The Colleyville synagogue hostage-taking was a nightmare, a vicious, antisemitic attack on a vulnerable Jewish community. It is tempting to obsess on the antisemitism, to see it as the great, sole evil. But if we want change, we must recognize that Colleyville was about more.
Especially since the 2018 shooting that killed 11 people and injured more at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life, synagogues and other Jewish institutions have been ratcheting up their security. Guards, often armed, are commonplace, as are bulletproof glass, “buzz-in” entry systems and strategically placed panic buttons.
This is a consequence of a rise in antisemitism. We’re scared. A 2020 Pew Study found that most American Jews think there is more antisemitism today than there was five years ago. More than half of those surveyed say that, as a Jew, they personally feel less safe than they did five years ago.
