Tragedy struck in Detroit over the weekend, when 40-year-old Samantha Woll was found dead after a fatal stabbing outside of her home. She had been the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue since 2022 and had formerly served as an aide to Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and was a campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), according to the Detroit Free Press. She had been identified in a statement by Mayor Mike Duggan, the Associated Press mentioned. Woll was also known for having founded the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit. The synagogue is in the 13th Congressional District, not far from Rep. Rashida Tlaib's (D-MI) 12th Congressional District, who represented the 13th until the maps were redrawn due to redistricting.
The headline from the Associated Press noted that "Police don’t have a motive," a point stressed throughout the article, as was also mentioned by the Detroit Free Press and plenty of other news coverage. The Al Jazeera headline was even more direct in pointing out that "US synagogue head killed as police warn against speculation over motive."
It's worth reminding that as Guy highlighted last week, "the Israeli government calls Al Jazeera a "propaganda mouthpiece," while others accuse the network of both aiding terrorism and doing the bidding of Qatar's intelligence service (update: A report last year shone a spotlight on the problematic relationship between Northwestern and anti-Israel 'journalistic' training at the Qatar campus)."
Further, as our friends at Twitchy pointed out, Al Jazeera was fact-checked for questioning the confirmed narrative that Israel was not actually responsible for the explosion at a hospital in Gaza. Rather, that was a misfired Jihad rocket. The death count was also greatly exaggerated.
Users over X nevertheless expressed it was tough not to speculate.
BREAKING: Jewish Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death on Saturday outside of her home.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 21, 2023
According to the police, they found her with multiple stab wounds and a trail of blood that lead to her home.
Police currently have no motive but given the… pic.twitter.com/N170nef8dY
Agreed. Will post an update if we get one.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 21, 2023
Samantha Woll, 40 years old, President of Jewish Synagogue in Detroit, stabbed to death outside her home.
— Avraham Berkowitz (@GlobalRabbi) October 21, 2023
If Samantha was Muslim @RashidaTlaib @RepRashida would have already accused and blamed Jews of her murder.
Samantha was also the founder of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of… pic.twitter.com/MQxicWlUWw
Other posts pointed out that there was not so much of a call to avoid rushing to judgment over other alleged hate crimes committed. Earlier this month, a 6-year-old Palestinian Muslim boy was fatally stabbed in Illinois, while his mother was stabbed. Tlaib has posted multiple times about the tragedy.
This.
— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) October 22, 2023
The Islamophobic murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume was rightly condemned as a horrifying hate crime, and the family got a call from the President.
The antisemitic murder of Samantha Woll was largely met with shrugs. https://t.co/ASSuBtuuio
Not only has Tlaib pushed the falsehood that Israel was responsible for the explosion at the hospital, her outrage could not be more selective. As of Sunday afternoon, she has not yet posted from either of her X accounts about Woll's death.
The Detroit Free Press highlighted a post from the congresswoman's personal page, though there's nothing on her other Facebook pages, Instagram, or either of her X accounts. This is despite Tlaib's Facebook referring to her as a "friend."
Rashida Tlaib has thus far only posted something about the murder of Samantha Woll on her personal Facebook page (47k followers). Nothing on her two official FB pages (53k and 78k), her Instagram feed (459k) or her Twitter account (1.4m).
— Noam Blum 🚡 (@neontaster) October 22, 2023
Newsweek highlighted outrage over Tlaib's reaction--or lack thereof--on Saturday night, pointing out "Rashida Tlaib Under Fire After Detroit Synagogue Leader's Slaying."
“I point my finger at @RepRashida Tlaib for spreading a blood libel against Israel & Jews” I told @FoxFriendsFirst.
— Ellie Cohanim (@EllieCohanim) October 21, 2023
Now, Jewish member of Tlaib’s district—the president of a synagogue—Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death. pic.twitter.com/wdgy4wpaSe
Other Squad members, however, have posted about Woll's death from their X accounts, including Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).
Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI), who now represents the district where the synagogue was, has posted multiple times from both his official and campaign accounts.
I'm deeply saddened by the loss of Samantha Woll, a remarkable leader. Samantha's dedication to unity and inclusivity touched us all. Let's honor her memory by continuing her work for a compassionate, inclusive community.
— Congressman Shri Thanedar (@RepShriThanedar) October 22, 2023
So shocked and saddened by this. I was with Sam at the reopening of the Detroit Synagogue just a few weeks back. Praying for her loved ones. My condolences. pic.twitter.com/nL3Db0hWZu
— Shri Thanedar (@ShriThanedar) October 21, 2023
Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll was found dead outside her home, so shocked and saddened by this brutal murder.
— Shri Thanedar (@ShriThanedar) October 21, 2023
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