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Samantha Woll, Detroit synagogue president, found stabbed to death outside her home

(JTA) — Samantha Woll, a Democratic activist and prominent Jewish lay leader in Detroit, was stabbed to death outside her home.
Police found Woll, 40, at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday in the city’s Lafayette Park neighborhood, local media said. She had been stabbed multiple times and was unresponsive. A trail of blood led to her home, which police believe may be the scene of the crime, the Detroit Free Press reported. No motive was known.
Woll’s murder comes at a time of high alert for U.S. Jews, following Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel Oct. 7 and widespread protests against Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza. A public call by a former Hamas leader for global protests against Jews caused some Jewish institutions to close or fortify themselves last week, including in the Detroit area, which is home to one of the largest Palestinian communities in the United States.
Local authorities offered no indication of a connection between current events and Woll’s murder, and Jewish leaders cautioned against jumping to conclusions. “As we mourn her tragic passing, we urge the community to refrain from speculation and allow law enforcement to gather facts,” the Anti-Defamation League’s Michigan office said in a statement on X.
“There are no known threats to the community at this time,” the Jewish Federation of Detroit said in an alert to the community. “No evidence has been shared to indicate this was a targeted act motivated by antisemitism.”
Still, some prominent public figures drew connections between Woll’s murder and the current crisis. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who is Jewish, linked Woll’s death to the reportedly anti-Muslim murder last week of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Chicago. Eric Ward, executive vice president of Race Forward, a racial justice advocacy group, wrote on X, “We who are responsible for irresponsible rhetoric and tone setting aren’t the ones burying our dead. Please, please, please. Be serious in your leadership and know your words can be the accessory to murder here and abroad.”
Woll was the president of the non-denominational Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, one of the only Jewish congregations left in the city of Detroit. Since last year, she has led an ambitious expansion of the synagogue which aimed to make it a central part of the renewal of the city’s Jewish community.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President,” the synagogue said in an alert it sent its congregants. “At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available.”
In 2017, the Detroit Jewish News listed Woll as one of its 36 Jews to watch under the age of 36. In particular, it noted her role in cofounding the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit. “By extending her hand and creating space for connection between Muslims and Jews, she has exemplified the values of healing the world,” it said.
She was also politically active, having previously worked for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Jewish Democrat now running for Senate, and last year on the reelection campaign of Dana Nessel, Michigan’s Jewish attorney general.
Nessel, Slotkin and other Michigan political figures paid tribute to Woll on social media. Slotkin, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, recalled a woman as dedicated to her politics as she was to her faith. Woll was Slotkin’s deputy district director from 2019 to 2021.
“Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness,” she said.
Noah Arbit, a state legislator who was her friend, wrote on Facebook that Woll “believed in the city and the people of Detroit, and her deep commitment to Judaism and the Jewish people reflected in all of her work.”
Andy Levin, the former Democratic congressman, met Woll in 2016 when he helped found Detroit Jews for Justice. The group launched that fall with a retreat at a campground in western Michigan. There was an exercise where participants paired off for “one on ones”, where they exchanged insights. Levin was paired with Woll.
“She was so full of idealism, and passion for justice, and so after that, we always stayed close,” he said. “I can’t process losing Sam Woll at the age of 40. That’s not what’s supposed to happen. I can’t believe I won’t see her. I cannot believe I won’t see her when I go to a Detroit Jews for Justice event or go to the Downtown Synagogue or go to the Eastern Market.”
Rashida Tlaib, the Detroit-area Democratic congresswoman, who is Palestinian-American, wrote on Facebook, “My friend, and a member of our organizing community, Sam Woll, was murdered. I have no words. She always had a sweet smile to offer and the warmest eyes to greet you. Our community is devastated and we are shocked. Please keep her family and our community in your prayers.”
Throughout her adult life, Woll was active in the Jewish community, including at the University of Michigan’s Hillel and as a co-chairwoman of the American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS Detroit Young Leadership Program. She was also on the board of the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and a Michigander, had been aware of Woll as a rising star, and saw Woll’s skills as a leader on a JDCA lobbying day in June. The Michigan JDCA faction chose Woll to help lead discussions with the state’s lawmakers on abortion access, threats to democracy, antisemitism and Israel.
“She was chosen to speak and lead a portion of the meeting because she was such a gifted leader and advocate and she spoke with passion and deep commitment to these issues, she tied in personal stories” Soifer recalled in an interview. “This is devastating.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan recalled dedicating the rebuilt Downtown Synagogue, a $6 million project, with Woll in August.
“Just weeks ago, I shared a day of joy with Sam at the dedication of the newly renovated Downtown Synagogue,” he said in a statement. “It was a project she successfully led with great pride and enthusiasm.”
The synagogue, founded in 1921, was one of only two free standing Jewish place of worship remaining in the city, along with a Chabad center. Woll sought to make the synagogue a locus of a Jewish revival as the children and grandchildren of Jews who decades ago moved to the suburbs are returning as the city undergoes a renewal.
At the groundbreaking a year earlier, Woll likened the synagogue’s renewal to ancient works of the Jewish people.
“In the coming together to build and renovate a physical space, this has also been a very spiritual act, in a way similar to building the Temple in Biblical times,” she said.
Woll is survived by her parents, Margo and Douglas Woll, and her sister, Monica.
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The post Samantha Woll, Detroit synagogue president, found stabbed to death outside her home appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.