Yesterday morning, Samantha Woll, who had been President of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, was found stabbed to death outside her home. She was 40.
Woll's death has made international headlines. In view of the surge of anti-Semitism which has taken place since Hamas attacked Israel 15 days ago, there is some thought it is a possible motive in Woll's murder.
Some have already arrived at this conclusion such as right-wing activist and two-time Republican Congressional candidate Laura Loomer who declared on X, "This is a hate crime. Likely Incited by Rashida's calls for violence against Jews and her support for HAMAS."
Of course, the Rashida in question is Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib who has a long history of anti-Semitism. Tlaib pointedly did not condemn Hamas, but rather blamed "Israeli apartheid" for the murder of civilians from Israel and aboard by Hamas. She has also repeatedly blamed Israel for bombing a hospital in Gaza despite the fact it has been conclusively demonstrated the bombing was caused by a defective rocket shot by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. For Tlaib's part, she called a Woll a friend. However, Tlaib's Democratic congressional colleague Debbie Wasserman-Schultz criticized Tlaib for "fanning the flames" of anti-Semitism (albeit not in the specific context of Woll's murder).
Detroit Police have warned against speculation regarding Woll's murder. Without a suspect in custody and identified, we don't yet know the reason why she was slaughtered. However, given Woll's prominence in the Detroit area, anti-Semitism arising from Hamas attack against Israel cannot be discounted. Frankly, Detroit Police, Michigan State Police and the FBI would be foolish to not investigate anti-Semitism as a motive for her murder. If it is indeed the motive, is the perpetrator a stranger or an acquaintance? I pose the question because Woll had helped established the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit.
But for the sake of argument, let us suppose anti-Semitism wasn't the motive. What are the other scenarios?
A) Woll was randomly stabbed to death by a complete stranger.
B) Woll was murdered in a robbery gone bad.
C) Woll was murdered by someone she knew who was angry with her for either personal or financial reasons.
D) Someone was hired to kill Woll for personal or financial reasons.
Although all of these scenarios are possible, my gut tells me that Samantha Woll's murder was motivated by anti-Semitism. While I am not prepared to blame Rashida Tlaib's reprehensible rhetoric at this time, it will not come as a shock to me if authorities arrest a suspect who was motivated by his or her hatred of Jews.
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ReplyDeleteI too, initially had a hunch that it may be terrorism. But, listen to the words of a Detroit-area blogger whom I follow, Debbie Schlussel. Notwithstanding her strong, past criticism of Ms Woll in life, Ms Schlussel has a thought-provoking take on the situation, which she is very well informed on. Her conclusion on the motive: most likely not a hate crime, but instead related in some way to the extremely high-crime, urban Detroit neighborhood that she lived in.
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DeleteI believe your conclusion letter A or B is likely correct, pending further information. As for motive, who knows until we see a suspect. It could be attempted robbery as you said, or a sudden attack by a suspect who is mentally ill or simply inherently prone to violence, or any number of things.
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