This week proved, yet again, that Jewish communal organizations and so-called leaders have been thinking about security in dangerously wrong ways. As I wrote earlier this year, surrounding our houses of worship with armed guards is a terrible idea. “If it becomes widely understood and accepted that most synagogues are filled with frightened, unarmed Jews who outsource their security,” I explained, “the only barrier to a successful attack is getting through that one single—and nowhere near impregnable—layer.”
Central Synagogue, sadly, just proved my point.
On Friday night, a maniac named Larry Montes stormed into the Manhattan landmark, shouted obscenities, spat, punched a congregant in the face, and smashed a bunch of candles before being escorted out by security. All of Central’s pricey rent-a-guards couldn’t stop one lunatic from having more or less free rein of the sanctuary, stomping to the front, and wreaking havoc before being all-too-gently removed. If the same lunatic, God forbid, was a bit more committed and organized, his punch might’ve been a stab—or worse.
Instead of understanding this, rabbis, elected officials, and Jewish community leaders spent the 48 hours after the attack applying all the familiar platitudes: Troubling. This is not normal. Jews do not need to feel maligned.
Really?
— Liel Liebovitz in What Happens When Jews Don’t Fight