Source: Fox 4 KC
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — It wasn’t that long ago when a shooting took place at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. Now, in a time with antisemitism on the rise, a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan faced an attack of its own.
Prior to the April 13, 2014 deadly shooting at the Jewish Community Center, the facility spent around $50,000 a year on security. Now, that number is over $700,000.Man who rammed his vehicle into Michigan synagogue was naturalized citizen from Lebanon, DHS says
Jewish Community Campus Board Member Scott Slabotsky says Thursday attack in Michigan is a reminder that Jews have to stay much more vigilant than ever before.
“People are just being very cautious,” Slabotsky said. “We do have armed guards in our facility. You just need to continue keeping people safe to the best of your ability, but bad people can do bad things.”
Slabotsky’s brother and nephew’s family live just a few miles from Thursdays attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Michigan. He says this event is unsettling.
“It’s just a constant reminder that these things happen,” Slabotsky said. “It just creates a big question of what else can you do to keep yourself and your family safe.”
According to the American Jewish Committee, in 2025, after a string of antisemitic attacks, 91 percent of American Jews say they feel unsafe. It’s a pattern that’s becoming much too familiar for the Jewish community.
“What I’ve seen time and time again from this community is that we come together to get through the most challenging moments, and we’ve faced a lot of them in the last few years and that’s what we’ve always done,” Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau AJC in Kansas City Neta Meltzer said.Kansas news: Headlines from Wichita, Topeka and around the Sunflower State
While the Jewish community constantly comes together to fight against hate, Meltzer adds it’s going to take a village to stand up against antisemitism.Gunman in Old Dominion University shooting served time for ISIS support, officials report
“The broader community, we need your help,” Meltzer said. “We need friends and neighbors to stand up with us and say that hate and violence has no place in our community, or in our society. We all have to kind of work together on this issue because it ultimately affects all of us.”
During unfortunate events, like Thursday’ss attack in Michigan, Slabotsky and Meltzer tell FOX4 when it comes to the Jewish community, they don’t fight hate with hate, rather love, and that’s exactly what they’re going to do going forward.