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Tag: synagogue

  • ‘You ready?’: Montgomery Co. man pleads guilty to mailing threats against Jewish institutions in DC region – WTOP News

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    Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, entered guilty pleas for 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs.

    A Montgomery County, Maryland, man has pleaded guilty in federal court to mailing threatening letters and postcards to more than a dozen Jewish institutions in Maryland, Virginia, D.C. and elsewhere over the past 18 months, suggesting that buildings would be destroyed and people killed.

    Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, entered guilty pleas Monday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs. While most of the threats involved Jewish institutions in the D.C. area, some were mailed from Pennsylvania, where Seferlis visited often.

    According to Seferlis’s plea memorandum, between March 2024 and June 2025, he used the U.S. mail system to send at least 40 letters and two postcards to more than 25 Jewish organizations and entities, including synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, schools, nonprofit organizations and a delicatessen.

    Federal prosecutors determined all of the letters were composed on the same typewriter, and many included news articles about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The threatening postcards were handwritten, in block letters.

    A letter to a synagogue in Gaithersburg invoked the German word “Kristallnacht,” which refers to the “Night of Broken Glass,” when anti-Jewish attacks took place in Germany and Austria, on Nov. 9, 1938.

    In a footnote in the plea document, prosecutors explained: “Nazis and other Germans burned more than 1,400 synagogues, vandalized thousands of Jewish businesses, imprisoned more than 20,000 Jewish men, and assaulted and killed hundreds of Jewish people.”

    In the letter to one of the houses of worship, Seferlis typed: “You do know Kristallnacht is very strong and sooner than later there is going to be PLENTY of broken glass at your synagogue.”

    A letter to another institution asked rhetorically, “And you wonder why that nice young couple were gunned down in front of the museum in DC,” suggesting it could happen again. Prosecutors said Seferlis was referring to the killing of two staff members at the Israel Embassy, who were shot near the Capital Jewish Museum in Northwest, D.C. in May 2025.

    Another letter, addressed to a Jewish school in Rockville included an article about an Israeli attack in Lebanon. Seferlis wrote: “Does the image mean anything to you? Are you proud to be part of without doubt the most hated diaspora on earth, one with no end to their cruelty? Of course you are not moved by this. You are a jew. Perhaps it might be more effective when the school is in ruins.”

    A letter to a rabbi at a synagogue in D.C. included, “Are you concerned for the well being of your congregants?… you might want to be.”

    A postcard mailed from Philadelphia included: “Gaza is in ruins. Countless dead. And you want to tell your story. Your story soon will be trying to rebuild your building when we are done playing IDF on it. You ready?” IDF stands for Israel Defense Forces, the national military of Israel.

    According to the plea agreement, when Seferlis is sentenced on March 16, 2026, prosecutors and the defense will each argue for what they believe is an appropriate sentence.

    In a news release, the U.S. Department of Justice said when Seferlis is sentenced in March, he faces a maximum penalty of 169 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $5,650,000 fine.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Opinion | Perilous Times for Optimistic Jews in the U.K.

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    Gerry Baker is Editor at Large of The Wall Street Journal. His weekly column for the editorial page, “Free Expression,” appears in The Wall Street Journal each Tuesday. Mr. Baker is also host of “WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker,” a weekly news and current affairs interview show on the Fox Business Network, and the weekly WSJ Opinion podcast “Free Expression” where he speaks with some of the world’s leading writers, influencers and thinkers about a variety of subjects.

    Mr. Baker previously served as Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones from 2013-2018. Prior to that, Mr. Baker was Deputy Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal from 2009-2013. He has been a journalist for more than 30 years, writing and broadcasting for some of the world’s most famous news organizations, including his tenure at The Financial Times, The Times of London, and The BBC.

    He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, where he graduated in 1983 with a 1st Class Honors Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

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    Gerard Baker

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  • Stranger Charged With Break-In, Murder In Slaying Of Detroit Synagogue Leader

    Stranger Charged With Break-In, Murder In Slaying Of Detroit Synagogue Leader

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  • Two teachers at public charter school placed on leave over “lesson on the genocide in Palestine”

    Two teachers at public charter school placed on leave over “lesson on the genocide in Palestine”

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    Two first-grade teachers at a public charter school located at a Los Angeles-area Jewish synagogue were placed on leave this week over statements about Israel and Gaza they allegedly shared in the classroom and on social media, according to synagogue and school officials.

    On Friday, Senior Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei told KTLA that one of the teachers at Citizens of the World Charter School, which leases classroom space at Adat Ari El Synagogue in Valley Village, described on social media about teaching “a lesson on the genocide in Palestine” to first-graders.

    According to a copy of the post provided to The Times by a representative of the charter school, the teacher wrote on Instagram that they “did a lesson on the genocide in Palestine today w my first graders…” In a separate post, the teacher said that “my fav was a kid who was like “What if they just give the land back to Palestine and find somewhere else to live?”

    The school said the second teacher also posted about the lesson.

    In a statement, Citizens of the World L.A. executive director Melissa Kaplan said the personal social media posts “raised significant concerns, fear, anger, and harm for many” in the charter school and synagogue community, and that the school will coordinate with the Anti-Defamation League on training for school staff.

    The school is investigating the exact content of the lesson, a school representative said Saturday. If the teachers are reinstated, they will not return to the Valley Village campus, the representative said.

    Neither of the teachers could be reached for comment Saturday.

    In addition, the charter school’s principal will be taking a two-week leave of absence to focus on “sensitivity training,” the school said in a statement. In a statement, the principal apologized for “insensitive questions” she directed to the rabbi about when the synagogue would remove Israeli flags hanging in the courtyard.

    The flags have been on display in the courtyard ever since Hamas militants launched an ambush from Gaza on southern Israel on Oct. 7, leaving 1,200 Israelis dead with another 240 taken hostage. In the weeks since, as Israel launched its offensive, more than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

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    Samantha Masunaga

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  • A Detroit Synagogue President Was Fatally Stabbed Outside Her Home. Police Don’t Have A Motive.

    A Detroit Synagogue President Was Fatally Stabbed Outside Her Home. Police Don’t Have A Motive.

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    DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit synagogue president was found stabbed to death outside her home Saturday, police said. The motive wasn’t known.

    Emergency medical personnel declared the woman, identified in a statement from Mayor Mike Duggan as Samantha Woll, dead at the scene, Cpl. Dan Donakowski said.

    “While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred,” Donakowski said.

    Woll, 40, had led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue since 2022 and was a former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Detroit Free Press reported.

    Police have not identified a possible motive and are investigating, the Free Press reported.

    Police found Woll around 6:30 a.m. after someone called to alert them of a person lying on the ground unresponsive, the Free Press reported.

    In a statement, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Woll’s death was heartbreaking.

    “She was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place,” the governor said.

    Michigan State Police were assigned to support the Detroit Police Department in the investigation, Whitmer said.

    Nessel issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying she was “shocked, saddened and horrified.”

    “Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known,” Nessel said. “She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.”

    Slotkin also commented on X, saying she was “heartbroken at this news.”

    Duggan issued a statement saying he was “devastated” to learn of Woll’s death.

    “Sam’s loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community,” the mayor said. “This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death.”

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