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Secure our Jewish Community (Somerset, Hunterdon & Warren)
*Donations made for Giving Tuesday will be matched by generous members of our community*
On Yom Kippur, 51 congregants in a Halle synagogue watched the feed from security cameras as their would-be shooter tried to break down the door. He pushed it, fired a few rounds with his gun and even attached an explosive to the jamb. The heavy wooden door wouldn't budge.
Max Privovsky a leader of the Halle Jewish community told the New York Times, "It was a miracle that the door held. I cannot imagine what would have happened if it had not. May the memories of those we lost on Yom Kippur 5780 forever be a blessing.
The door and the security system were funded in part by a grant from the Jewish Agency for Israel. The Jewish Agency for Israel is a direct agency of your Jewish Federation.
In the United States, anti-Semitic crimes are the highest in two decades and this high holiday season, synagogues across the country had to take extra precautions, especially after the horrible anti-Semitic events in Pittsburgh and Poway. For American Jews, our new reality in our houses of worship involve single entrances, denying entry to those without tickets, and the necessity to hire private security.
Through the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon & Warren your generosity will support a text alert system, rapidly alerting all local synagogues and Jewish agencies of any imminent threats in the area. This support includes other critical Federation services, like working with state and federal officials to provide security grants for all walks of Jewish life in our three counties.
Overseas, your dollars provide security for Jews in the most desperate of situations and in certain cases, provide the means to make aliyah (emigrate) to Israel. This means transportation, security, and transitional services into their life in the Jewish homeland.
While there is no price tag on the value security, these do not come without a cost. Please help us raise the funds necessary to keep our friends, loved ones, and Jews that we'll never meet safe during these unsettling times.