Multiple members of Swarthmore College community killed in New York small plane crash
Multiple family members and three alumni of a Pennsylvania college community were killed in a small plane crash in Copake, New York, Saturday afternoon.
In a statement Monday,
Swarthmore College
identified the members of the school community as Alexia Couyutas Duarte, Jared Groff and Groff's parents, Michael Groff and Joy Saini,
and sister Karenna Groff
and her partner, James Santoro.
The six victims were going to a Passover celebration for the weekend. The plane, which was a twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B, left Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, and was heading to Columbia County Airport in Hudson, New York, when it crashed. It's still unclear what caused the crash.
Swarthmore College remembered the three "extraordinary" alumni in an announcement to the school community.
According to the Delaware County college, Duarte was a Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in economics and political science. The 2023 graduate recently worked as a paralegal in the pro bono initiative unit at MetroWest Legal Services in Miami, Florida, and planned to attend Harvard Law School in the fall.
Jared Groff also graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics and political science. The 2022 graduate played on the men's basketball team and reached the NCAA Division III National Championship during his time at Swarthmore. He most recently worked as a paralegal at DW Partners in New York and also planned to attend law school in the fall.
Michael Groff was a neurosurgeon and served as the executive medical director of neuroscience at Rochester Regional Health in New York. He and his wife, Saini, a pelvic surgeon, met at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The couple is survived by their daughter, Anika, who was accepted to Swarthmore's class of 2029, according to the school. Duarte is survived by her sister, Ariana Couyutas Duarte, who was studying abroad at the time of the crash.
"Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those we lost on Saturday, and to everyone affected by their tragic passing. Please join us in sending them peace and light," the announcement read in part.
Swarthmore College said it plans to honor and remember the lives lost from their community when the time is right and when their families feel it's most meaningful.
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USA Today
7 days ago
- USA Today
Shootings in DC and firebombs in Boulder: Attacks mark dangerous surge in antisemitism
Shootings in DC and firebombs in Boulder: Attacks mark dangerous surge in antisemitism Show Caption Hide Caption Jewish Boulder resident recounts attack at pro-Israel protest Lisa Turnquist, a Jewish Boulder resident, used her a towel she had to smother flames on an elderly woman after an attack at a pro-Israel protest. A man firebombed the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in April, hours after the governor and his family hosted more than two dozen people to celebrate the first night of Passover. The suspected arsonist targeted the governor because of "what he wants to do to the Palestinian people," according to police records. Two weeks ago, a man shot and killed a young couple outside the Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. "Free Palestine," the man shouted. "I did it for Gaza," he later told investigators. Then, on June 1, a man hurled Molotov cocktails at a peaceful gathering of pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, CO. Hurling abuse at the crowd, the attacker shouted "Free Palestine" as he set fire to several people, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. These violent attacks come after years of escalating rhetoric, protests and demonstrations against the ongoing war in Gaza. A report released last month found that antisemitic incidents across America hit a record high for the fourth year running last year, and the same researchers worry that trend will continue throughout 2025. The recent wave of attacks has Jewish communities across the country on high alert. And it has experts and analysts who study extremist movements concerned the antisemitism that has already flooded online spaces and infested some protests on college campuses and elsewhere could now be entering a more deadly phase. 'The Jewish community is used to having bulletproof glass and metal detectors at their institutions, but this was a public gathering,' The ADL's Senior Vice President of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence Oren Segal told USA TODAY of the Boulder attack. 'The Jewish community is now concerned about being publicly Jewish.' Antisemitic violence is, of course, not new in America. The deadliest anti-Jewish attack in U.S. history occurred just seven years ago, in 2018, at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were shot and killed and six more were injured. The country also saw periods of antisemitic violence in the 1980s and 90s, including bombing attacks and targeted assassinations by a white supremacist group. While the new wave of violence certainly appears to have been inspired by the war in Gaza, there are notable differences between the attacks in Washington, D.C. and the one in Boulder, said Javed Ali, senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council in 2017 and 2018. The suspect in the Washington D.C. shooting had recently been involved in leftist politics and protesting, but the suspect in the Colorado attack had spent more than a year planning his assault, and doesn't appear to have been involved in the protest movement, Ali said. 'We've seen these waves of antisemitic violence throughout modern U.S. history,' Ali said. 'Is this now presenting another one of these kinds of waves? Hopefully it doesn't get bigger than these two attacks.' '600-plus days of rhetoric' In both the Washington attack and the assault in Boulder, the perpetrators shouted about the war in Gaza. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect in the Boulder attack, said he specifically targeted the group because of its pro-Israel stance and stated he 'would do it again,' according to a court filing from the FBI. Ali said it stands to reason that the more people who are angry about the war, the more likely it is that some will become radicalized and, in turn, that some will take violent action. That's typically how social movements spawn violent domestic extremists, Ali said. It's essentially a numbers game. 'If there's a bigger pool of people who are radicalized, then potentially that increases the probability that there will be a smaller number of people who funnel from that larger pool of radicalization into the violent action, and maybe, maybe that's what we're seeing now,' he said. The ADL's Segal put it differently. He said the protest movement has consistently and unfairly blurred the lines between the actions of the Israeli government and the Jewish people at large. Violence like the recent attacks is the inevitable result of that bias, he said. 'When you have 600-plus days of rhetoric that is not just about opposition to Israeli government policy, but that often features language that dehumanizes Israelis, Zionists and Jews, it creates an atmosphere in which these plots and attacks are much more likely,' Segal said. Widening the security cordon The events in Colorado and Washington and the arson fire at the Pennsylvania governor's mansion in April are part of a pattern in which anti-Israel sentiment is used as a justification for antisemitic violence, said Halie Soifer, chief executive officer of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, a Washington-based group that calls itself the voice for Jewish Democrats. 'We see a deeply troubling pattern, and it has shattered a sense of security that we should have as American Jews,' Soifer said. Synagogues and other Jewish establishments increased their security after the Tree of Life shooting. Ever since that attack, people entering synagogues typically go through security measures similar to TSA airport checkpoints, Soifer said. 'You go through a mag, and there is a device to check bags,' she said. But the recent attacks have been largely outdoors, which requires another layer of security that wasn't necessarily needed before. Groups are now considering how to create larger perimeters around Jewish institutions and gatherings, she said. 'This has created a crisis in terms of every Jewish American rethinking their security,' Soifer said. 'It's devastating to think we're at a point where that's needed. But we are.' Students at the University of Denver were already concerned about the rise of antisemitic violence across the country, said Adam Rovner, director of the university's Center for Judaic Studies. The attack on the marchers in Boulder heightens their fears, he said. 'Some people feel frightened. Some people feel angry,' Rovner said. 'Some people feel resolute and a sense of solidarity.' Rovner said when he went to synagogue on Sunday, members of the congregation were warned not to mill around outside the building because it was the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and there were fears of an attack. Since the attack on the marchers in Colorado, 'there is just a real awareness that Jewish events are requiring extremely high levels of security all the time, and there is a very strong awareness that Jews are targets,' said Rachel Harris, director of Jewish Studies at Florida Atlantic University. There is also a growing concern that the public tends to normalize terrorism against Jews by attributing it to political protest, Harris said. 'Any other group that is targeted by acts of terrorism, we call them acts of terrorism,' she said. 'We don't try and normalize that. This continued refrain that says, well, they shouted 'free Palestine,' so it was really a political gesture, is really disturbing.' Everyone has the right to protest and peacefully voice their opinion, Rovner said. 'There are certainly horrors that the Palestinians are suffering,' he said. 'There are certainly horrors that Israelis and Jews are suffering. They don't cancel each other out. They both exist. The people who can't seem to contain two conflicting opinions in their mind at the same time are the ones who lash out violently. They are simple minded, idealized.' 'We have to push back' Twenty-four hours after the attack in Boulder, Lisa Turnquist returned to Pearl Street to lay flowers and a small Israeli flag at a small memorial. Police say Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant who overstayed his visa, threw Molotov cocktails at the marchers while yelling 'Free Palestine.' Twelve people, ages 52 to 88, suffered burn injuries ranging from serious to minor. Turnquist, 66, said she'd been a regular attendee at the Sunday marches, rain snow or shine, in which participants call for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza. She was just arriving on June 1 when she saw flames on a woman's legs. Turnquist, who is Jewish, said she grabbed a towel from her dog Jake's stroller and used it to smother the flames on the elderly woman's legs. Turnquist said she started participating a few weeks after the marches began following the October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel. Her voice alternately tearful and angry, she recounted how week after week the walkers have been confronted with allegations that they are complicit in genocide for demanding Hamas release its hostages. "We just want them home, and that's why we do this," she said. The morning after the attack, she woke up and didn't want to get out of bed. But she did. 'This is when we have to get up and stand up,' she said, 'and we have to push back.' Contributing: Trevor Hughes
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Yahoo
Boulder attack renews safety concerns for US Jewish communities
On Sunday, a group gathered in Boulder, Colorado, to raise awareness for hostages held in Gaza was attacked, leaving 12 people injured. The suspect, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, accused of throwing incendiary devices at them, allegedly planned the attack for a year, and told police he wanted to "kill all Zionist people," according to court documents. It was the latest in a string of attacks against Jewish people and institutions, ratcheting up anxiety among those in North America's Jewish community who see these incidents as signs of growing antisemitism in the US. The Boulder attack occurred just weeks after a suspect shot and killed a couple outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. They were later identified as employees of the Israeli embassy who had been attending an event at the museum. In April, the official residence of Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro was set on fire, just hours after the Jewish lawmaker celebrated the first night of Passover. "Jews are feeling the impact and are more afraid than they were two weeks ago, or that fears that existed in some communities a few weeks ago are more heightened," said Adina Vogel Ayalon of J Street, a pro-Israel advocacy group that's critical of the war and has called for a ceasefire in Gaza. "These types of hate crimes are not distinguishing between where you fall on the political spectrum about the war" between Israel and Hamas, Ms Ayalon said. "And that is something very unsettling." Israel has faced sustained international criticism over its military actions in Gaza, which it undertook after Hamas attacked the country on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and taking 251 hostages. Over 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. The statistics do not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters, and the BBC and other international media organisations are blocked by Israel from entering Gaza to verify. But a United Nations report that assessed Gazan deaths during a six-month period found nearly 70% of verified victims were women and children. Throughout the conflict, human rights experts have raised the alarm of widespread hunger, disease, and displacement within Gaza. The war also has become a divisive political issue in the US. Pro-Palestinian protests across university campuses and in major cities have ignited greater debates over education and free speech. There are religious, generational, and partisan divides within the American Jewish community about support for Israel and the question of Palestinian statehood. But the attacks in Boulder and Washington DC, struck a broader nerve because they crossed a "clear red line between legitimate free speech and political violence," Ms Ayalon said. Boulder's attack has drawn condemnation outside the Jewish community. "Acts of antisemitism have no place in our society," the Muslim Public Affairs Council condemned the Boulder attack in a statement. "This violent assault is not only an attack on a specific community but a direct threat to the values of pluralism, dignity, and safety for all people of faith. As Muslims, our faith calls us to speak out against injustice and to uphold the sanctity of every human life." The group targeted in Boulder, Run For Their Lives, holds weekly meetings and marches across the country to call for the release of the remaining hostages taken to Gaza. "The premise of the group is to peacefully raise awareness of the hostages. We're apolitical, we're not protesting anything," said global coordinator Shira Weiss. Many of the group's members are Jewish and support Israel, but those are not requirements for participation. "We get people from all walks of life - who vote Republican, Independent, Democrat, who support the Israeli government, or don't support the Israeli government," Ms Weiss said. Safety has always been a top priority for group chapters, she said, but they "never thought such a violent attack would happen." Jewish communities and institutions across the US have long required security, but many bolstered their defences after a shooter espousing right-wing antisemitic conspiracy theories murdered 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania synagogue in 2018. The following April, another shooter attacked a synagogue in Poway, California, killing one person and injuring three others. Those conversations are again happening in the wake of the Boulder incident. "The attacks, especially given the succession of attacks in a short period of time have made every Jewish American question their security, whether it's their personal security or the security of Jewish institutions that they visit," said Haliey Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. "There's a sense that what has occurred in DC and Boulder could have happened anywhere, could have happened to anyone." The Jewish Colorado organisation announced a fundraiser to support increased security for Boulder's Jewish community, as well as financial and trauma support for victims of the attack. Its goal is $160,000. Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Sholom in Vancouver, Canada frequently joins Run For Their Lives events and plans to continue advocating for the hostages in Gaza. But he worries the Boulder attack would not be an isolated incident. "It's only going to inflame more radicalisation," he said. "It's only going to inspire more people to do those things." Antisemitic incidents in US surge to record high - report Prominent Jewish figures boycott Israel antisemitism event over far-right guests
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Yahoo
Fear in America's Jewish community intensifies after latest antisemitic attack
Like many Jewish Americans, Hannah Gay Keao has been living on edge and fear of antisemitism since Hamas' deadly October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. But when her daughter asked why she was sad hours after a man targeted Jewish people and set them on fire at a community event in Boulder, Colorado, Gay Keao paused. The firebombing attack happened just 25 miles from where Gay Keao serves on the Edgewater city council, and she said she searched for a way to explain the antisemitism unfolding in their backyard in terms the 4-year-old could understand. 'She's Jewish,' Gay Keao said. 'It's important for her to know the realities of the world.' Jewish leaders have been alarmed by the historic rise in antisemitic threats since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023. That fear has only heightened this week with the attack in Boulder, the third violent attack on the Jewish community in the last two months. Two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, DC, were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in late May, and an arsonist set the Pennsylvania governor's mansion on fire on the first night of Passover because of Gov. Josh Shapiro's views on the war in Gaza, according to search warrants. 'I wish I could say I was surprised by these events, but Jews have been sounding the alarm on the rise in antisemitism since October 7,' Sheila Katz, the CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women said. 'This is what happens when we allow antisemitism to go unchecked.' The attack on Sunday came during a peaceful demonstration aimed at raising awareness of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Twelve people were injured, and two remain hospitalized, officials said. The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, told investigators he 'wanted to kill all Zionist people' and had planned the attack for a year, according to an affidavit. He was captured on video by bystanders yelling 'Free Palestine' before police arrested him. Soliman now faces a federal hate crime charge and state charges of attempted murder. 'Most Jews right now are feeling unsafe and unsure about where to show up,' Katz said. 'Killing and burning Jews does nothing to make Palestinians safer or more free.' 'Antisemitism will never be a path to justice.' Sunday's attack came hours before the start of Shavuot, the holiday commemorating the day God gave the Torah to the Jewish people. At the Main Line Reform Temple just outside of Philadelphia, Senior Rabbi Geri Newburge said the past several weeks have been brutal, leaving her 'pretty demoralized and heartbroken.' The aftermath of October 7—combined with escalating protests against Israel's war in Gaza— made an attack like this feel inevitable, she said. 'It doesn't feel like such a stretch to me at this point that the rhetoric would move from posters or chants to doing something violent,' Newburge said. The rabbi noted she and members of her congregation have also felt antisemitism increasing across the country — and it's taking a toll. 'It's exhausting — spiritually, emotionally and even physically,' Newburge explained. Across the country, Jewish schools, synagogues and community centers continue to have tight security. Oftentimes, there is a visible police presence or armed security guards. Michael Bernstein, board chair of the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, attended an event last Wednesday for a local Jewish organization where some of the attendees were non-Jews. He called the necessary security an 'unfortunate tax' and a measure most other communities don't need. This latest wave of attacks has left many Jewish leaders wondering what more can be done. Bernstein said Jews needed to secure their spaces, but security and the Jewish community alone wouldn't solve antisemitism. 'This is an American problem, it's not a Jewish problem,' he said, and pointed to Pittsburgh community after the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue. The 2018 shooting, the worst attack on Jews in American history, left 11 worshippers dead and six others wounded. Pittsburgh, he said, came together to say antisemitism wasn't acceptable. 'An attack on one group is an attack on all of us,' Bernstein said. 'And the community held us.' 'It's an all-of-society approach.' Outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, candles and flowers mark the spot where Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were gunned down on May 21. The white lilies placed at the memorial hadn't even started wilting yet when the firebombing in Boulder began. Milgrim and Lischinsky attended an event to discuss how multi-faith organizations could work together to bring humanitarian aid to war-torn regions like Gaza. Their friends and colleagues said they were devoted to the peace process in Israel. The suspected gunman, whom DC police later identified as 31-year-old Chicago native Elias Rodriguez, shouted 'Free Palestine' after he was arrested. Katz, who said she knew Milgrim professionally and had been invited to the event, but was unable to attend, stressed 'non-violence must be non-negotiable.' 'Anyone who wants to see peace, who wants to see an end to the war, who wants to see the hostages to be released, who wants to see a better future for Palestinians and Israelis, has to understand that violence towards Jews in America or around the world is not going to make that peace happen,' Katz said. Antisemitism has surged globally, according to the Anti-Defamation League, and rose after the start of the war in Gaza. Threats to Jews in the United States tripled between October 7, 2023 and September 2024, the organization said. Gay Keao said she has been critical of Israel's action toward Palestinians but has also witnessed a disregard for Jewish safety since October 7. Now, she often wakes up wondering, 'What's going to happen next?' 'I just refuse to believe that the cyclical violence is inevitable,' she said. 'As a Jewish person, I can't embrace that. I'm here for breaking those cycles.' Nearly 2,000 miles away, sitting beneath his synagogue's serene outdoor Holocaust memorial, Philadelphia Rabbi Shawn Zevit said his diverse urban congregation has been experiencing a mix of emotions. But, he said, reaching out to Jewish loved ones is critical at this moment, so his community does not feel alone. 'Just the message of 'I'm thinking about you,'' Zevit argued, can be comforting to Jewish people feeling upset. But the rabbi also noted calling out even minor instances of antisemitism is key to preventing future attacks. 'Treat those moments as gateways for increased solidarity and vigilance,' he said. Katz said people knew how to call out antisemitism when it was 'bullets in synagogues or Nazis with tiki torches' but needed to be able to recognize it in all of its forms. 'Antisemitism doesn't begin with bullets or firebombs,' she added. 'But it ends there when it's ignored.' Bernstein, the chair of the board of the Tree of Life, warned antisemitism doesn't stay a Jewish issue. He pointed to a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where 10 people were killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket. 'This hateful ideology,' he said, 'it comes after everybody.' CNN's TuAnh Dam contributed to this report.
