Dallas Jewish Community Mourns Fallen Officers

Hamodia By Rafael Hoffman  Sunday, July 10, 2016

NEW YORK - News of the tragic shooting in Dallas was met with shock and horror by law abiding citizens throughout the country, all the more so in the city that was scene to the murder of five police officers and wounding of nine more at a “Black Lives Matter” protest last Thursday. With the local Jewish community still reeling from the aftermath of the events, Hamodia spoke to leaders and members in an attempt to hear about their reactions, as well as the nature of their relationship with the officers of the Dallas Police Department. Rabbi Aryeh Feigenbaum, Congregation Ohr HaTorah, characterized the communal feeling as “very painful.” Speaking on Sunday morning, he said that throughout the city citizens have been “banding together” to deal with what he characterized as a communal “sense of grief.” Roughly 24 hours after the killings took place, on Friday evening, congregants of Ohr Torah paused prior to Kabbalas Shabbos to recite Tehillim and reflect on the incident. Rabbi Feigenbaum also spoke, emphasizing the community’s debt of gratitude to the police force, urging individuals to do what they can to express their empathy and support for local law enforcement officers.



Since the time of the murders, many members of the community had delivered food packages, notes, and flowers to police stations as a means of offering condolences and sympathy. Several shuls have organized a campaign to raise funds that will be donated to the families of the fallen officers.

Besides the Jewish community’s strong relationship with police, Rabbi Feigenbaum said that the incident came as an additional shock as the department has a reputation for a high level of transparency and maintaining positive ties to all of the city’s diverse racial and religious groups.

Chaim Goldfeder, a Dallas caterer, has worked closely with the police department in his role as a community liaison. He was particularly emotional in expressing his “hurt” and “anger” over the murders.

“We grew up with such a sense of respect for officers. … In the past, people understood what the police represented and what they do for us,” he said. “These [police] are the people who protect my kids and all of us. It hurts a lot. If the police aren’t safe, what does that mean for us?”

Mr. Goldfeder said that the Dallas police force has always been especially “proactive” in “taking care of us [the Jewish community].”

“They’re [the police] professional, they know what they’re doing, they always do a phenomenal job.”

Rabbi Ben Zion Epstein, director of the city’s kollel, known as the Dallas Area Torah Center or DATA, said that the community is “horrified.”

“They have been there to protect us and to protect society and now they got attacked for doing their jobs,” he said. “Their people [the police] risk their lives day in and day out; it is just so sad.”

Rabbi Yaakov Rich of Dallas’ Congregation Toras Chaim said police had consistently been a reliable “partner” in protecting the community’s institutions as well as being well regarded by the city in general. He expressed resentment in what he saw as tensions that are being stoked by outside parties.

“I personally have a very heavy heart for the tragic loss of life on the police force. They are our last line of defense. I am especially upset with our federal government and media who seem to be fanning the flames of a racial and cultural war, placing big dividers and pushing a dangerous agenda. Social media would better be called anti-social media, for all the harm it has brought to our society.