Rosh Hashanah Celebrations Now Include Permanent Security at Synagogues

As the sun dipped below the horizon on Friday, Sept. 11, America paused to mark a quarter-century since the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. At the same moment, Jewish families across the nation began Rosh Hashanah, welcoming in the year 5787. They stepped into synagogues at their busiest hour of attendance. But this was not a free-for-all gathering. Worshippers walked past armed guards and security cameras. Secured doors stood firm while bag checks took place.

This convergence highlights how the Sept. 11 attacks reshaped American synagogue security forever. It helped build the national infrastructure now protecting Jewish life every single day. When Rosh Hashanah started just six days after those tragic events in 2001, seeing a security guard outside a synagogue was still rare. Twenty-five years later, that guard is no longer an occasional fix. He has become a permanent requirement of Jewish communal existence.

"The confluence of events, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and Rosh Hashanah, is really very meaningful to us," Eric Fingerhut told Fox News Digital. He leads the Jewish Federations of North America as president and CEO. "If you trace the evolution of the security situation for the Jewish community in North America, you see that 9/11 really was a major turning point."

Before those attacks, Fingerhut said synagogues might hire police to manage traffic during High Holidays or install basic alarms. Yet no widespread belief existed that Jewish communities needed protection from threats to their physical safety. "That changed on 9/11," he explained. "The Jewish community understood quite clearly that the people who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacking America that day, but they had a special animus for the Jewish community and the Jewish people."

Fingerhut said this shift led Jewish Federations of North America to help create the Secure Community Network after 9/11. This gave communities a model for protecting institutions and a unified channel to federal law enforcement. For generations, Rosh Hashanah preparation meant apples, honey, prayer books, and the shofar. Now the checklist also includes secured entrances, emergency plans, and congregants standing watch while neighbors pray.

The price of that new reality is staggering. A national study by Jewish Federations of North America found that Jewish communal institutions spend an estimated $1 billion annually on security. Based on an examination of more than 4,500 institutions, that amounts to nearly $2.8 million every day simply to keep Jewish life open and accessible. The organization leads the national initiative placing professional security directors across all 141 Federation communities.

Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan's Upper East Side, described the contrast on his own block. "If you walk past the churches on our block, the doors are wide open, inviting people in," Steinmetz told Fox News Digital. "But at our synagogue, there are security cameras, a double door system and a line of guards outside, at the cost of untold thousands of dollars."

That security is no longer reserved for major institutions or large cities. From New York and Florida to Michigan and Los Angeles, ordinary worshipers are training in situational awareness, access control, surveillance detection, emergency response and coordination with law enforcement. The Community Security Service, or CSS, said more than 20,000 people completed its training in 2025. Of those, 6,100 volunteers protected 440 synagogues and nearly 100 Jewish events, logging more than 300,000 guard hours across 24 states. The Secure Community Network provides national intelligence and coordination.

In 2025 the numbers tell a stark story with 4,400 incident reports logged by the Southern Center for National Security (SCN). They trained 40,000 people and made 851 referrals to law enforcement. Michael Masters, SCN’s national director and CEO, told Fox News Digital that while the threat environment accelerates their community has never been more prepared or engaged. This year their Duty Desk logged nearly 3,200 threat incidents which paces ahead of last year. Steinmetz noted threats to the Jewish community exploded after Oct. 7th and added that hatred of Israel encourages antisemites to come out of the woodwork.

The FBI recorded 1,528 hate crime incidents targeting Jews in 2025 representing 63% of the nation’s 2,408 religiously motivated incidents. Jews comprise roughly 2% of the U.S. population yet incidents targeting Jews represented 14% of all hate crimes reported nationwide. During the first eight months of 2026 major crime fell 6.2% across New York City while confirmed hate crimes targeting Jews rose 8%. This jump moved figures from 212 to 229 according to new NYPD data. That averages nearly one such crime every 25 hours. Fox News Digital contacted NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about the department’s High Holiday preparations and she said they will hold a briefing ahead of the holidays and provide additional security details at that time.

In neighboring New Jersey the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness is coordinating with the state Attorney General’s Office, New Jersey State Police, the FBI’s Newark field office, local law enforcement and community partners. Together they are protecting houses of worship and helping ensure every New Jerseyan can practice their faith without fear. They keep New Jersey safe and secure following recent attacks on Jewish institutions. On Aug. 14 a man was charged with allegedly disrupting a Friday night service attended by approximately 375 people at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue. He damaged ceremonial candlesticks and assaulted a congregant and security guard while facing charges for federal hate crimes and damaging religious property resulting in bodily injury.

Five months earlier an attacker inspired by Hezbollah rammed a pickup truck carrying gasoline and fireworks through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan according to the FBI. Armed with a rifle and hundreds of rounds he struck one security guard and exchanged gunfire with others inside were 140 children at the synagogue’s early childhood center. Every child and staff member escaped without physical injury and the guard survived. For Steven Ingber CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit the assault remains a powerful reminder of the need for vigilance as families prepare to gather. He said they take the security of their community with the utmost seriousness and noted the assault on Temple Israel remains fresh in their minds. They will enter the High Holidays vigilant and prepared but also with confidence and pride.

Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in suburban Detroit serves as president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis and said Jewish Michiganders are entering the new year with a feeling of heaviness. From marking the 25th year since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to marking six months since the terrorist attack on their community especially their children anxieties are heightened he told Fox News Digital exclusively. They enter with heaviness but they are also filled with hope for a better tomorrow. No family should have to weigh their safety against their faith according to Fingerhut. Employing one full-time security guard costs an estimated 90,000 annually according to Jewish Federations of North America and that financial burden adds another layer of stress during these tense times.

A new bipartisan effort aims to bring federal aid to nonprofit groups facing rising threats under the Jewish American Security Act. This legislation seeks to bolster protection for institutions that have long felt vulnerable in an increasingly hostile environment. The core struggle now centers on a difficult reality: security is no longer optional, yet the burden of funding it falls squarely on local communities.

Steinmetz labeled this financial strain as a vicious tax imposed directly by antisemites. He argued that every dollar spent on locks and guards drains resources needed for actual community work. For many leaders, the goal extends far beyond stopping an attack. It is about keeping fear from dictating where families gather to worship or study their texts.

"We do not want anyone to make the choice not to participate in Jewish life because they are afraid for their safety," Fingerhut stated plainly during a recent address. He emphasized that visible security measures actually encourage attendance rather than deter it. People need to see genuine protection before stepping through the doors of their synagogues with confidence.

Fingerhut urged communities worldwide to lean into their traditions instead of retreating from public view. His promise was firm: safety arrangements will be made so everyone feels comfortable joining in Jewish life without hesitation. Guards, cameras, and volunteers serve a single purpose according to these experts. They exist not to turn houses of worship into isolated fortresses but to ensure daily religious practice continues uninterrupted inside those walls.