Three years after the Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, American Jewish communities are wrestling with a deeply personal question: how far should they go to protect their houses of worship? For a growing number of synagogues, the answer now includes armed congregants standing guard during prayer services.
The shift is most visible at the Silver Spring Jewish Center in Maryland, also known as Congregation Ahavas Yisrael. Shortly after October 7, 2023, a group of men at the Orthodox congregation formed an armed security team. Today, five congregants — most with military or special forces backgrounds and all with advanced firearms training — carry guns during services. The congregation has become a test case for a national debate unfolding inside Jewish communities across the country.
A Surge in Security Spending and Interest in Firearms
The Hamas attack accelerated security concerns that had already been building. Mass shootings at synagogues, along with rising incidents of vandalism, harassment, and assault, had already put Jewish institutions on high alert. In response, the Jewish Federations of North America estimated that U.S. Jewish institutions spent more than $1 billion on security last year alone. Each of the 141 Jewish federations in North America now has a dedicated professional directing security across synagogues, schools, community centers, and camps — efforts that have included reinforced doors, security cameras, gates, and posted law enforcement officers.
But for some congregations, external security is no longer seen as sufficient. Michael Masters, national director and CEO of the Secure Community Network — the official safety and security organization for the Jewish Federations of North America — has tracked the change firsthand.
“We are seeing a huge upsurge in interest in firearms amongst the Jewish community since October 7. We are also seeing, in a more structured way, the proliferation of organizations and entities which are designed or interested in training individuals to carry firearms.”
Masters does not oppose armed congregants outright, but he cautions against informal arrangements. The Secure Community Network recommends that synagogues seeking armed members do so through organized programs with clear leadership oversight, defined use-of-force protocols, and coordination with local law enforcement.
“If you’re going to carry, you need to be well trained, and you need to be prepared for the consequences, whatever they may be, up to and including taking another human being’s life, and being able to deal with that,”
Masters said.
Orthodox Communities at the Forefront
Orthodox Jewish congregations have led the move toward armed self-defense. Menashe Shapiro, a rabbi and third-year law student at Georgetown University who serves on the Silver Spring Jewish Center’s security team, says armed congregants are now widespread in Orthodox settings.
“I think you would be very hard pressed to find an Orthodox synagogue where you would not find members who are carrying. This is pretty common.”
Several factors explain the trend. Orthodox Jews are more visibly identifiable — men commonly wear a yarmulke — making them more exposed to antisemitic targeting. They attend services far more frequently, sometimes three times a day, requiring ongoing rather than occasional security. Their congregations also tend to be smaller, with tighter budgets that make hiring full-time professional security difficult. Orthodox Jews also represent a more politically conservative segment of American Jewry, about 10% of the total Jewish population, and tend to be more supportive of gun ownership.
One of the early models for organized Jewish armed security is Magen Am, meaning “protector of people,” founded in 2017 by Los Angeles Chabad rabbi Yossi Eilfort. The nonprofit provides trained and licensed volunteer security to 60 congregations across Southern California and Arizona, handling both training and government compliance. Eilfort, a certified law enforcement firearms instructor, argues community members bring something professional security cannot.
“No one is going to know the base for that community as well as a community member. They’re literally going to know the individuals walking through the door. Law enforcement doesn’t, because they’re from a different community.”
Not Everyone Agrees
Not all Jewish organizations view armed defense as the answer. The Community Safety Campaign, a national network of Jewish organizers, promotes security through community relationship-building and mutual support rather than firearms. Their 134-page guide to safety cautions against armed defense, noting that gun use disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous communities and pointing to research showing that owning firearms places a household at greater risk of fatal violence.
Audrey Glickman, who survived the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh by hiding in a choir office, is among those featured in a new series of documentary-style videos produced by the Secure Community Network. The videos feature survivors sharing lessons learned, including the “run, hide and fight” framework for responding to an active threat. Glickman told reporters that preparation, whatever form it takes, provides real peace of mind.
“When you’re prepared, then you can kind of rest easy,”
she said. When asked whether she supports congregants carrying guns, she offered a measured response:
“I feel like they need to have whatever security is appropriate for themselves. There are different conditions in different places.”
A Legal Battle in Maryland
The Silver Spring Jewish Center’s security arrangements put it on a direct collision course with local law. Montgomery County, Maryland, passed a law in July banning the carrying of firearms in or within 100 yards of houses of worship. The congregation responded by suing the county, and a district court judge issued an emergency order blocking the ban inside the synagogue, ruling it violated the Second Amendment. The congregation is still fighting to extend that protection to the surrounding 100-yard zone, which currently prevents security team members from walking to the synagogue while armed.
Shapiro, who has five children and keeps his firearm in a home safe, remains focused on the reality his community faces.
“Firearm use is generally pretty safe. Unfortunately, living in America today in the Jewish community is not always.”
