With anti-Semitic attacks on the rise, Jewish leaders grapple with how to create welcoming environments while keeping their congregation safe.
PORTLAND, Ore. — As Rabbi Ken Brodkin watched the news trickle in from Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November 2017 — 26 killed and 20 wounded after a shooter opened fire during Sunday morning services, one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history — he felt a jolt of realization. Seeing a house of worship become a hunting ground for shooters in real-time told him everything was about to change.
The challenges can be particularly steep for smaller communities, which often find themselves with fewer financial resources and isolated geographically. Paying for security measures like cameras, panic buttons, bulletproof glass, metal detectors or armed guards can add up quickly, and isn’t in every synagogue’s budget.
Story continuesAnti-Semitism is on the rise in the U.S. There were 780 anti-Semitic incidents — assaults, vandalism and harassment — in the first half of 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League. “We’re reeling from all these attacks,” Ahlquist says. “And one of the realities is that for the Jewish community in particular, but really all faith communities, a passive approach to security is no longer an option.”
It’s not realistic, security experts say, for every congregation to spend money on “facility hardening” like cameras, bulletproof glass and metal detectors. Those measures become cost prohibitive very quickly. Instead, experts recommend and emphasize training and relationship building — with both local law enforcement and the synagogue’s neighbors. In Bozeman, Montana, Rabbi Chaim Bruk is the executive director of Chabad Lubavitch, a Hasidic Jewish community.
“There’s been something like 20 attacks just in Crown Heights, where I grew up,” he says of the Brooklyn neighborhood known for its active Jewish community. “The fact that I have to look over my shoulder in Brooklyn, what does that say about America in 2020?”
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