The Jewish community is taking steps to strengthen its bonds as it prepares to observe Rosh Hashanah amid a surge in antisemitism.

With the upcoming High Holiday season, many members of the Jewish community are worried about the increase in antisemitism in the U.S. caused by Hamas' October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of hundreds of innocent people to the Gaza Strip.

The one-year anniversary of the attack falls between this year's Rosh Hashanah, Oct. 2-4, and Yom Kippur, Oct. 11-12, as Israel continues to fight a multifront war that is causing tensions at home.

The FBI's hate crime statistics for 2023 reveal a significant increase in antisemitic hate crimes since October 7. The FBI Crime Data Explorer shows that a total of 1,951 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported in 2023, a 55% increase from the 1,257 incidents reported in 2022. Of these, 980 incidents occurred between January and September, while 971 incidents were reported in the final three months of the year, representing an increase of more than 300% over the 318 incidents tallied during the same period in 2022.

Richard Priem, CEO of Community Security Service (CSS), reassured Jewish Americans on Planet Chronicle Digital that there are competent organizations and individuals working to ensure the safety and enjoyment of the High Holidays amidst the rise in hate.

The growth of intolerance has led to an increase in CSS's partnerships with Jewish institutions. Priem's nonprofit took 10 years to train volunteers to support 300 institutions, but now partners with 470 institutions, a 30% increase in just 10 months.

Anti-Israel protests and encampments on college campuses have led to hostile environments for Jewish students, causing chaos this academic year.

The CSS campus program, available on over a dozen campuses, offers self-defense, awareness, and de-escalation training to Jewish students as part of its larger mission to ensure the continuation of Jewish life.

The CSS model aims to empower Jewish community members to become experts in securing their institutions. Currently, over 5,000 volunteers are ready to protect their facilities, which is an increase from the 3,000 volunteers last year. As a result of this effort to address community needs, "[W]e are stretching the resources that we have to the maximum," Priem stated.

Despite the hard work, Priem's team has successfully reported hundreds of incidents every year, some of which have led to arrests and federal charges. However, most of these incidents have gone unnoticed by the media. Recently, ABC 7 Washington, D.C., reported on Dec. 17 that CSS volunteers managed to stop an attack on Jewish worshipers outside the Kesher Israel Synagogue in Georgetown.

A stranger outside a synagogue shouted "Gas the Jews" and sprayed worshipers with fart spray. CSS volunteers documented the incident and engaged law enforcement, which arrested perpetrator Brent Wood. In August, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., secured an indictment charging Wood, now a fugitive, with three counts of obstructing by force or threat of force a person's enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs, while using a dangerous weapon.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is the main source of the increasing danger to the Jewish community, which has been growing since October 7th.

Priem stated that due to the political tensions between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah, there is a possibility that individuals may target a synagogue for political reasons, feeling justified in doing so because of their hatred towards Jews.

Priem stated that CSS volunteers have not shifted their focus from other threats, including the homegrown extremism of white supremacists such as Robert Bowers, who carried out an attack that killed 11 congregants at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue in October 2018. Additionally, the radical Islamic threat posed by groups like ISIS and al Qaeda remains a significant concern. On September 4, a Pakistani man pledging support to ISIS was arrested in Canada as he traveled to the U.S. to execute planned attacks on a New York Jewish center on either October 7 or October 11.

During Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Priem stated that CSS volunteers are ready to collaborate with law enforcement to ensure the safety of members of the Jewish community while they enter and exit synagogue.