By Halie Soifer in Washington, D.C.
Growing up in East Lansing, Michigan, my synagogue had no security, no metal detectors, no guards, and no police. Yesterday (Thursday, March 12), walking into our synagogue in D.C., my kids went through a metal detector, and their bags were searched after passing through a perimeter of police and armed guards. I didn’t realize it at the time, but our already robust synagogue security was likely hardened due to the horrific attack that occurred yesterday at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, the second act of antisemitic violence targeting a U.S. synagogue this year.
Yesterday, while my children safely went in and out of our synagogue, more than 100 children in preschool at Temple Israel were terrorized by a gunman with an explosive-laden truck who drove into their building, through the front doors, and down the hallway until he was killed. I can only imagine the fear that must have overcome the close-knit Detroit Jewish community upon hearing about the horrific attack, knowing that so many young children were sheltering inside, and later forced to evacuate, as smoke ominously billowed from the synagogue roof.
It’s a miracle that no one was killed at Temple Israel, but it’s not a fluke.It’s the result of being prepared with security and training at our synagogues. Apparently, the FBI did an active shooter training with the staff and security at Temple Israel just six weeks ago, and the security guards who stopped the terrorist used their training to save lives. They are true heroes, along with the first responders who raced to the scene to help their friends and neighbors.
What happened yesterday at Temple Israel could have occurred at any of our synagogues, just as any of us could have been targets in the five acts of antisemitic violence across the U.S. in the past year: the April firebombing of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence in Pennsylvania, the May killing of two Israeli Embassy employees in D.C., the June firebombing of a group calling for the release of the hostages in Colorado, the January arson of the largest synagogue in Mississippi, and yesterday’s use of a vehicle as a weapon targeting Temple Israel in Michigan.
Sadly, this wasn’t the only act of domestic terror in the U.S. in the past 24 hours. Yesterday, at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, a man stormed a classroom and opened fire in an attack being investigated as an act of terrorism, killing an Army officer who led the R.O.T.C. program. Are we at a point where we have to accept that sending our children to college – or even preschool – means they’ll face gun violence and terror? Yesterday’s events are further evidence that, sadly, this is the world in which we now live.
Today, we are all Temple Israel in that our hearts and prayers are with their community as they heal, recognizing that what happened there yesterday could have happened at any of our shuls. Clearly, we all must be as well-prepared as Temple Israel was for such an attack, which is why we encourage everyone to call on Congress to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which provides essential security grants for synagogues and Jewish institutions. While full funding for NSGP was not included in the president’s budget, we’re calling on Congress to ensure it’s fully funded this year. Join us.
Our lives and those of our children may depend on it.
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Halie Soifer is CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America.