Q: Every time I use my electronic fob to enter my locked synagogue, and every time I have to pass the police or plainclothesman standing at the door of my friend’s synagogue, I think about Civics class, “Freedom of Religion.” Yet somehow, that freedom is not equal. More and more Jewish synagogues are locked encampments, needing to dedicate sizable portions of their yearly budget to defense. I don’t think most Christians know this. The ones I tell this to are always surprised. Am I right to feel angry that most Christians in America will never understand what it’s like to feel unsafe in your place of worship?
A: Many Jews, yourself included, are increasingly disturbed and, frankly, angry, as terror attacks and threats have made the simple act of going to our places of worship tense and stressful. It just doesn’t seem fair, and it isn’t. America strives to be a more perfect union, but it is certainly not perfect. The first amendment of the United States constitution prevents the establishment of a state religion and the “free exercise “ clause protects citizens rights to worship as they choose. While we pride ourselves on promoting freedom of religion, one has to ask how free we really are, when access to worship spaces are limited by threats of violence and hatred.
Religious spaces reflect the current societal climate. When antisemitism grows, access to entry shrinks. It requires a peaceful and equitable society to guarantee no locks or barriers to places of worship. Anyone who has traveled in Europe or South America knows that synagogues there have been locked and guarded for years. I remember visiting Chile years ago. In order to gain entry to services, I needed to arrange for entry in advance. When I arrived I had to show my passport to a guard with a machine gun. At the time, I felt so lucky to live in America where access to synagogues was unfettered. The ethos of our society has changed and we can no longer take for granted that our religious spaces are open.
Some might take comfort in knowing that Jews are not the only ones who feel the need to lock their doors. Many African-American churches have been doing this for years and have ramped up security measures in the aftermath of attacks like the Charleston shooting in South Carolina. In some cities, Muslim houses of worship use plain building facades, since Islamic architecture makes them a target. Most of us are upset that any house of worship in America is targeted. I have a feeling your anger is not at Christendom, but rather a feeling that many Americans, unlike you, don’t understand what it’s like to feel insecure in their house of worship.
Churches, however, are not immune to societal changes. Many churches in cities are locking their doors outside of worship time to deter the housing-insecure from congregating or sleeping inside. This is a sharp departure from the image of churches as open centers of the community. It’s important to put closed worship spaces into context, but it does very little to address the underlying issue. By exploring the extent to which formerly open worship spaces are closed does lead us to realize we might have some allies who may not agree with us on everything, but might want to pass legislation and change attitudes to reopen sacred spaces to the public.
The goal of terror attacks have always been to instill fear and to divide. While we need to be smart in a world with rising antisemitism, we cannot allow fringe extremists to fundamentally reshape our religious institutions. It would be playing into their hands to turn completely insular and focus only on ourselves. We need to build coalitions with other groups who are struggling with feeling safe in their religious spaces and work on societal change that can safeguard our religious freedoms. Hopefully, this will both mitigate antisemitism in our society and also make us feel safer, knowing we have friends working towards the same goal. We may also gain a new perspective on the issues that face other faith communities.
The challenging thing is how many different perspectives there are on how to achieve that safety. When Texas passed their law allowing concealed carry of firearms without a permit, synagogues had to decide whether to allow the law to be enforced or declare their campuses exempt. Many congregations had fierce debates over this, the pro-gun crowd wondered why people would feel unsafe if their fellow Jews carried guns to protect the congregation. Others felt that guns were the problem and had no place in a house of worship. Ostensibly, everyone had the same goal, but opinions on how to achieve that goal varied and conflicted.
While gun legislation in Texas does not always match the rest of the country, the role of firearms in the protection of our sacred spaces is still open for discussion. For those of us who believe gun ownership should have limits, I encourage you to turn your anger into action, but make sure your action is going towards the source. Little will come from further increasing our division and attacking pro-gun members of our religious communities who feel the need to arm themselves to combat prolific antisemitism and terror attacks. Perhaps both groups might want to work toward making sure that those who have access to guns know how to store them safely and have no history of violence.
The way forward is complicated. At this point in our country’s history, positions that advocate only “guns or no guns” have a smaller chance of acceptance than positions which require licensing and educating gun owners. So, too, it would be naive to say that the solution to antisemitism is to merely build coalitions and agitate for political change. We can neither give into hopelessness nor can we sit idly by and assume that things will take care of themselves without action.
There’s a reason one of the most frequently quoted passages is Pirkei Avot 2:21: “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”
Turn your anger into constructive purpose!