Ending Passover with a bang, 19-year-old John Earnest killed one, injuring three others in Poway, Calif.’s Chabad Synagogue in an unequivocal hate crime. Carried out by a teenager who posted a racist manifesto on the Internet, Earnest let his undiagnosed mental illness get the better of him, following the recent spate of mosque and church shootings, killing hundreds of worshipers and hotel guests in Sri Lanka. When self-avowed white nationalist opened fire March 15 on al-Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, 50 worshipers were slaughtered . One month later, Islamic suicide bombers struck Catholic churches April 21 on Easter Sunday, in what looked like retaliation for the Christchurch’s attacks. Months before another lone worlf anti-Semitic psycho stormed Pittsburgh’s Tree of Live Synagogue, killing 11, injuring seven, in what looks like growing anti-Semitism in the U.S. and around the globe.
A more careful look at the gunmen reveals a different breed of anti-Semitism than past generations, more related to mental illness and gun violence than an organized attempt to target Jews as a population. Recent attacks at Catholic Churches in Colombo, Sri Lanka indicates a copycat attack based more on retaliation for the mosque attack in New Zealand than any trend to attack Catholics. There’s more Sunni-on-Shiite or Shiite-on-Sunni attacks in places of worship than anti-Semitic or Catholic attacks around the planet. Bringing the recent attack to the sleepy North San Diego town of Poway shows there’s no immunity from lone-wolf psychotics with semiautomatic firearms. Watching 24/7 violence in the news cycle and endless hate speech on the Internet, there’s no shortage of brainwashing needed to transform garden-variety psychotics into anti-Semitic or racist mass shooters.
Leaping to the conclusion that it’s a national or global trend of hate crimes give more credit to today’s gun-ridden atmosphere where untreated mental illness runs rampant in the U.S. and around the world. When you consider the type of persons vulnerable to recruitment by cults, gangs and terrorist groups, it’s no wonder that mass shootings have become commonplace. When 31-year-old Dylan Roof opened fire in a bible study June 25, 2015 at First AME Church in Charleston, S.C. killing 9, injuring one, the federal government branded the massacre a racist hate-crime. While there’s no doubt Roof was a self-avowed white supremacist, it’s also true he wasn’t playing with a full deck. No one took Roof’s attack as proof of a wider conspiracy or racist movement, other than branding Roof a racist mass shooter. Friday’s attack in Poway also doesn’t signal an anti-Semitic violent trend.
Speaking on NBC’s “Today” Show today, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein described Earnest’s rampage at Chabad Synagogue. “I was face-to-face with this murderer, terrorist, who was holding a rifle and looking straight at me,” Goldstein said. “As soon as he saw me, he started to shoot toward me. My fingers got blown away,” describing the extent of his injuries. Congregant Lori Kaye, a founding member of the synagogue, wasn’t so lucky, succumbing to her wounds. “Just a kind soul,” Goldstein described Lori. “Everyone in the community knew her.” “Lori would have wanted all of us to stand up to hate,” said Goldstein’s friend, Audrey Jacobs. Two others, an eight-year-old girl and her uncle, were also hit with shrapnel and expected to recover. Given the shooting in Pittsburgh synagogue Oct. 27, 2018, it’s tempting to connect-the-dots, looking for wider trends when there aren’t any.
Poway’s shooter admitted to starting a pre-dawn fire March 24 at the Islamic Center of Escondido, some 15 miles north of Poway. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said the FBI was investigating Earnest’s connection to the mosque blaze. When all-is-said-and-done, Earnest doesn’t seem too concerned where he was targeting, shooting at a soft target Synagogue in Poway or setting fire at an Islamic Center in Escondido. When you consider the suicide bombings at Catholic Churches in Sri Lanka or mosque massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, the common denominator is mental illness and the availability of explosives and firearms. While it’s true Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooter Robert Gregory Bowers said, “All Jews must die,” it’s also true Bowers was over the deep end. Interpreting his mass shooting as growing national and global trend gives lone wolfs like Bowers too much credit.
Before Earnest destroyed his future, he was enrolled at California State University in San Marcos, after graduating Mt Carmel High School in San Diego. Cal State San Marcos President was “dismayed and disheartened” by Earnest’s actions. Blaming Earnest’s acts on anti-Semitism doesn’t tell the whole story of a deeply troubled young man, unable to get help other than from Internet hate groups. Had anyone paid attention, they could see his deterioration before his ballistic episode. No one wants to discount his anti-Semitic rant but it’s clear he had equal disdain for Muslims. Given the rampant nature of untreated mental illness and access to firearms, soft targets need to be hardened, stationing security guards whenever possible. Lone-wolf attacks aren’t likely to fall off anytime soon. But nor do lone-wolf attacks mark dangerous new trends in anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim or anti-Christian attacks.
