MIAMI (WSVN) - Synagogues across South Florida are stepping up safety measures for the holiday weekend after a year filled with tragedy for the Jewish community.
Securing the houses of worship is a priority ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
“We have to be extra careful, extra cautious and take special precautions,” said Scott Brockman with the Temple Israel of Greater Miami.
“You may have to go through a magnetometer. You may have to have your purse checked, things of that nature,” said Stephanie Viegas with the Miami Jewish Federation.
Viegas is a former FBI agent, and on Sunday she’ll be spearheading security at synagogues for the Jewish New Year.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s not only with synagogues anymore, [it’s] any public place now,” said Viegas.
Worries about safety is nothing new for the holy holiday, but with recent instances of anti-Semitism locally and nationally, there will be a heightened presence of security.
“Every incident adds a little bit more stress to the person who wants to just go to the synagogue and pray,” said Viegas.
A gunman killed 11 people and injured seven others, including police officers, at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018.
It was the deadliest attack on Jews on U.S. soil in American history.
More recently, on April 27, one woman was killed and three others, including a rabbi, were injured after a man opened fire with an AR-15 inside the Chabad of Poway, just north of San Diego.
Now protections are in place, including training classes and seminars for self-defense, so people in the Jewish faith can celebrate and pray in peace.
“This is supposed to be a place where people come to commune with the divine, and to be wanded or go through extra layers of security is just disheartening,” said Brockman.
But Viegas said these measures are necessary.
“It shouldn’t just be at synagogues. It should be everywhere you go,” said Viegas. “Take notice of where the exits are. If you have to leave in a hurry or in an emergency situation, know ahead of time in your mind what you would do.”
Rosh Hashanah begins on Sunday evening and ends on Tuesday Oct. 1.
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