(Jewish Group) Rabbi who foiled hostage-taking will be guest speaker at Ramadan celebration

The rabbi taken hostage in his Texas synagogue in January will be the guest speaker next week at a Ramadan celebration hosted by a nonprofit that aims to strengthen Jewish-Muslim relations.

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker will address the guests on April 7 at a virtual iftar, or meal to end the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on the commonalities between the Muslim observance and Passover. This year marks the rare occasion on which both holidays overlap, as well as with Easter.

“We were so moved to see the strength of the interfaith networks during the incident at his synagogue, and are grateful that Rabbi Charlie is making the time to join a piece of his network to ours,” read an announcement from Los Angeles-based NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. He will talk on “themes of iconoclasm and change,” according to the group.



Cytron-Walker and three other member of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, were taken hostage for nearly 11 hours by a British gunman who spouted antisemitic tropes about Jews controlling the government, and insisted that they help him free a Muslim woman incarcerated at a Texas prison for attacking American troops.

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