Synagogues, houses of faith in Brevard on alert after Texas synagogue attack
Brevard’s synagogues and other faith-based communities are reviewing security efforts after a stark warning from the FBI that they likely will continue to be targeted by foreign and domestic extremists.
The alert came days after an armed man stormed into a Texas synagogue and held a rabbi and three other men hostage for several hours. The hostages managed to escape while the intruder killed himself as the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team moved in.
The incident was the latest in a string of incidents involving Jewish synagogues being targeted nationwide.
“(Security precautions) are always something we look at after an event. And this has reinforced the idea that you can’t let your guard down,” said Rabbi Craig Mayers of Temple Beth Sholom in Suntree.
The congregation — one of three Jewish primary synagogues in Brevard County — continues to have armed deputies on-site during its sabbath, special events, and holy day services.
Other congregations also have security plans place.
“We’ve been trying to sound the alarm to make sure that policymakers see that antisemitism is a problem that cannot be ignored. It’s growing and we have to confront it,” said Brian Siegal, regional director for the American Jewish Committee, a global Jewish advocacy organization based in Miami.
Siegal said he expects to be on a call with faith leaders and Department of Homeland Security officials for a briefing.
“This is dangerous for society when you see antisemitism. But what this demonstrates is that we have to understand that violent antisemitism is coming from the far right, the far left, and religious extremists," Siegal said. "It’s a dangerous time and the Jewish community is seen as a scapegoat.”
Mayers said that congregants have attended active shooter seminars and other training.
More: Space Coast synagogues step up security measures in wake of San Diego shooting
“We look at our action plan from time to time and have had them in place since Pittsburgh,” the rabbi said, referring to the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pennsylvania that left 11 dead.
It was the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack. Another attack followed in 2019 at a Chabad Center synagogue north of San Diego. In that case, a gunman bearing an AR-15 rifle, fired multiple rounds inside the center, killing a woman as the congregation celebrated Passover.
Other houses of faith have also been targeted by extremist, including a 2017 church shooting in Texas that left 26 dead.
"Antisemitism is on the rise globally. Historically, America was one of the best places for the Jewish community," Mayers said.
Several incidents have been reported in Brevard.
In December, weeks after Jews worldwide celebrated Hanukkah, a group hung banners with racist, antisemitic slogans from an Interstate 95 overpass in Brevard County. No arrests were made in the case but authorities asked the group with the banners to take them down after several hours on the Ranch Road overpass in Port St. John on I-95.
More: Hate group known as 'Goyim Defense League' behind racist banners on Brevard County highway
Between 2016 and 2021, the Anti-Defamation League reported 73 antisemitic incidents in Brevard, including flyers, graffiti, banners and other attempts to harass the local Jewish community. Some of the flyers were distributed in Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne and Satellite Beach. Some of the groups distributed antisemitic pamphlets, including some that ended up in a rabbi's yard, reports show.
Brevard County sheriff's officials have reached out in the past to local Jewish congregations and in one case, sent deputies to at least one synagogue following the deadly attack in Pittsburgh.
The Sheriff's Office has provided security audits of facilities and active shooter training for congregational members.
Mayers said, however, that the incidents nationwide and locally, won't deter the house of faith's mission to serve its community.
"I still believe in the good of the community we're living in. I believe we have a good level of friendships in this community and we are working with the Sheriff's Office to do more training," he said.
"We are still welcoming people. We're just doing it more safely."
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
Support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Coast congregations on alert after weekend synagogue attack in Texas
