Synagogues build a new security playbook as antisemitic attacks intensify

Synagogues across the U.S. are turning congregants into trained volunteer security teams as antisemitic assaults hit their highest level in 46 years. Axios reports that entrances once staffed with a single holiday guard now feature layered defenses — cameras, hardened doors, and coordination with law enforcement — with groups like the Community Security Service training more than seven thousand active volunteers to protect over five hundred synagogues weekly. The shift traces back to the 2018 Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh, which pushed donors to scale up what had been a small, grassroots effort. Rabbis say the challenge now is maintaining that vigilance without losing the openness that defines Jewish communal life.

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