(Jewish Group) Fire destroys Minnesota synagogue

[Behind the Aegis]

An early Monday morning fire destroyed a synagogue in northern Minnesota.

The cause of the fire at the Adas Israel congregation, a traditional synagogue in Duluth, was unclear, according to local news reports. It appears to have destroyed much of the building, which was built more than a century ago. There were no fatalities, though one firefighter was injured while fighting the blaze. It is unclear whether any of the synagogue’s Torah scrolls survived, according to the Star Tribune, a newspaper in the Twin Cities.

“It feels like one of your family members passed away,” David Sher, a board member and lifelong worshipper at Adas Israel, told the Star Tribune. “We have no idea what we are doing [next]. There are no words right now.”

The synagogue has around 50 members. The local Jewish federations have started a fundraising campaign on behalf of the synagogue, and another local synagogue, Temple Israel, has offered Adas Israel temporary space.

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[JudyM]

1. Ugh. Hoping it was natural causes, and not hatred.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Appears it was arson.

Link to tweet

[Behind the Aegis]

2. My shul burned. We lost more than a building

American Jews woke Monday morning to the ancestrally terrifying image of a synagogue on fire. It was my family’s shul: Adas Israel in Duluth, Minnesota.

There is a dollhouse model of the Great Synagogue of Vilna in Israel’s Museum of the Jewish People. “That is the Third Street shul,” my great-aunt said on the eve of her 90th birthday nearly 40 years ago. It was, she said, Adas Israel in Duluth.

Together we studied the miniature, the white walls and curved windows, the pitch of the roof. The family resemblance was striking: Her grandfather had carried the memory of a synagogue to America. If Vilnius was the Jerusalem of Europe, he reproduced it on the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street in Duluth.

As Jews, we exist in so many places at once: We live in the past, where we came from, the worlds we left behind. We live in the now, in a space of hopefulness and watchfulness. We also live in a future promised land. For my great-great-grandfather, the Adas Israel congregation was the physical embodiment of all three — his past, his present and our future.

“Duluth is Jerusalem” has since been my glib and true answer to the existential questions of American Judaism: What does it mean to be an American Jew? Duluth is my Jerusalem. How do I feel about Israel? Duluth has always been my Jerusalem.

Duluth’s Jewish story felt all-American. My great-great-grandfather didn’t flee the Holocaust or pogroms. He came when Minnesota was a brand new state. He got land for free (though it was not the government’s to give). The Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior are in the heart of the center of the country, about as far from an ocean in any direction as it is possible to get. It was a good place to raise the generations. Ours was a Judaism of confidence and safety.

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[JudyM]

4. That is powerful.

Like many, I have a profound, growing sadness rooted in both the past and the future.
What our people endured... to devolve to such a similar rising expression of hatred... heartbreaking.

[JudyM]

7. The headline is in LBN now. This post would be a great addition to lend the human side to it.

[MyMission]

5. MSM reporting police say no motive determined, but not a hate crime!

Seriously?!?

So maybe they haven't found social, media connections, but we know it's a hate crime when someone sets fire to a synagogue, or to any house of worship.

Even if he's an arsonist who likes to set fires and watch things burn, his choice of this synagogue as a target seems hateful, for sure.

And while no lives were lost, 4 Torah scrolls and assorted artifacts and artwork were lost, and they will be mourned.

[JudyM]

6. 1st degree arson. As if it could be more obviously a hate crime. We'll see what happens, apparently.

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Homeless man pleads guilty to burning down Minnesota synagogue

A homeless man pleaded guilty to burning down a historic Minnesota synagogue earlier this month.

Prosecutors have indicated that they intend to ask for probation for Matthew James Amiot, 36, The Associated Press reported. He could have faced a maximum of three years in prison.

Amiot pleaded guilty to negligent fire charges on Tuesday in the fire at the Adas Israel Synagogue in Duluth. He had previously admitted to starting the fire outside the synagogue on the morning of Sept. 9.

Police have said that they saw no evidence that the arson was a bias or hate crime. Amiot told police that he tried to spit on the blaze to put it out but walked away when he was unsuccessful.

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Tragedy all around.