After Michigan attack, Long Island Jewish leaders say being ready key to safety

Some Jewish leaders on Long Island said Thursday the heightened security protections already in place at their temples meant there was no need to consider upgrades after a targeted attack against a Michigan synagogue.

"We're prepared for it," said Rabbi Susie Moskowitz of Temple Beth Torah in Melville. "We have multiple layers of security in place all the time, which means we don't have to react every time something happens. ... and which is a horrible state that the world is in."

"It's still a shock when it happens," Moskowitz said, referring to Thursday’s attack on a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, just outside Detroit.

"And each new time it happens," she added, "I think it's still ... overwhelming."

A driver who rammed a truck into the synagogue, Temple Israel on Thursday was killed after exchanging gunfire with security guards, law enforcement officials said. After smashing through a door, the suspect drove down a hallway of the building, they said.

One security guard was hit by the vehicle and injured, officials said. About 140 children were in the synagogue's preschool and were unhurt, Temple Israel officials said.

Moskowitz said in the past she had been inside the synagogue, which like hers is a reform temple, and knows some of its leaders.

"When it's a community so similar to ours, it feels very close to home," she said.

Temple Beth Torah has for years employed full-time security guards, along with bulletproof glass and automatically locking doors. At the same time, Moskowitz added, the synagogue wants to remain a welcoming place for worshippers.

"We're always trying to balance between the highest-level security and keeping everyone in our building and around our building safe," she said.

Security was first ramped up after the 2001 terrorist attacks, then slacked off for a bit during a lull, but has been at a peak for about a decade, she said. Members of the synagogue must pay an annual fee of hundreds of dollars for security, she said.

Rabbi Mendel Teldon of Chabad of Mid-Suffolk in Commack said that "we do proper security protocol, and as we saw today proper security prevents further harm."

"Antisemitism is the world's oldest hate and it's not changing the next day or two," he said. "And it's never deterred us, and it's never slowed us down. And if the haters only knew that this strengthened us and made us stronger, they might stop."

In a statement, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said, "Based on preliminary indications of an anti-Semitic attack in Michigan, the Nassau County Police Department has immediately stepped-up patrols in all Jewish neighborhoods of Nassau County."

The Suffolk County Police Department said it is "continuing to conduct frequent checks at religious institutions and vulnerable entities. Although there are currently no credible threats in our area, members of the SCPD are working with our law enforcement partners and monitoring the situation."

It added that residents should call 911 if they see suspicious activity.