US Jewish communities warn increased security is needed after Michigan attack

Jewish communities across the US have condemned an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue by a man driving a truck containing explosives, and are warning that increased security is needed at places of worship to help prevent future acts of violence.Security staff at Temple Israel in Michigan’s West Bloomfield township reacted quickly to Thursday’s incident in which the vehicle was rammed into the temple building and the assailant killed during an exchange of gunfire.The suspect, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, was a naturalized citizen who was born in Lebanon. One security guard received minor injuries and staff, teachers and 140 small children at the temple’s early learning center evacuated to safety.“Our heroic security personnel are all accounted for and safe,” Temple Israel said in a community statement following what the FBI called an act of terrorism.But the episode has stoked fears of increased violence against Jewish targets in a backlash to the escalating US-Israeli war against Iran. Several leading Jewish American organizations are demanding more funding and resources to further harden security at vulnerable locations.Security at many synagogues and Jewish centers across the US has been beefed up in recent years with organizations hiring private, armed security guards and training them to deal with the risk of attacks. This was stepped up particularly following the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 that killed 11, the deadliest attack on Jews in US history, and the overwhelming military response by Israel in Gaza after the attack led by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.“This incident is a stark and frightening reminder that Jewish institutions across the US continue to face serious and persistent threats, and the escalating hateful rhetoric in the public discourse puts a target on the backs of all Jews,” the Orthodox Union said in a statement, adding: “Enough is enough. The time has come for our elected officials and people of good conscience to stand up and demand action, including sufficient funding for security at Jewish institutions.”Ted Deutch, a former US representative and chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, pointed to his group’s recently released report about the escalating level of antisemitism in the US, which showed that 91% of American Jews felt less safe because of previous violent attacks.“Once again, this time in Detroit, Jews were targeted at their place of worship. Once again, Jews faced mortal danger simply because of who they are,” he said in a statement on X.He added: “Today in America, when Jews gather, whether at a synagogue or a community event, it’s increasingly behind metal detectors and under the watch of armed security. We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re not asking for more outrage. We’re asking for something simple: that people everywhere stand up, clearly and unequivocally, and say that this violent hatred will no longer be tolerated.”The Jewish Federations of North America reported last summer that security for the Jewish community cost $765m annually. The amount was “prohibitive”, the organization’s chief executive, Eric Fingerhut, told a House of Representatives subcommittee as he requested congressional help to protect faith communities.The addition of police, security guards and fortification of buildings all made Jewish people feel safer, he said.Other groups said more action was needed following the West Bloomfield attack, and recent violent incidents including an alleged antisemitic assault this week on two California shoppers who were talking Hebrew to each other.Shootings were also reported this week at separate synagogues in Toronto, Canada; and Dutch police said Friday they were investigating an overnight fire at a synagogue in Rotterdam. The bombing of a temple in Liège, Belgium, on Monday was condemned by the country’s interior minister, Bernard Quintin, ​as “a despicable antisemitic act that directly targeted the Jewish community”.The Israeli-American Council said in a statement it was horrified by events in Michigan and elsewhere.“This outrage is the latest in a series of violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions throughout the world, a number of which have resulted in the murder of innocents,” the group said.“These acts are the direct result of antisemitic indoctrination that has become ubiquitous in our schools and on social media. Slander of the Jewish people or the Jewish state has deadly consequences, and we must call out and condemn such slander for being the despicable Jew-hatred it is.“We call on all elected leaders throughout the country to condemn in unequivocal terms all expressions of antisemitism, including anti-Zionism, and to take immediate and concrete action to ensure the safety of our Jewish communities.”