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Samanth Woll speaks in August at synagogue reopening.(Deadline Detroit photo)
Samantha Woll, the outgoing and upbeat president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, was found fatally stabbed Saturday morning, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Woll, 40, was found outside her home in the 1300 block of Joliet Place in Detroit's Lafayette Park neighborhood, east of downtown. She had been stabbed multiple times, Freep's Violet Ikonomova reports.
Woll had been president of the synagogue since 2022 and was often seen at its events, and was one of the speakers at the reopening of the building on Griswold in late August following a nearly $6 million renovation.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, she previously worked for Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and the re-election campaign of Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats, the Freep reports.
According to the Jewish News, she was instrumental in the founding of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit for young adults of both faiths to gather, learn, celebrate and build community together.
Samantha Woll (Linkedin photo)
“I am shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sam’s brutal murder,” Nessel said in a statement in the Free Press story. “Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.”
People responded to news on the synagogue's Facebook page.
Julia Schlozman: Sam was a wonderful person, and a wonderful leader at the synagogue! May her memory be a blessing.
Hallie Bernstein: May Sam's memory be for a blessing. One of the nicest people ever.
Jacinta Chevon: I am absolutely devastated! My friend for over a decade. May her memory be a blessing.
Marnina Rose: I can’t believe it. She was just such an amazing person and such a force of positivity. May her memory be for a blessing.
Jeff Brown: We love you Sam.
Frank Castronova: I am so sad to learn this news. I will miss Sam's energy and enthusiasm for Judaism during Shabbos services. May Sam's memory be a blessing for everyone who knew and loved her.
