It should have been a joyous occasion for the more than 1,000 people in the room, and for Hill personally. Rushdie had spoken at the foundation only one other time before, and as the event began, Hill reflected on how closely the novelist’s struggles and beliefs mirrored Chautauqua’s own. “Mr Rushdie is an icon of freedom of speech and expression, which fits right in with what we do,” Hill told the Guardian. “We bring people together across ideologies and divides to try [to] spread understanding and make the world a better place.” But two minutes later, at 10.47am, Hill said he saw the stark antithesis of everything the foundation has stood for since it was founded 148 years ago. A man rushed onto the stage and stabbed Rushdie several times in the neck and abdomen. The attack left Hill deeply shaken, she said, speaking 24 hours after it broke. “For me personally, I can’t see what happened,” Hill said. “We watched an attack in front of us, up close, in a scene that feels like a second home to me, and that is deeply traumatic.” Michael Hill speaks to the press about the attack on Salman Rushdie. Photo: Lindsay Dedario/Reuters The sense of shock and dismay expressed by Hill has spilled over into this tiny western New York town and its surrounding countryside. The establishment is located in a heavily rural area filled with cornfields, Amish farms and 30 vineyards serving New York’s growing wine industry. If agricultural produce is one staple of the area, the other is comedy – Lucille Ball was born nearby and the National Comedy Center is in the nearest larger city, Jamestown. At the heart of Chautauqua Institute’s efforts is the ambition to build interfaith connections. Its 19th-century roots were a Methodist training camp for Sunday teachers, but in recent decades it has broadened its ambitions to tackle some of the toughest religious and community conflicts on the planet. “We welcome people of all faiths and none,” Hill said. There is a strong Christian and Jewish presence in the community and a growing emphasis on reaching out to Muslims. The summer season includes an “Islam 101” program and regular dialogues that attempt to bring Jews and Muslims together. Next week’s calendar includes an interfaith talk billed as “Being the Change – A Leap of Faith.” It includes the founders of a network of Muslim and Jewish women, the Brotherhood of Salaam Shalom. Against that tradition, Friday’s attack was a breach. “This was primarily an attack on Mr. Rushdie, who we continue to hold in prayer,” Hill said. “But it was also an attack on the very foundation of who we are and what we stand for. At the core, for us, it was an attempt to silence.” In the immediate aftermath of the attack, questions have been raised about security at the event. Could more have been done to protect Rushdie? Hill declined to address specific security concerns, such as whether metal detectors — or staff equipped with metal-detecting wands — should have been installed to catch the knife used by the attacker. He stressed that there was extensive planning with state and local authorities before the start of the summer season and that “we put in place what we thought was appropriate security for the event.” Did he have any regrets? He said: “It’s only natural to ask, ‘Could we have done something differently?’ The reality is that a 24-year-old committed to violence against a person and found a way to get there. I regret that.” Security screening is now underway at all upcoming events. That includes Monday’s lecture by Jamie Raskin, the Democratic congressman from Maryland who is a key figure on the US House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Ruskin will speak as part of a series of talks the foundation calls “new profiles in courage.” He will deal with the political challenges of January 6 but also the courage he had to give me as the father of Tommy Raskin, who in December 2020 committed suicide at the age of 25. Hill said the foundation was celebrating individuals who stood up for what was right against great odds, an even more pressing issue in the wake of Friday’s attack. “This is how Mr. Rushdie spent his whole life and we hope he will continue to do so,” he added. The Chautauqua Foundation now finds itself grappling with the very conundrum that has dogged Rushdie since the fatwa against his life was issued in 1989 – how do you stay true to your values ​​and live your best life in the face of constant danger? “We’re asking the same awful question,” Hill said. And he continued: ‘Mr Rushdie gives us the answer. It tells us: you can be terrified if you allow yourself to hide from terror.” The way to respond to the violence unleashed on Rushdie and his community, Hill said, was to do the opposite — to strengthen the bridge-building mission. He said: “I am deeply saddened by what has happened here, and that is exactly why we need to move on. Otherwise they win.”