin synagogue faces a federal arson charge for the Halloween incident. The assault of a Jewish man in Brooklyn last Thursday by an unknown assailant has prompted an investigation by New York police and a reward from ADL. Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, was soundly condemned by Jewish and Muslim groups for suggesting that the United States should unite under one religion.

Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate and the latest info about ADL from around the country.

  1. Texas Teen Charged with Allegedly Setting Austin Synagogue on Fire

    “Prosecutors allege that Franklin Barrett Sechriest, an 18-year-old student at Texas State University, intentionally lit a fire at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on the night of Oct. 31, and upon searching his Jeep Cherokee, agents recovered ingredients for Molotov cocktails, according to the complaint and affidavit, which were filed on Friday.” ABC News: LEARN MORE

    + ‘Rally for Kindness’ held in response to recent antisemitic incidentsFox Austin

    + ADL H.E.A.T. Map

  2. Latest Antisemitic Assault on Jewish Man in Brooklyn Prompts $10,000 Reward

    “Recent weeks have seen several attacks on Jews in Brooklyn that were coupled with antisemitic slurs, including a man who was struck with a projectile from a moving car, a man who was beaten outside a nightclub, and a pregnant woman who had a drink thrown in her face.” Algemeiner: FULL STORY

    + READ: ADL Offers 10K Reward Following Alleged Antisemitic Attack in Crown Heights

    + Police: Group attacks man in Brooklyn while making anti-Jewish remarksABC New York

  3. Michael Flynn Calls for the US to Have ‘One Religion,’ Sparking Outrage from Jewish Groups

    “’If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion,’ Flynn said Saturday at a rally in Texas for ReAwaken America, a Christian-themed speaking tour backed by the Christian news network America Faith. ‘One nation under God, and one religion under God.’” JTA: READ MORE

    + Jonathan Greenblatt tweet: “To suggest that the United States of America, a nation founded on twin bedrocks of pluralism and the freedom to practice any religion, should “have one religion” is anti-American, antidemocratic and downright dangerous.”

 

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