Synagogues under fire: What solutions can actually keep the Jewish community safe?

Last week, three Toronto synagogues were hit with gunfire in overnight shootings. Shocked and exasperated, the city’s Jewish community demanded that action must be taken to keep them safe. They’re angry at public officials for not offering sufficient protection, and many have voiced their frustration with community institutions for what they perceive as an ineffective use of community security funds.

But, after all the sound and fury, what practical solutions are available to Canadian Jewish communities? What type of security spending could actually reduce the likelihood of these events, and when is it just throwing good money after bad? Are efforts for more security the most effective way to address these incidents, or would other interventions — like pushing for more municipal street lighting or for stricter gun control laws — be the thing that actually makes a difference?

Comments by influencers like Tucker Carlson saying that Chabad is directing the Iran War may only serve to fuel further attacks. Anyone can have their own TV show and broadcast to million of followers from their phon — does that mean that we need to take the microphone away? 

As the Jewish community’s calls for action came to a crescendo last weekend, they coincided with the reading of parshat “Ki Tisa,” which tells the story of the Israelites being gripped by fear, dismay, and abandonment after Moses fails to return after weeks on Mount Sinai. The people come to Aaron and demand that he take action, do something, to save them.

On this week’s episode of Not in Heaven, our rabbinic podcasters ask: when community leaders are faced with demands for action, how should they respond? Which solutions are real, and which are, as it were, simply a false idol? And quite apart from solutions, how can we respond and comfort very real fear within a community?

Credits

• Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl
• Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Socalled

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