Attempts at arson and vandalism, graffiti painting, dispersal of antisemitic materials and sending of potentially toxic substances.
These are some of the violent and anti-Semitic incidents recently experienced by North American Jews, who have decided to put an end to fear and raise the issue of synagogue security to a level that will not embarrass the most secure government institutions.
The Fistburg attack // Photo: Reuters
"The incidents we see have crossed the line of harassment on the Internet and you can also see verbal harassment and physical assaults," said Rebecca (Becky) Caspi, executive director of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) organization in Israel. "Death cries and threatened his family. A synagogue was set on fire in Austin and a rabbi was stabbed outside Boston in a Jewish school."
To this can be added a series of recent antisemitic incidents, such as an antisemitic letter discovered in a synagogue in Los Angeles with a vial containing unknown material, a racist and antisemitic graffiti exposed in a synagogue in Chicago, the arrest of a man suspected of distributing antisemitic leaflets and desecration of Jewish religious symbols in sacrament In Miami that included antisemitic posters and more.
The Organization of Jewish Federations of North America, which unites 146 Jewish federations and another 300 independent Jewish communities across the United States and Canada, decided not to oppose the rampant and erupting anti-Semitism, and launched a fundraising venture called "livesecure," in which $ 54 million will be raised. Heaviness of the synagogues and the various secrets of the Jewish communities in the area.
Women cry outside synagogue in Pavi San Diego after attack on place in 2019, Photo: AFP
With the funds donated, the communities will be connected to a special safety and security network that will conduct an intelligence assessment that will assess the extent of the dangers of the Jews of the various communities by terrorist organizations and antisemitic bodies and will classify each community according to a different level of threat.
In addition, a professional assessment will be conducted in each community, in order to identify gaps in local security and upgrade the level of protection of its members.
As part of the security upgrade, the synagogues will inherit a circle of cameras, secure doors will be placed in them, community members will undergo dedicated training to deal with terrorist threats and anti-Semitism and in some of the various places and community events private security personnel will also be employed.
Flowers outside the Tree of Life Synagogue in Fistburg, after the attack, Photo: Reuters
According to Caspi, these measures have already saved lives in the past, "by setting fire to the synagogue in Austin, the camera system installed helped catch the lighter and the secure doors installed in the German goddess prevented the attacker from entering the synagogue and committing a more deadly massacre."
Data from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission from last summer shows that in the first half of 2021 the number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. doubled compared to the same period last year.
Police officers outside a synagogue in California, Photo: AP
"There is a worrying rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States.
Nearly a quarter of all Jews said they had experienced some form of anti-Semitism in the past year.
In addition, close to 40% of Jews said that at some point they changed their behavior, such as refraining from posting content on the Internet that exposes their Judaism, for fear of an antisemitic reaction.
These figures are difficult.
In light of the surge in anti-Semitism and the increased level of threat, we are working to raise funds that will help preserve the Jewish community throughout the country. "
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