Synagogues across the world have become wary despite the upcoming holidays. Almost a year ago the Tree of Life Synagogue experienced the shooting where 11 people were killed. Anti-Semitic acts have continued to be on the rise. Just last week the Temple Emanuel in North Carolina discovered white supremist propaganda within its walls and, like many other synagogues, is discussing measures to increase its security (Hinton).
Temple Shalom of Massachusetts gave insight into the extra measures they are taking to protect their congregants. Rosh Hashana begins on the 29th of September, marking a rise in attendance for synagogues. Temple Shalom has previously enlisted police aid in the past for traffic regulation, but now look to hire personal security and install other security devices for their synagogue. They also have ensured some members of the faith have tourniquet and CPR training. Despite tensions and fears, Jeremy Yamin of security operations at Combined Jewish Philanthropies expresses his feelings to share the holidays emphasis of renewal and a clean slate. (Rossi).
Some temples remain wary but have no means in how to be able to profile potential threats. In America, synagogues charged non-members ticket admissions for High Holy Day services as a source of income. Temple of Shalom noted the tickets could be used to mark potential threats however, this idea could not work. Many American Jews come from different ethnicities and even have non-Jewish last names (Rossi). Other synagogues such as Congregation B’nai Amoona have disbanded use of High Holy Day tickets to promote inclusion. High Holy Day tickets were once a major source of revenue for synagogues, but in the recent decline of attendance many congregations have lowered their price or eliminated the tickets all together. B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom of Connecticut has also eliminated paying for High Holy Day tickets but still requires nonmembers to get a ticket to ensure all of the congregants’ safety (Shimron).
References
Hinton, J. (2019, September 26). White supremacist propaganda found at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem, synagogue enhances security measures. Retrieved from https://www.journalnow.com/news/local/white-supremacist-propaganda-found-at-temple-emanuel-in-winston-salem/article_767fbd02-ca7e-5301-8899-a2df0ce96664.html.
Rossi, H. L. (2019, September 24). For synagogues, High Holidays welcome is complicated by security needs. Retrieved from https://religionnews.com/2019/09/24/for-synagogues-high-holidays-welcome-is-complicated-by-security-needs/.
Shimron, Y. (2019, September 26). On the eve of Rosh Hashana, fewer are paying for High Holy Day seats. Retrieved from https://religionnews.com/2019/09/26/on-the-eve-of-rosh-hashana-fewer-are-paying-for-high-holy-day-seats/.
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