Sonoma County synagogues increase security in aftermath of Pittsburgh mass shooting

The day after a gunman killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue 2,500 miles away, Congregation Ner Shalom’s Sunday Hebrew school students in Cotati took a break from their Torah studies to pray and reflect on the tragedy.

“I was very sad to hear them open up the conversation with, ‘We know this kind of thing happens all the time,’ and to realize they’re growing up in a world where every few months there’s some kind of mass shooting,” said Irwin Keller, Ner Shalom spiritual leader.

The Oct. 27 shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue was the deadliest attack on Jews in America, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a global organization that fights anti-Semitism. Jewish communities across Sonoma County and the country have been on high alert, increasing security as they mourn and try to explain the shooting to children.

At Ner Shalom, Hebrew school students ranged from fifth-graders to high school freshmen. Some told Keller their parents cried after learning about the attack, while others felt vulnerable as young Jews but appeared resigned to mass shootings, Keller said.

With 120 families in its congregation, Ner Shalom has a guard present at times.

“We’re certainly stepping up our security right now,” Keller said. “Over time we will see if this is the beginning of a new trend, or is this something that we’ll see as an isolated incident?”

In Santa Rosa, police have increased patrols around synagogues. Sgt. Jeneane Kucker met with the Beth Ami and Shomrei Torah congregations last week, offering reassurance and conducting safety assessments.

“We cannot predict these incidents, but we can be more prepared,” Kucker said. “Unfortunately, it’s the day and age we’re living in.”

Beth Ami has beefed up security in the week since the shooting, with daily guards at the main gate - the entrance for both the synagogue and its nursery school. The congregation is adding more security cameras and keeping its gate locked at all times.

Each person now must put in a gate code to get in and not allow others to come in behind them without punching in the code.

Police met with youngsters at Beth Ami Community Nursery School a couple of days after the shooting to explain their presence in broader terms - not in the context of the shooting, according to Priscilla Lowell, school director. The nursery school has about 50 students ages 2 to 5, and every few months they do earthquake, fire or lockdown drills.

Some of the nursery school students have older siblings who have clued them in on the Pittsburgh shooting. Lowell sent parents resources from national Jewish organizations that encourage them to talk to their kids in simple terms about anti-Semitism.

“We’re instilling values here. We teach tolerance. We teach respect and how to value each other’s lives,” Lowell said. “These are not just Jewish values, these are human values.”

Beth Ami practices Conservative Judaism, the same as the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Authorities believe the suspected gunman acted alone.

“That’s comforting, but at the same time it really is a wake-up call for us,” said Carolyn Metz, one of Beth Ami’s vice presidents. “We’ve been living in a world where we don’t really see anti-Semitism here in Sonoma County.”

At B’nai Israel Jewish Center in Petaluma, there’s an alarm system and armed guards, according to Rabbi Ted Feldman. The center also has a preschool called Gan Israel, which celebrated its 40th anniversary Saturday.

Rabbi Mendel Wolvovsky at the Sonoma County Chabad Jewish Center in Santa Rosa said his community will have a new building in Rincon Valley in March, which will include enhanced security and gates.

“Everybody’s really shaken up,” Wolvovsky said. “But we don’t want to live in fear.”

Wolvovsky has three kids under 18, and he said they’ve turned to their faith in the face of evil acts like Pittsburgh.

“This isn’t new to us. Being killed at your place of worship is new to this generation of Jews, but we have a long history of it,” said Rabbi George Gittleman of Shomrei Torah, a progressive Reform Judaism congregation on Bennett Valley Road.

Shomrei Torah has a locked campus where members are buzzed in. It also has 24-hour video surveillance in and outside the synagogue, a security system, a gate and fence, and volunteer guards during religious school for youth and armed guards for special events, Gittleman said.

But it may not be enough. The synagogue has about 1,200 members and is used seven days a week. They’re now re-evaluating their security plan.

“If someone wants to truly harm us, they’ll be able to,” Gittleman said. “We’re trying not to be a soft target.”

Gittleman considered adding armed guards for daily use, but he said that option may not be affordable.

“We don’t want to have to spend our time and energy figuring out more security; we want to spend our time and energy welcoming our community,” Gittleman said.

In many European countries, it’s common for large synagogues to have fortress-like security, including armed guards, bag searches, video surveillance and police or army protection. San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El, one of the oldest synagogues in the state, has metal detectors.

“I don’t want to go as far as that,” Keller said. “We don’t want to have to live that way unless we have to.”

You can reach Staff Writer Susan Minichiello at 707-521-5216 or susan.minichiello@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @susanmini.