US Jewish communities warn increased security is needed after Michigan attack | Michigan

American Jews are a “tense lot,” Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer said Friday after security personnel thwarted an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue and kindergarten by a man driving a truck containing explosives.

Whitmer, a Democrat, called Thursday’s attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield County the latest chapter in the “ancient and pervasive evil” of antisemitism and called on politicians and others to ease political tensions.

“Yesterday’s attack was anti-Semitism. It was hatred, plain and simple,” he said at a press conference Friday morning.

“We must reduce the rhetoric in the state and in this country, especially at a time when anti-Semitism is so high and attacks against the Jewish community are increasing. We must keep each other close. This society is on the edge of the abyss.”

His comments came as Jewish communities in the United States warned that security at places of worship and gathering must be increased to help prevent future acts of violence.

Security personnel at Temple Israel responded quickly to the incident, where the vehicle crashed into the temple building and then burst into flames, with the attacker killed during an exchange of gunfire.

The suspect, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, was a Lebanese-born naturalized citizen and it was revealed Friday morning that he lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike on the country last week as the US-Israeli war against Iran widens and intensifies. A security guard at the large synagogue complex suffered minor injuries, and staff, teachers and 140 young children at the temple’s early learning center were evacuated to safety.

“All of our heroic security personnel are safe and secure,” Temple Israel said. community notification following what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called “a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”

Elissa Slotkin, a U.S. senator from Michigan who is also a Democrat, said at Friday’s news conference that the attack “could have been much, much worse” and praised the temple’s private security personnel as well as local law enforcement and first responders.

“If they hadn’t all done their job almost perfectly, we would be talking about a huge tragedy here today with the loss of children,” he said.

It was revealed later Thursday that the FBI Conducted active shooter training We have been in the synagogue with Temple Israel staff in recent months. “Lives were saved because of the preparation and the courage of those on the ground,” FBI director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital.

But the incident raised fears that violence against Jewish targets would increase in response to the escalating US-Israeli war against Iran. Many leading Jewish American organizations are calling for more funding and resources to further strengthen security in vulnerable areas.

Security at many synagogues and Jewish centers across the U.S. has been beefed up in recent years as organizations hire private, armed security guards and train them to deal with the risks of attack. This was especially exacerbated in the wake of Israel’s overwhelming military intervention in Gaza, following the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead, the deadliest attack on Jews in US history, and the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

“This incident is a stark and frightening reminder that Jewish institutions across the United States continue to face serious and persistent threats, and that increasing hateful rhetoric in public discourse targets all Jews,” the Orthodox Union said in a statement. “Enough is enough. It is time for our elected officials and people of conscience to stand up and demand action, including adequate funding for the security of Jewish institutions.”

Ted Deutch, former U.S. representative and executive director of the American Jewish Committee, noted his group’s recently released report on the rising level of antisemitism in the United States; this report shows that 91% of American Jews feel less safe due to previous violent attacks.

“Once again, Jews in Detroit were targeted in their places of worship. Once again, Jews faced mortal danger simply because of who they are,” he said. a statement In X.

He added: “When Jews in America today gather together, whether in a synagogue or at a community event, they are increasingly behind metal detectors and under armed security guard. We don’t want special treatment. We don’t want more outrage. We want something simple: for people everywhere to stand up loud and clear and say that this violent hatred is no longer tolerated.”

Jewish Federations of North America reported last summer The annual cost of security for the Jewish community was $765 million. The organization’s executive director, Eric Fingerhut, told a House subcommittee that the amount was “exorbitant” as he pleaded for help from Congress.

He said strengthening police, security guards and buildings makes Jewish people feel safer.

Other groups said more action was needed in the wake of the West Bloomfield shooting and recent violence. Anti-Semitic attack allegation This week it’s about two customers from California who were speaking Hebrew to each other.

Separate shootings were reported this week as well. Synagogues in TorontoCanada; Dutch police said on Friday they were investigating a fire that broke out overnight at a synagogue in Rotterdam. Bombing The construction of a temple in the Belgian city of Liège was condemned on Monday by the country’s interior minister, Bernard Quintin, as “a despicable antisemitic act directly targeting the Jewish community.”

The Israeli-American Council said in a statement that it was appalled by the events in Michigan and elsewhere.

“This outrage is the latest in a series of violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions around the world, many of which have resulted in the killing of innocents,” the group said.

“These actions are the direct result of anti-Semitic indoctrination that has become widespread in our schools and on social media. Slander against the Jewish people or the Jewish state has deadly consequences, and we must call out and condemn such slander as vile hatred of Jews.”