As Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, Jewish congregations across the country will walk into synagogues staffed with armed guards, secured entrances, cameras and bag checks — a security apparatus that did not exist before the attacks and now costs the Jewish community an estimated $1 billion a year to maintain.
Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, said the timing of this year’s holiday alongside the 9/11 anniversary carries real weight for the community. “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,” he told Fox News Digital.
Before 2001, synagogue security typically meant little more than police directing holiday traffic or a basic alarm system. Fingerhut said that changed once it became clear the hijackers who struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon held “a special animus for the Jewish community and the Jewish people.” That realization led Jewish Federations of North America to help build the Secure Community Network, giving Jewish institutions a shared security model and a direct line to federal law enforcement.
The Bill Comes Due
A national study by Jewish Federations of North America, based on an examination of more than 4,500 Jewish institutions, put the collective annual security tab at roughly $1 billion — nearly $2.8 million every day. The organization now places professional security directors in all 141 Federation communities nationwide. Employing a single full-time guard runs about $90,000 a year, according to the group, which is pushing Congress to pass the bipartisan Jewish American Security Act to expand federal security assistance for at-risk nonprofits.
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz 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. 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.”
He called it “a vicious tax on the Jewish community,” one “levied by the antisemites.”
Volunteers on Watch
The burden isn’t falling only on hired professionals. The Community Security Service says more than 20,000 people completed its training in 2025, with 6,100 volunteers guarding 440 synagogues and nearly 100 Jewish events across 24 states, logging over 300,000 guard hours. The Secure Community Network, which handles national intelligence and coordination, recorded 4,400 incident reports last year, trained 40,000 people and made 851 referrals to law enforcement.
“While the threat environment accelerates, our community has never been more prepared, informed or engaged,” said Michael Masters, SCN’s national director and CEO, noting the group’s Duty Desk has already logged nearly 3,200 threat incidents this year, ahead of last year’s pace.
Steinmetz said threats “exploded after Oct. 7th,” adding that “the hatred of Israel encourages antisemites to come out of the woodwork.” FBI data back that up: Jews were targeted in 1,528 of the nation’s 2,408 religiously motivated hate crime incidents in 2025 — 63% of the total, despite Jews making up roughly 2% of the U.S. population.
In New York City, NYPD figures show major crime fell 6.2% citywide over the first eight months of 2026, even as confirmed hate crimes against Jews rose 8%, from 212 to 229 — nearly one such crime every 25 hours. The NYPD said it will brief the public on High Holiday security preparations ahead of the holidays. New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said it is coordinating with the state Attorney General’s Office, State Police, the FBI’s Newark field office and local partners, saying its goal is to “help ensure every New Jerseyan can practice their faith without fear.”
Attacks Already Happened
The security spending isn’t theoretical. On Aug. 14, a man was charged with disrupting a Friday night service at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue attended by roughly 375 people, damaging ceremonial candlesticks and assaulting a congregant and a security guard; he faces federal hate crime charges.
Five months earlier, an attacker inspired by Hezbollah, according to the FBI, drove a pickup truck loaded with gasoline and fireworks through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Armed with a rifle and hundreds of rounds, he shot one security guard and traded gunfire with others while 140 children were inside the synagogue’s early childhood center. Every child and staff member got out uninjured, and the guard survived.
“We take the security of our community with the utmost seriousness, and, of course, the assault on Temple Israel remains fresh in our minds,” said Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit. “We will enter the High Holidays vigilant and prepared. But we will also enter them with confidence and pride.”
Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in suburban Detroit, president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis, said the community is 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 our community and especially our children, anxieties are heightened,” he said. “We enter with heaviness, but we are also filled with hope for a better tomorrow.”
The Point of It All
Fingerhut said the goal isn’t just stopping an attack — it’s making sure fear never keeps a family away from a synagogue. “No family should have to weigh their safety against their faith,” he said. “We do not want anyone to make the choice not to participate in Jewish life because they are afraid for their safety. What we have learned is that the visible presence of security, and the real impact of that security, is what enables and encourages people to come out and participate in Jewish life.”
His message to Jewish communities: don’t retreat. “We will make sure that there is safety and security in place so that we can all feel confident in our involvement in Jewish life.”
