Michigan Synagogue Attack

For many U.S. Jews, following current events these days can be emotionally tumultuous. Simultaneously, there is widely shared anger at the upsurge of attacks targeting their communities, and deep divisions within those communities over whether to support or oppose various policies and actions by Israel in the conflict-wracked Middle East. Just last week, there was unified condemnation of the attempted attack by a man who drove his pickup truck into a Detroit-area synagogue where more than 100 children were attending preschool. The driver, who died during a gunfight with police, had lost family members during a recent Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.

A Michigan synagogue has posted photos on social media of major fire damage that occurred when a man drove a pickup truck into the building last week before killing himself. One image shows tables of uneaten snacks in an early childhood education room at Temple Israel in suburban Detroit. No children or staff were injured. Ayman Ghazali rammed his pickup through a synagogue door last Thursday. The FBI says security staff exchanged gunfire with Ghazali before he killed himself.