Andrew Guckes | Staff Writer
In April, a man harboring antisemitic beliefs scaled the outer wall at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion and lit part of the house on fire. A little more than a month after that, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., a man shouting “Free Palestine” shot and killed two individuals who worked for the Israeli Embassy. Less than two weeks after that, a man used makeshift incendiary devices to attack a peaceful rally for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado. He too shouted “Free Palestine.”
Perhaps more than ever, American Jews are looking over their shoulders when they enter synagogue or drop their children off at day school.
Yoni Ari is the executive director of the Jewish Emergency Preparedness Project, or JEPP, an organization that equips Jewish institutions with the tools they need to prevent and combat antisemitic incidents. He said that relying on emergency services and external security measures should remain part of any institution’s protocol, but that the safest action Jewish communities can take is to learn how to handle these situations internally.
“Everyone is investing in security equipment and hiring security guards,” he said. “But in the end, it’s all about human behavior. … I’m an Israeli American, and we learned the hard way on Oct. 7 that you can’t always rely on first responders. You have to be proactive and make sure your people know what to do.”
Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel Executive Director David Winitsky seconded the idea that security can only get you so far.
“Unfortunately, in these events, it’s not the lack of security that’s making things happen,” he said. “The Capital Jewish Museum was very well protected in security, and things happened anyway.”
Scott Kerns is the community security director of greater Philadelphia for the Secure Community Network. SCN is contracted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia to serve on behalf of all Jewish institutions in the area. SCN organizes classes with demonstrations on skills like applying tourniquets in the event of an active shooter. It also conducts security assessments of synagogues, schools and other Jewish locations to identify potential weak points.
Kerns said that nearly all of the institutions they have assessed have good, if not great, security. The question is if that security has been thought out enough to match the level of thought that goes into potential attacks.
“What we’re seeing in these most recent attacks is that these weren’t people that just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this.’ There was a serious level of planning,” Kerns said. “What we know is there was a lot of planning involved, and because of that, we need to make sure that we take a very proactive, layered approach to security.”
At Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Executive Director Brian Rissinger said that the preparation part of the job is difficult, but what is also difficult is assuring members that they are safe to worship and go about their Jewish lives.
“It stimulates anxiety for people in the community, and then much of what we’re doing is providing support for those individuals, providing understanding related to their anxiety and in addition helping them have some confidence in the plans that have been developed,” he said.
Kerns said that despite this constant threat and anxiety, SCN does not advise that institutions cancel events unless there is a specific threat.
“We do not want people to not go to services, or to not celebrate,” he said.
In Philadelphia just north of Center City, Rabbi Jill Maderer of Congregation Rodeph Shalom said that everyday worship is made possible by the unfortunate fact that every day is treated as if it could be the day of a horrific attack.
“When these incidents happen, we don’t heighten our security. Our security is already heightened. It’s heightened every day, so we treat every day like a high risk day,” she said.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is well aware of the threat that synagogues face, and the state has helped combat the issue by launching the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
Launched in 2019, the program began with plans to distribute $5 million in assistance annually. In the first year, the funds were largely awarded to synagogues in the wake of the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Last year, that amount was $10 million. This year, Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing another $10 million.
The executive director of the advocacy group Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition, Hank Butler, said that his group is working hard to ensure that the proposal comes to fruition.
“We’re fighting to hopefully see that same amount of money this year,” he said. “The nonprofit security grants … create bulletproof glass, bulletproof doors, concrete barriers, cameras. It creates security for those who want to go to a JCC or a synagogue or a nursing home, or even colleges as well.”
For many Jewish institutions, the messaging is the same. But at Abrams Hebrew Academy and other Jewish day schools, there is another layer of concern because those being protected are children.
“I’m trying to normalize school as much as possible and not bring the [problems] of the world into their faces,” said Rabbi Ira Budow, the director of Abrams. “It’s a tough world we’re living in, but we don’t want to drive everybody crazy. We overly secure ourselves, and the kids feel fine — that’s the most important thing.”
