Rabbi Yossi Labkowski, director of Chabad of Cape Coral, Fla., said he and his congregation “will not tremble,” despite an attack on their synagogue following Shabbat morning services on March 11.
“Most people had already left,” remarked Labkowski just before 1:30 p.m. When we heard a sound, I was just finishing off some storage.
We initially believed that perhaps something was blown by the wind.
The noise was peculiar.
Later, a louder sound could be heard.
The perpetrator is thought to have knocked over an outside plywood menorah 4 feet by 8 feet when the first noises were heard.
The rabbi claimed that “the noise got louder and louder, and there were tremors from the bricks being thrown” toward the crowd.
According to Labkowski, he approached the glass doors with the idea that the assailant would flee if they noticed him coming. It did not occur. Instead, a man kept hurling bricks.
Those there, including the rabbi’s son, implemented the synagogue’s emergency procedures while their neighbors started to assist them.
The rabbi’s car, the only one in the parking lot at the time, was damaged before Labkowski claimed, “When the neighbors came out, that’s when he took off.
A picture of the attacker’s light-green, older model Ford Edge and a basic description of the attacker—a balding white man in his 50s, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds—was published by the Cape Coral Police Department on Monday.
Since moving to Cape Coral more than 18 years ago, Labkowski and his family claim that nothing like this has ever occurred. “I usually feel happy in this community; everyone is friendly and considerate.”
He declared that we wouldn’t be terrified and won’t cringe. “Yesterday and this morning, we had a minyan.
While more cautious, people are still arriving. Thank God nobody is restraining themselves. Instead, they want to demonstrate their Jewishness so we won’t be alarmed.
ALERT Cape Coral, FL – Chabad Jewish Center attempted break in Saturday March 11th Shabbat mid day
Description: white male, bald, 40-50 driving a Ford SUV (gold)
Menorah kicked down, bricks thrown at door and Rabbi's car, main door lock destroyed
Tips? Call 800.780.8477 pic.twitter.com/9JzmWP2O7p
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 13, 2023
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