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Jewish Institutions Bolster Security Ahead of High Holidays as Experts Warn of Heightened Threat
Anti-Israel protesters target a synagogue in Queens, New York on July 14, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Amid a continuing surge in antisemitic hate crimes, Jewish institutions in the US have beefed up their security measures for the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which this year fall around the one-year anniversary of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The heightened security efforts also come as Israel expands its operations against the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon and vows to respond to a massive missile attack from Iran, the chief international sponsor of both Hamas and Hezbollah.
Although there are no indicators of specific imminent threats against Jewish institutions, law enforcement officials have warned that “lone wolf” agitators could spark violence in the upcoming days.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) ramped up patrols around Jewish institutions on Monday. The police department will also monitor for potential explosive devices at bridges and radiation detection.
Police departments in other major US cities such as Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and Philadelphia have also indicated that they will increase patrols surrounding Jewish institutions and houses of worship in an effort to prevent potential antisemitic violence from breaking out. Officials belonging to police departments across the country have stated that they hope bolstering security measures will quell anxieties among local Jewish community members.
Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism, told The Algemeiner that although the organization has not detected any threats against Jewish houses of worship, they should be prepared for the possibility of an attack.
“What we have previously told Jewish institutions is that at this time, there is no known credible threat to the Jewish Community in the US,” Segal said. “Accordingly, we are advising institutions to remain open and operational throughout the upcoming High Holiday season. However, given the heightened tensions and increased risk to the community at this time, we recommend institutions review and implement a series of security precautions and procedures.”
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins on Wednesday at sundown. Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day in Judaism known as the Day of Atonement, commences next Friday at sundown. Together, they are known as the High Holidays.
A slew of anti-Israel activist groups have organized demonstrations for Monday to commemorate the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. These groups have routinely — and erroneously — referred to the Oct. 7 onslaught, the largest single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, as the beginning of a so-called “genocide” in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Anti-Israel groups such as Writers Against the War on Gaza, Incite! Palestine Force, and Samidoun have organized demonstrations in the upcoming week to draw attention to the plight of Palestinians. Another such organization called Within Our Lifetime is calling on its supporters to go “all out for Gaza” on Oct. 7 by skipping school and work to participate in a mass protest.
The expected surge in anti-Israel demonstrations during the Jewish high holidays, combined with the looming anniversary of Oct. 7, has some experts worried over the safety of Jews.
“The Jewish community is facing the most significant threat towards the community in modern history,” Kerry Sleeper — deputy director of intelligence and information sharing for the Secure Community Network, a consultancy for the national US Jewish community — told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). “The combination of High Holidays, the 10/7 anniversary, and now the potential for the world’s largest terrorist organization [Hezbollah] to exact revenge on either Israeli facilities, embassies, or consulates, or prominent Jewish leaders or prominent Israeli leaders anywhere in the world.”
Some experts fear that individuals tied to Hezbollah, which is Iran’s chief proxy force, could seek to execute an attack on American soil against the Jewish community. US agencies have foiled potential terrorist attacks by Hezbollah members in recent years and warned of potential future threats from sleeper cells.
The fears stem in part from Israel’s recent operations in Lebanon decimating Hezbollah’s top leadership. The Jewish state has also initiated ground operations in Lebanon with the reported goal of establishing a buffer zone between the two countries after Hezbollah has spent the past year attacking northern Israeli with drones, missiles, and rockets, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes.
Jonathan Schanzer, a vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JTA that Jewish citizens of less “security minded” countries within Europe and Latin America are more at risk of a Hezbollah attack than those residing in the United States. However, Schanzer said he “wouldn’t rule out an attempt to cross into the United States, or an effort to activate cells that are already here.”
Security concerns also stem from the global surge in antisemitism since the Oct. 7 massacre, which unleashed a tsunami of anti-Jewish hate that has seen several countries around the world, especially the US and European nations, record record levels of antisemitic incidents.
Last week, for example, a new report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) showed that anti-Jewish hate crimes in the US spiked to a record high last year, and American Jews were the most targeted of any religious group in the country.
The FBI data came after the ADL released a report in April showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high of 8,873 outrages — an average of 24 every day. Most of the incidents occurred after Oct. 7, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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US Clamps Sanctions on Israel-bashing UN Rights Monitor Albanese
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a side event during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The Trump administration has imposed sweeping sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, citing the UN official’s lengthy record of singling out Israel for condemnation.
In a post on X, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions under a February executive order targeting those who “prompt International Criminal Court (ICC) action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.” He accused Albanese of waging “political and economic warfare” against both nations and asserted that “such efforts will no longer be tolerated.”
“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio announced on X/Twitter.
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” declared the Trump administration’s top foreign affairs official. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.”
Rubio concluded: “The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”
The decision to impose sanctions on Albanese marks an escalation in the ongoing feud between the White House and the United Nations over Israel. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused the UN and Albanese of unfairly targeting Israel and mischaracterizing the Jewish state’s conduct in Gaza.
Albanese, an Italian lawyer and academic, has held the position of UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories since 2022. The position authorizes her to monitor and report on alleged “human rights violations” by Israel against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Last week, Albanese issued a scathing report accusing companies of helping Israel maintain a so-called “genocide economy.” She called on the companies to cut off economic ties with Israel and warned that they might be guilty of “complicity” in the so-called “genocide” in Gaza.
Critics of Albanese have long accused her of exhibiting an excessive anti-Israel bias, calling into question her fairness and neutrality.
Albanese has an extensive history of using her role at the UN to denigrate Israel and seemingly rationalize Hamas’ attacks on the Jewish state.
In the months following the Palestinian terrorist group’s atrocities across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Albanese accused the Jewish state of perpetrating a “genocide” against the Palestinian people in revenge for the attacks and circulated a widely derided and heavily disputed report alleging that 186,000 people had been killed in the Gaza war as a result of Israeli actions.
The action comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington, where he has received a warm reception from the Trump administration. Netanyahu has been meeting with US officials to discuss next steps in the ongoing Gaza military operation.
Gideon Sa’ar, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Israel, commended the Rubio announcement with his own post on X/Twitter, exclaiming: “A clear message. Time for the UN to pay attention!”
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Hardball: Trump Administration Reports Harvard to Accreditor Over Antisemitism Allegations
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
The Trump administration escalated its showdown against Harvard University on Wednesday, reporting the institution to its accreditor for alleged civil rights violations resulting from its weak response to reports of antisemitic bullying, discrimination, and harassment following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre across southern Israel.
The US Department of Education (DOE) announced the action on Wednesday. Citing Harvard’s admitted failure to treat antisemitism as seriously as it treated others forms of hatred in the past, the DOE called on the New England Commission of Higher Education to review and, potentially, revoke its accreditation — a designation which qualifies Harvard for federal funding and attests to the quality of the educational services its provides.
“Accrediting bodies play a significant role in preserving academic integrity and a campus culture conducive to truth seeking and learning,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Part of that is ensuring students are safe on campus and abiding by federal laws that guarantee educational opportunities to all students. By allowing anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked on its campus, Harvard University has failed in its obligation to students, educators, and American taxpayers.”
The DOE, McMahon added, “expects the New England Commission of Higher Education to enforce its policies and practices, and to keep the Department fully informed of its efforts to ensure that Harvard is in compliance with federal law and accreditor standards.”
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism has acknowledged that the university administration’s handling of campus antisemitism fell well below its obligations under both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its own nondiscrimination policies.
In a 300-plus-page report, the task force compiled a comprehensive record of antisemitic incidents on Harvard’s campus in recent years — from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee’s endorsement of the Oct. 7 terrorist atrocities to an anti-Zionist faculty group’s sharing an antisemitic cartoon depicting Jews as murderers of people of color. The report identified Harvard’s past refusal to afford Jews the same protections against discrimination enjoyed by other minority groups as a key source of its problem.
Coming several weeks after President Donald Trump ordered the freeze of $2.26 billion in federal research grants and contracts for Harvard, the task force report found it was “clear” that antisemitism and anti-Israel bias have been fomented, practiced, and tolerated not only at Harvard but also within academia more widely.”
The university is now suing the federal government over the funding halt.
President Trump has spoken scathingly of Harvard, calling it, for example, an “Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institute … with students being accepted from all over the world that want to rip our Country apart” in an April post to his Truth Social platform.
In recent weeks, however, both Trump and McMahon had commended Harvard’s constructive response in negotiations over reforms the administration has asked it to implement as a precondition for restoring federal funds. The requested reforms include hiring more conservative faculty, shuttering diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI] programs, and slashing the size of administrative offices tangential to the university’s central educational mission.
The administration has since changed its tone in the wake of a report by The Harvard Crimson that interim Harvard President Alan Garber has said “behind closed doors” that he has no intention of doing anything that would make Harvard more palatable to conservatives.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism issued Harvard a formal “notice of violation” of civil rights law. Charging that Harvard willfully exposed Jewish students to a flood of racist and antisemitic abuse both in and outside of the classroom, it threatened to strip whatever remains of Harvard’s federal funding.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” wrote the federal officials comprising the multiagency Task Force. “Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again.”
In Wednesday’s announcement, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Harvard’s conduct “forfeits the legitimacy that accreditation is designed to uphold.”
“HHS and Department of Education will actively hold Harvard accountable through sustained oversight until it restores public trust and ensures a campus free of discrimination,” he said.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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IDF Strikes Hezbollah Sites in South Lebanon as Terror Group Pushes to Rebuild Amid US Disarmament Talks
IDF operating in southern Lebanon. Photo: IDF Spokesperson
Israeli forces uncovered and destroyed Hezbollah weapons caches in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as a new report indicated that despite ongoing U.S.-led efforts to secure a disarmament deal, the Iran-backed group is making repeated, largely concealed attempts to rebuild its military presence in the area.
Troops carried out several operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning, destroying weapons depots, explosives and multibarrel launchers concealed in forested terrain, the IDF said, in violation of the November ceasefire, which requires Hezbollah to withdraw its forces 20 miles from the Israeli border.
A new report released this week by the Alma Research and Education Center found that Hezbollah is focused on rebuilding in three areas: operational deployment, weapons acquisition, and financial recovery.
“Hezbollah didn’t give up its resistance narrative and motivation,” Alma’s director, Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, told The Algemeiner.
“It wants to rebuild its capabilities and infrastructures, whether it’s the villages that will be used as human shields or the military infrastructure in South Lebanon and in Lebanon in general.”
According to Zehavi, Hezbollah is attempting to return Radwan fighters to positions south of the Litani River as part of a wider plan to restore its elite forces to operational readiness. The IDF on Monday killed Radwan commander Ali Abd al-Hassan Haidar in a targeted strike. The action came hours after US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut to discuss a long-term deal that would include an Israeli withdrawal and complete disarmament of Hezbollah.
Barrack described the Lebanese response to the proposal as positive. Later, he issued a blunt warning to Hezbollah in response to a vow by the terror group’s leader, Naim Qassem, not to lay down its arms. “If they mess with us anywhere in the world, they will have a serious problem with us,” Barrack said in an interview with Lebanese news network LBCI. “They don’t want that.”
Zehavi said it was premature to predict the outcome of the diplomatic efforts. She warned that the challenge of disarming Hezbollah remains enormous and emphasized that the Lebanese Armed Forces have not demonstrated the capability or willingness to confront the group.
“It’s too soon to be optimistic or pessimistic,” she said, noting that no firm commitments have emerged from the Beirut talks.
Hezbollah’s efforts to smuggle and manufacture weapons have been complicated by both Israeli strikes and the regional realignment over recent months. While Israeli strikes have disrupted many supply routes, according to Zehavi, Syrian authorities have intercepted far more Hezbollah-bound weapons than the Lebanese Army, which claims to have uncovered 500 arms caches but has provided no evidence.
The financial front marks the third aspect of Hezbollah’s rebuilding effort. Last week, the group halted cash payments to Shiite civilians whose homes were damaged in the war, citing liquidity problems. Zehavi attributed the shortfall to disruptions in Iran’s funding networks — an outcome of the 12-day war against the regime in Tehran — and said the constraints would likely hamper Hezbollah’s ability to compensate its base and sustain operations.
“I hope they will continue to have problems with the cash flow, that way it will be very difficult for them to recover,” she said.
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