Israel Dresner, a former Rabbi at Temple Beth Tikvah in Wayne and a figure in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died Thursday at age 92 after decades protecting the liberties of others, often at his own peril, said his son, Avi Dresner.

"The prayer that came through him felt like the real thing, that he was channeling something from a different realm," said Rabbi Meeka Simerly, who currently leads Beth Tikvah, where Dresner remained a Rabbi Emeritus until his death.

Avi compared Dresner to Moses in describing the way his father would hold up the Torah with his face to the congregation, unlike most Rabbis who hold the scripture facing themselves, with their backs to the rest of the temple.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/passaic/wayne/2022/01/14/rabbi-israel-dresner-civil-rights-figure-dies-mlk/6531814001/

A hostage situation was unfolding during religious services at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. The suspect was captured speaking on a live stream video streaming on the synagogue’s Facebook page during the standoff, Heavy confirmed.

The live Facebook video suddenly ended just before 2 p.m. central time and was removed from Facebook, but not before Heavy listened to some of it. You can watch some of the video later in this article, however. Heavy recorded more than eight minutes of it. The live video was captioned, “CBI Shabbat Morning Service.”

Muhammad Siddiqui was named as the accused Colleyville, Texas, synagogue hostage taker.

“Hostage taker is Muhammad Siddiqui and claims to be Aafia Siddiqui’s brother. He is demanding her freedom from an 86-year prison sentence,” reported ABC News’ Aaron Katersky on Twitter.

There are no injuries at this time, CNN reported. The hostage situation/standoff were still ongoing at 2:30 p.m. central time on January 15, 2022.

The synagogue describes itself this way on its Facebook page, “A vibrant Reform Jewish Congregation committed to providing life-long opportunities for spiritual growth and learning based on Jewish values. CBI was established July 18, 1999.”

Jessika Harkey, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, wrote on Twitter, “At the scene in Colleyville where a local synagogue is being held hostage. The Congregation Beth Israel, located at 6100 Pleasant Run Rd., was in the middle of a service when a gunman entered. A livestream of the service remains ongoing during the situation.”

https://heavy.com/news/colleyville-hostage-live-stream-video/

MULTIPLE hostages are being held at a synagogue at gunpoint near Fort Worth, Texas, by a suspect who identified himself as Muhammed Siddiqui.

The suspect demanded the release of his alleged sister, Aafia Siddiqui, who is is currently serving an 86-year sentence, after being convicted in 2010 of attempting to murder American citizens.

The hostages, who are being held on live stream, are trapped at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue.

According to reports, a suspect is demanding to speak with his sister on the phone amid the ongoing hostage situation.

A man's voice is heard talking, and at times yelling profanities, in the ongoing live stream.

It is unclear how many people may be in the synagogue and if there are any injuries.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17337293/synagogue-hostage-colleyville-beth-israel-texas/

Officials in the State of Israel are closely monitoring events taking place at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, where an armed gunman took a rabbi and at least three worshipers hostage on Shabbat.

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/israel-monitoring-hostage-situation-at-texas-synagogue/2022/01/15/