On Sunday afternoon we went to see Douglas Murray speak at the Temple of Aaron in Saint Paul. Douglas spoke in conversation with Ken Agranoff, who is retiring after 39 years as the temple’s executive director. The event was held to honor Ken’s service and his retirement. Ken has kept the trains running on time at the temple through rabbinic administrations dating back to the great Rabbi Bernard Raskas, of blessed memory.
Saint Paul police officers guarded the entrance and exit to the parking lot. As always, I thanked them for being there. Both officers told me they were happy to do it.
The Saint Police Department is a classy group. Our regular Sabbath service and high holiday guardians in years past included Officers Lou Ferraro (a former Officer of the Year and incredibly tough guy — I call him Sweet Lou) and Justin Rangel. They have become my friends. Justin texted me after the event to tell me he saw me in line — the line to pass through the metal detector inside the door — and wanted to say hello.
The temple has added concrete pillars at the main entrance to protect us from the West Bloomfield/Temple Israel style of attack. Douglas also had his own security guard with him.
Douglas drew a large and friendly crowd. We are grateful for his eloquent identication with, and support of, Israel and the Jewish people. I saw just about every Jewish friend I have in the Twin Cities at the event. There was Steve Hunegs. There was David Sloane. There was Ron Zamansky. There was Andy Parker. There was Eric Lipman. There in the assigned seat next to me was my beloved cousin Todd.
And not just Jewish friends. I’ve already mentioned Officer Rangel. Wait — there several rows in front of me was my law school classmate, old friend, and retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson. How like him to take the time to attend this event on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We miss him on the court. That much I can tell you.
Barry was the third Anderson on the seven-member Minnesota Supreme Court when Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed him. You know he had to be great. Tim himself wasn’t there, I should add, but we miss him in the governor’s office. He was the last Republican elected to statewide office in Minnesota. That was 20 years ago.
Douglas Murray was brilliant from beginning to end over the hour of his conversation with Ken Agranoff. Officer Rangel commented on the event in his text message to me: “I love the discussion they had.” Megadittos.
Ken’s last question elicited an observation that hit home with me. He asked — what would a wise person ask him in conclusion? Douglas made three points in response. His final point of the three observed that Jews in America had met the moment by refusing to cower in response to the threats we face. He was moved, he said, by what he found to be an amplification of our connection to Judaism and the Jewish people since October 7.
On the other hand — this is me speaking — the enemies of the Jewish people have amplified their support of patently genocidal movements including Hamas and Hezbollah. Witness Mayor Madman of New York City. Witness the seemingly ubiquitous keffiyeh at left-wing protests. Witness the hatred of Israel now manifested in just about every corner of the Democratic Party. The ostracized John Fetterman makes for a lonely outpost of sanity.
The visible security at the event had me down. It is a constant reminder of unpleasant realities. Yesterday we saw the murder of three adults at the Islamic Center of San Diego, including a center security guard. The perpetrators were apparently two teenagers of the Support Mental Health Or I’ll Kill You variety. That too is a sickening reminder.
The perpetrators were later found in a car only blocks away, dead by suicide. They engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric,” according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said, and “anti-Islamic writings” were also reportedly found in the car. Chief Wahl promised more information to come.
We are in a sorry state. It is compounded by the likes of the Muslim Brotherhood front known as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which advertises itself as a “civil rights group” or “civil rights organization.”
According to the AP story on which I am drawing, CAIR condemned the shooting. Who cairs? Who doesn’t?
“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” said CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam in a statement. “We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.” I join in the sentiment expressed in CAIR’s statement, but CAIR should go away and the AP should quit shilling for it.
CAIR executive director Nihad Awad seems to have been a little more ambivalent about the Hamas atrocities of October 7. He said the people of Gaza had the right to self-defense, while Israel does not, in a speech that surfaced on December 7, 2023. Awad also said he was “happy to see” the people of Gaza “breaking the siege” on Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and killed 1,200 people. (Awad subsequently released a statement asserting that his remarks had been taken out of context.) CAIR is the last group we ever want to hear comment about anything.
President Trump condemned the shooting as “a terrible situation.” We join Trump’s statement.
NOTE: Our friend Chuck Chalberg writes to remind me that he reviewed Murray’s On Democracies and Death Cults (2025) here for the Imaginative Conservative. His review of the book is the best I have read.
