Jewish Federations of North America are horrified at the antisemitic terrorist attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, MI.

We are relieved that security forces neutralized the perpetrator, and thank the security guards and law enforcement for acting decisively, leading this incident to end without injuries to the synagogue’s children or employees. We pray for the speedy and full recovery of the individual reportedly injured, and thank the synagogue leadership and the Jewish Federations of Metropolitan Detroit for their careful planning and investment to secure our community.

Today’s events prove once again that the investments our community have made in security play a critical role in keeping us safe, even in the face of the intolerable antisemitic violence around us. In addition to investments through LiveSecure, Federation grants for the synagogue’s Early Childhood Center helped support hiring security guards, and recent communal investments helped harden the temple facilities, which diminished the attacker’s ability to cause harm.

But we cannot do it alone. Protecting citizens is the primary responsibility of the government. The Jewish community is forced to spend over $765 million a year to simply protect itself, and there is more the government should do to ensure every vulnerable Jewish institution has the resources to keep safe.