6 | NOVEMBER 14 • 2024 J
N

1942 - 2024

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week

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people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel.

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Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the 
morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205,
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thejewishnews.com

 
 
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The Detroit Jewish News Foundation

| Board of Directors:
 Chair: Gary Torgow
 Vice President: David Kramer 
 Secretary: Robin Axelrod
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 Board members: Mark Davidoff, 
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 Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer
 
 Executive Director:
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 Mike Smith
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 Arthur Horwitz
 Founding Publisher 
 Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory
 
 The Detroit Jewish News 
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 Nancy and James Grosfeld
 The Honorable Bernard Friedman

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 Director of Editorial: 
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Gazman, Stacy Gittleman, Gary Graff, Esther 
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 Michelle Sheridan 

S

ix years ago, I knelt in 
Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life syn-
agogue several days after the 
attack. It was still a crime scene. I felt 
the bullet holes in the walls. In the 
prayer books.
I remember the 
blood.
Several years before, 
a gunman ran through 
our New Jersey com-
munity’s streets, firing 
at law enforcement next 
to Jewish schools and 

buildings. Explosive devices were left 
in our cemetery and at a synagogue. 
People with bad intent came to our 
facilities.
As a New Jersey Federation exec, I 
helped build a strong and successful 
community security platform. But 
that’s not enough for what we need.
As I step into my new role as CEO 
of the Community Security Service 
(CSS), the importance of this organi-
zation and the work we do feels more 
critical than ever. CSS, the National 
Jewish Defense and Security Agency, 

was founded with the mission to pro-
tect Jewish life and institutions across 
the United States, a mission that has 
grown even more essential as antise-
mitic incidents become alarmingly 
frequent. What was once an occasion-
al, isolated threat has now become an 
unfortunate and constant reality for 
Jewish communities nationwide.
(Editor’s note: The Jewish Federation 
of Detroit provides for security through 
a local agency, Jewish Community 
Security Inc. JCSI is independent and 
not affiliated with the national CSS.)
CSS has been preparing for this 
moment for nearly two decades, pro-
viding essential training to help our 
community members enhance secu-
rity and situational awareness. We’re 
seeing the results of that preparation 
every day, and it’s clear our work is a 
vital part of ensuring Jewish life can 
thrive safely in America. But recent 
incidents underscore just how urgent 
and pressing our work has become.

A NEW REALITY OF THREATS
These past few weeks alone, we 
witnessed horrific, targeted acts 

against Jewish individuals in two 
major American cities. In Chicago, 
a 39-year-old Jewish man walking 
to his synagogue on Shabbat was 
shot by an assailant shouting Allahu 
Akbar (“God is great” in Arabic). And 
in the Crown Heights neighborhood 
of Brooklyn, N.Y. — a vibrant, 
Chabad-centered Jewish community 
— a slashing attack sent shockwaves 
through the neighborhood. These 
aren’t isolated incidents; they reflect a 
disturbing trend of rising antisemitic 
attacks in public spaces where Jews 
have every right to feel safe.
We’re witnessing a surge in phys-
ical assaults, acts of vandalism, and 
harassment in cities and neighbor-
hoods previously thought to be safe 
havens for Jewish life. This increase 
extends beyond physical spaces, with 
antisemitic rhetoric proliferating 
online and often spilling over into 
real-world violence. Our campuses, 
neighborhoods and institutions are 
all affected. Hatred of Jews has, in 
many ways, been normalized, with 
incidents so frequent that they are no 
longer considered shocking.

Dov 
Ben-Shimon
JNS.org

PURELY COMMENTARY

opinion

Why Security 
for the Jewish 
Community 
Is Needed Now 
More Than Ever

