A deadly attack on a California synagogue over the weekend put temples in South Florida on notice — again.
Exactly six months ago, a gunman killed 11 people and wounded seven others during Saturday morning services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, shouting “All Jews must die!” before opening fire.
That attack prompted synagogues throughout South Florida to step up security.
The suspected gunman in Saturday’s attack at the Chabad of Poway near San Diego — 19-year-old John T. Earnest — has been arrested after killing one and injuring three. He was reportedly motivated by the shooting in Pittsburgh.
“It’s sad, it’s hateful,” said Rich Cohen, president of B’nai Aviv of Weston. “Unfortunately, the boundaries of hatred seem to be expanding. And while evil will always find a way to do evil, we will consistently try to be a couple steps ahead of them.”
B’nai Aviv, like other temples throughout the region, hasn’t really let its guard down since the Pittsburgh attack last fall.
“We’ve been consistent in our attention to security for many, many months,” Cohen said. “We have a program in place that’s been implemented and it’s obviously been effective. Our goal is to provide and safe and secure place for our visitors.”
On Saturday, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum said it was “shocked and alarmed” by the second armed attack on a synagogue in the United States in six months — this time on the on the last day of Passover.
Amid the heightened security come questions about what’s behind the hate crimes.
“Anti-Semitism is like a virus,” said Paul Plotkin, a retired rabbi from Temple Beth Am in Margate. “Sometimes it appears to be dormant. But it never disappears.”
Plotkin says today’s political climate has only fueled the fire of hate.
“It’s very dangerous and scary,” he said. “It’s really unnerving.”
An armed guard currently watches over the congregation at his temple in Margate, Plotkin said.
“It’s something we’ve done for awhile,” he said. “You have to make yourself not as appealing a target. And the second purpose is to give people in the congregation a sense that they are not sitting ducks.”
Synagogues all over the country seem to have stepped up security, he said.
Last week, Plotkin visited his son in New York for the start of Passover.
His son’s temple had hired armed security guards — but they weren’t the only ones who were armed, Plotkin said.
Rositta Kenigsberg, president of the Holocaust Documentation & Education Center in Dania Beach, said the local Jewish community was mourning the victims in the California shooting.
“We condemn this horrendous act of anti-Semitism and call upon communities across the country to stand with the Poway community and denounce this outrageous and deplorable act of hatred and violence,” she said. “We remain resolute and steadfast in our unwavering mission to educate all our students and our communities that promises of Never Again after the Holocaust are empty and meaningless if we remain silent and indifferent.”