1 dead in second American U.S. mosque attack in 6 months, Trump offers sympathy

Chabad Poway Mosque shooter, James T. Earnest.

By Mona Austin One woman died shielding her Rabbi from bullets and three others were injured when a man opened fire at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California on Saturday, the latest in on-going attacks at houses of worship. That woman was 60-year-old Lori Kaye, one of  about 100 Jews  gathered in the sacred space outside of San Diego to observe the last day of Passover.  Surviving the attack, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein (who lost his index finger) said, "Hating Jews is hating humanity.  Jew are human too."  Yisroel would was still fresh when he attended a National Day of Prayer event at the White House on the following Thursday in the Rose Garden. Pres. Donald Trump invited him to say some words although he was was not originally scheduled to be a part of the program. He used the opportunity to ask that the moment of silence is allowed in public schools and said, "You were the first person who began my healing. I am grateful for that." Trump called the Rabbi and shared condolences after the incident.

 President Donald J. Trump listens as Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein of the Chabad of Poway, Calif., speaks at the National Day of Prayer service Thursday, May 2, 2019, in the Rose Garden of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)

“We will fight with all our strength and everything we have in our bodies to defeat anti-Semitism,” said the president. In recent years in America, the attack of Christians, Muslims and Jews when assembled for worship has increased. Dylan Rooth killed a group of Black Bible study attendees in South Carolina's Mother Emmanuel AME Church during Pres. Barack Obama's second term. The rest were committed while Pres. Donald Trump has been in office, contributing to an overall rise in hate-oriented crimes.

Hours before the attack the suspect, 19-year-old James T. Earnest posted a letter on the far right message board 8chan declaring he would live stream the murderous act. (Authorities say they did not find a live link associated with his name.) The letter also appeared on the same document hosting site as Brenton Tarrant left hours before opening fire at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, PasteBin and MediaFire.  Earnest's approach in the letter and overall strategy was similar to Tarrant's and he wrote that he was inspired by Tarrant and the Tree of Life Mosque shooting in the U.S. that claimed the lives of 11 Jews 6 months ago to the date of the Southern California killing. Earnest surrendered to police and was charged with first degree murder.

According to the White House,  Pres. Donald J. Trump spoke by telephone with Rabbi  Goldstein  to offer his comfort and condolences on behalf of the Nation. The President expressed his love for the Jewish people and the entire community of Poway. He also thanked the brave members of law enforcement who acted swiftly, including the off-duty border patrol agent who stopped the shooter.

This and other incidents like it signal a rise in White Nationalism and religious intolerance, which will be at the forefront of the 2020 presidential election.

Anti-semitism reared its ugly head 6 month ago when Robert Bowers, a white nationalist killed 11 in a Pittsburg Synagogue.  A weak earlier Christians extremists killed in an Easter Sunday service in Sri Lank in retaliation for the Christchurch massacre. Some conservatives are under fire for falsely accusing a freshman Democrat lawmaker for using rhetoric that encourages the attack of Jews. The shooter was a young, White American male who admitted inspiration from the Christchurch, New Zealand shooter and the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. Yet, conservatives Ted Cruz and Meghan McCain blame Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for  spurring the vicious attack instead of condemning White supremacy. Supporters quickly came to her defense. Ernest pleaded not guilty to five charges including 1 count of murder and 3 counts of attempted murder with a "hurt crime circumstance." At the arraignment the judge denied bail. The gunman is apparently an arsonist, who was also charged with  “use of explosives in acts of terrorism in specified places,”  for setting fire to a mosque in Escondido last month for which he also left a manifesto online.

Authorities say armed with a semi-automatic weapon with and additional 5 rounds of magazines, he started shooting again, but the gun was jammed. 

The suspect turned himself two blocks away from the scene after attempting to flee by car. 

In the manifesto Ernest stated his hatred for Jews and the desire to send them to hell.  In California a crime over religion is eligible for life without parole or death.