New York — Leading Jewish groups in the US are urging all Jewish organizations to enhance security measures at public events – including restrictions on access – in the wake of the deadly attack. Mass shooting Which targeted a Hanukkah celebration on a famous Australian beach.
Groups – including three specializing in security issues – said Jewish public events in the coming days should only be open to vetted people after pre-registration.
“Only provide location details, time and other information when confirming registration,” the group’s warning read. “Control access (locks and entry procedures) to allow only known and confirmed registrants/attendees into the facility/event.”
In conjunction with this urgent call to increase precautions, some rabbis said that their synagogues will organize large-scale celebrations, aimed at showing flexibility. The mass shooting is the latest reminder of the Jewish community’s long-standing reality of the necessity of ensuring security in religious practices.
“This week, let us choose Jewish joy, collective strength, and courageous hope,” said a message posted by Temple Beth Sholom, one of the largest synagogues in the Miami area. “We invite everyone in our family…to join us this week as we celebrate Hanukkah. Let us come together to share the warmth of candles and reaffirm our unbreakable connection.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of Tree of Life Church in Pittsburgh, a survivor of the disaster. 2018 attack An anti-Semitic gunman killed 11 worshipers in the synagogue.
“Hanukkah is supposed to be a time of light, to celebrate the resilience of our people,” Myers said. “In the face of anti-Semitism and violence, my prayer is that we do not let fear win, but instead lean on our Judaism and practice our traditions with pride.”
At least 15 people were killed in an attack on Sunday, sparking criticism that Australian authorities were not doing enough to combat the disease. Rising anti-Semitic crimes. On Monday, Australia’s leaders promised truly comprehensive reforms Gun control laws After the attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney
Among those killed was Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi and an organizer of the Hanukkah event, according to the Chabad Orthodox Jewish movement, which has a worldwide reach and is known for its public menorah lightings.
Just a year ago, according to Chabad, Schlanger urged his fellow Jews not to be afraid to confront rising anti-Semitism, expressing this message, “Be more Jewish, act more Jewish, look more Jewish.”
Chabad centers around the world are moving forward with thousands of planned public menorah lightings and community Hanukkah celebrations “with greater security precautions in place — calling on the Jewish community to flood hate with more light and goodness while mourning the missing and wounded in Sydney,” Chabad.org said.
Rabbi Chaim Landa of Chabad of Greater St. Louis said the Sydney shootings reinforced the importance of these public observances. The organization proceeded with the planned menorah lighting Sunday night near the Gateway Arch but with a larger police presence. He believes this is what Schlanger would have wanted.
“There’s two parts to this,” said Landa, who estimates nearly 300 people attended the event, which was held outdoors in below-freezing temperatures. “There’s making sure it’s safe, and there’s also making sure people feel safe. And we want both.”
“People wanted to go out, they wanted to be together. So it’s very important that people feel like they can do that, and that’s what we want to ensure.”
Monday night, at the spot where a man threw Molotov cocktails at protesters earlier this year To support the Israeli hostages And in Gaza, members of the Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado, were on hand to light a dramatic new menorah.
The concert’s theme is “Fires of Love” – a response to the June 1 attack that killed an 82-year-old woman and injured 12 others.
Yitzchak Molly, a rabbi and artist, said he was inspired to create a 7-foot-tall (2-meter) stainless steel menorah for the community in Boulder after the firebombing.
“We are here and we stand strong and we do not cower in the darkness,” said Molly, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia.
In a speech after the Australia attack, the head of North America’s largest branch of Judaism laid out the mixture of dread and determination experienced by the Jewish community.
“We are thinking about security and how to live openly and safely as Jews — and asking questions that are newer to us but were familiar to our ancestors’ generations,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism.
He added: “We have to ask these difficult questions. We have to be smart about security and protecting ourselves and our fellow Jews – whether within the walls of the synagogue, or when we walk in the street wearing the skullcap.” “But the defiant spirit of the Maccabees is also part of the Hanukkah story. Our Jewish community will not hide. We are proud Jews and will remain so even as we make the security of our Jewish community a core commitment.”
Jacobs pointed to the Jewish tradition of placing a Chanukah menorah in the window for others to see.
“But in the Babylonian Talmud, we know not to do that in a time of danger,” Jacobs said. “We are living in a time where danger has been increasing for many years. For many Jews, putting a menorah in the window is very dangerous.”
Alon Shalev, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, said that Jews – after the attack – should be more bold in enhancing their public image.
“When Jews are attacked for being visibly Jewish, the instinct to retreat is understandable — but it is exactly the wrong response,” he told The Associated Press via email.
He added: “Jewish safety in democratic societies depends on open and shared civic affirmation, with the support of political leaders, community leaders and citizens, not on retreat behind closed doors.” “Getting into the public square and normalizing the Jewish presence is how we defend ourselves.”
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AP Religion News Editor Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee, and AP reporter Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed.
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