At sundown on Friday, Sept. 11, as America marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, Jewish families across the country will welcome in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year marking 5787.
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families → mark → 5787
They will enter synagogues at the moment of peak annual attendance, walking past armed guards, security cameras, secured doors and bag checks.
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They → enter → guards
The convergence brings into focus how the Sept. 11 attacks transformed security in American synagogues and helped create the national infrastructure that now protects Jewish life.
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that → bring → life
When Rosh Hashanah began six days after the attacks in 2001, a security guard stationed outside a synagogue was still unusual.
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guard → begin → synagogue
It has become a permanent precondition of Jewish communal life.
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It → become → life
"The confluence of events, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and Rosh Hashanah, is really very meaningful to us," Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, told Fox News Digital.
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Fingerhut → tell → Digital
"If you trace the evolution of the security situation for the Jewish community in North America, you see that 9/11 really was a major turning point."
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9/11 → trace → America
Before the attacks, Fingerhut said, synagogues may have relied on police to direct traffic during the High Holidays or installed basic alarm systems, but there was no widespread belief that Jewish communities needed protection from threats to their physical safety.
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communities → say → safety
"That changed on 9/11," he said.
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he → change → 9/11
"The Jewish community understood quite clearly that the people who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacking America that day, but they had a special animus for the Jewish community and the Jewish people."
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they → understand → community
Fingerhut said that shift led Jewish Federations of North America to help create the Secure Community Network after 9/11, giving communities a model for protecting Jewish institutions and a unified channel to federal law enforcement.
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shift → say → enforcement
For generations, Rosh Hashanah preparation meant apples and honey, prayer books and the shofar.
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preparation → mean → apples
Now the checklist also includes secured entrances, emergency plans and congregants standing watch while their neighbors pray.
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neighbors → include → watch
A national study by Jewish Federations of North America found that Jewish communal institutions spend an estimated $1 billion annually on security.
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institutions → find → security
Based on an examination of more than 4,500 institutions, that amounts to nearly $2.8 million every day simply to keep Jewish life open and accessible.
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that → base → life
The organization leads the national initiative placing professional security directors across all 141 Federation communities.
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organization → lead → communities
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, described the contrast on his own block.
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Steinmetz → describe → block
"If you walk past the churches on our block, the doors are wide open, inviting people in," Steinmetz told Fox News Digital.
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Steinmetz → walk → Digital
"
That security is no longer reserved for major institutions or large cities.
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security → reserve → institutions
From New York and Florida to Michigan and Los Angeles, ordinary worshipers are training in situational awareness, access control, surveillance detection, emergency response and coordination with law enforcement.
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worshipers → train → enforcement
The Community Security Service, or CSS, said more than 20,000 people completed its training in 2025.
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people → say → 2025
Of those, 6,100 volunteers protected 440 synagogues and nearly 100 Jewish events, logging more than 300,000 guard hours across 24 states.
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volunteers → protect → states
The Secure Community Network (SCN) provides national intelligence and coordination.
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Network → provide → intelligence
In 2025, it recorded 4,400 incident reports, trained 40,000 people and made 851 referrals to law enforcement.
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it → record → enforcement
"While the threat environment accelerates, our community has never been more prepared, informed or engaged," Michael Masters, SCN’s national director and CEO, told Fox News Digital.
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Masters → accelerate → Digital
"This year our Duty Desk logged nearly 3,200 threat incidents, pacing ahead of last year."
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Desk → log → year
Steinmetz said threats to the Jewish community "exploded after Oct. 7th," adding that "the hatred of Israel encourages antisemites to come out of the woodwork."
The FBI recorded 1,528 hate crime incidents targeting Jews in 2025, representing 63% of the nation’s 2,408 religiously motivated incidents.
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FBI → say → incidents
Jews comprise roughly 2% of the U.S. population, yet incidents targeting Jews represented 14% of all hate crimes reported nationwide.
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incidents → comprise → crimes
During the first eight months of 2026, major crime fell 6.2% across New York City, while confirmed hate crimes targeting Jews rose 8%, from 212 to 229, according to new NYPD figures.
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crimes → fall → figures
That averages nearly one such crime every 25 hours.
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That → average → crime
Fox News Digital contacted NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about the department’s High Holiday preparations.
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Digital → contact → preparations
The NYPD said it will hold a briefing ahead of the holidays and provide additional security details at that time.
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it → say → time
In neighboring New Jersey, the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) said it is coordinating with the state Attorney General’s Office, New Jersey State Police, the FBI’s Newark field office, local law enforcement and community partners.
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it → neighbor → Office
"Together, we are protecting houses of worship, helping ensure every New Jerseyan can practice their faith without fear, and keeping New Jersey safe and secure," NJOHSP said.
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NJOHSP → protect → Jersey
The coordination follows recent attacks on Jewish institutions.
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coordination → follow → institutions
On Aug. 14, a man was charged with allegedly disrupting a Friday night service attended by approximately 375 people at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, damaging ceremonial candlesticks and assaulting a congregant and security guard.
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man → charge → congregant
The charges against include federal hate crimes and damaging religious property resulting in bodily injury.
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charges → include → injury
Five months earlier, an attacker inspired by Hezbollah rammed a pickup truck carrying gasoline and fireworks through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, according to the FBI.
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attacker → inspire → FBI
Armed with a rifle and hundreds of rounds, he struck one security guard and exchanged gunfire with others.
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he → arm → others
Every child and staff member escaped without physical injury and the guard survived.
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guard → escape → injury
…and 18 more, not listed.
