Source: Fox News · September 10, 2026
As congregations prepared for the High Holidays, Fox News reporter Ariella Noveck looked at how the September 11 attacks reshaped security at synagogues and Jewish institutions across the country.
Before 9/11, many synagogues relied on basic measures such as police traffic direction and alarm systems. Afterward, the Jewish Federations of North America created the Secure Community Network (SCN) to coordinate the protection of Jewish institutions nationwide and to work with federal law enforcement.
Jewish communal institutions now spend about $1 billion a year on security, roughly $2.8 million a day. SCN logged 4,400 incident reports in 2025 and about 3,200 threat incidents so far in 2026. In 2025, 20,000 people completed Community Security Service training, and 6,100 volunteers protected 440 synagogues and 100 Jewish events.
“If you walk past the churches on our block, the doors are wide open, inviting people in. But at our synagogue, there are security cameras, a double door system and a line of guards outside.”
“While the threat environment accelerates, our community has never been more prepared, informed or engaged.”
