Anti-Semitic Attacks In New York Have Baltimore Synagogues, Community Centers On Alert
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A number of attacks on Jewish communities across the country have Baltimore synagogues and community centers on alert.
The latest attack came Saturday in New York when a man wielding a machete stabbed at least five people at a Hanukkah ceremony. The Anti-Defamation League said the attack was the tenth assault or threat against Jews in New York alone in the past week.
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"We are not going to cower in the face of hate," said Yisroel Kahan, the executive director of the Oizrim Jewish Council.
The suspect in the attack, Grafton Thomas, was arrested hours later in New York City. He now faces federal hate crime charges.
"I think all of us are shocked to see this rise of violent, anti-Semitic attacks," said Howard Libit with the Baltimore Jewish Council.
Many in Baltimore's Jewish community have close ties with those in the New York area, where earlier this month two shooters opened fire on a Jewish-owned grocery store in New Jersey, killing four people.
Last October, a gunman killed 11 people worshipping at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
"You want to welcome people to come and pray while also being secure," Libit said.
Many synagogues staffed armed security at services and have improved locks and gates to "harden" facilities. The Jewish Community Services building spends more than $1 million annually on its security, but Libit said nothing beats education and outreach.
"I think one of the enduring lessons we have is it's hard to hate someone you know," he said.
In a statement Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan said in part that "Our places of worship must never become places of fear."
