(JTA) — The suspected assailant, armed with rifles and smoke bombs, who rammed into Temple Israel on Thursday encountered a synagogue that was well prepared for just such an attack.

He hit and injured the congregation’s security director with his car as he plowed through the synagogue’s doors and drove down a hallway. But he didn’t manage to harm anyone else as he was found dead after trained and armed security guards shot at him

And because the rest of the staff knew exactly how to respond to an active shooter threat.

“We always worry that you can plan and plan and plan and practice and practice, and it won’t matter, because it will be something else, but it feels like a miracle that everything worked the way it was supposed to, that our team was so incredibly brave, local law enforcement’s been amazing, and that everybody’s OK,” Rabbi Jen Lader of Temple Israel told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and West Bloomfield County Police Chief Dale Young also immediately praised the security response in the wake of the attack.

“I am deeply proud of the response, not only from the security that was on site, but also of all the police officers and the firefighters that are here right now, we train on active shooter events a lot,” Young said during a press conference outside the synagogue on Thursday. “I think that training certainly helped to mitigate what happened here today.”

Indeed, it was a situation that Jewish institutions across the United States have trained for, as antisemitism and threats of violence have ticked up in recent years, especially following the 2018 synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 Jews during Shabbat services. The rabbi of a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, credited a security training with enabling him to respond when a man took him and three congregations hostage in 2022.

“Everybody flees danger, and our team went straight toward it, and they were the ones who neutralized the terrorist and saved everybody,” said Lader. “And our teachers followed, you know, to the absolute letter, our active shooter training and lockdown procedures, and saved every kid.”

Beyond the synagogue’s full-time director of security, Lader said Temple Israel also has a full team of armed security guards on the premises at all times as well as a remote security system that is able to secure different areas of the building during threats.

In late January, FBI agents also visited Temple Israel to train clergy and staff about how to respond to an active shooter.

According to a social media post from FBI Detroit, the Active Shooter Attack Prevention and Preparedness course “combines lessons learned from years of research and employs scenario-based exercises to help participants practice the decision-making process of the Run, Hide, Fight principles and take necessary actions for survival.”

Michael Masters, the national director and CEO of the Secure Community Network, an organization that coordinates security for Jewish institutions nationwide, said that the outcomes of the attack Thursday reflected the preparedness of Temple Israel.

“Investing in security is an investment, it’s a down payment on the Jewish future,” said Masters. “The community that made up the synagogue, the larger Detroit Jewish community, has been making that investment for years and years, and today, that investment paid off and lives [were] saved.”

Among the security measures that Masters said his organization recommended were “bollards or fences or natural obstructions” to the building, controlling access to the facility through reinforced doors or windows and having a security presence.

“What we hope this reaffirms is that security needs to be an ongoing investment in order to allow Jewish life, faith based life, to thrive,” said Masters. “And very much that investment can result, and did result, in Jewish lives being saved, and so we all need to recognize that and commit ourselves as members of the community at every level to be a part of making that investment at whatever level we can.”

In the wake of the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington D.C. in June, the synagogue hosted a town hall on hate crimes and extremism.

Among the speakers at the town hall was Noah Arbit, a lifelong congregant of Temple Israel who represents West Bloomfield in the Michigan House of Representatives. Arbit said in an interview on Thursday that after he first learned of the attack while working on the state house floor, he immediately began to cry and raced down to his home synagogue.

“I campaigned on taking on hate crimes,” said Arbit. “To be working on these issues, and then to see it come home to roost in my own community, in my own synagogue, in my hometown that I represent is, frankly, just like my worst nightmare.”

While Arbit praised the response by security and law enforcement as the attack unfolded, he said he was “outraged and enraged and deeply pained that it was necessary in the first place.”

“Jewish communities across the country and world have watched, you know, for the past decade, as our institutions have congealed into fortresses,” he said. “We are now forced to live behind, basically, you know, militarized, institutionally securitized institutions, and what a shame that is. It’s not just a shame, It’s unfathomable, it’s unforgivable.”

For Rabbi Mark Miller of Temple Beth El, another Reform synagogue a 20-minute drive away in Bloomfield Hills, the attack on Temple Israel served as a stark reminder of why security infrastructure was essential for Jewish institutions.

“This is one of those moments when, for years and years, we have bemoaned that we have to put so much time and energy into security for our institutions,” said Miller. “And this is one of those days that reminds us that we don’t have a choice.”

Miller’s synagogue had a recent security crisis of its own, when a man drove through its parking lot in December 2022 and shouted antisemitic threats as parents walked their preschoolers into the building. The assailant, Hassan Chokr, was sentenced to 34 months in prison in September for illegally possessing multiple firearms inside a gun store after leaving the synagogue.

“It’s a terrifying day, obviously for a lot of people, especially for parents with their kids at not only Temple Israel but at ours and other temples and Jewish institutions,” Miller said.

Lader said that among her congregants, two competing sentiments had jumped out: Those who “never, in a million years, in our heart of hearts, thought it was ever going to happen to us” and others who “knew it was only a matter of time before it knocked on our door.”

But another feeling was even stronger, she said.

“I think the overarching sentiment, and the one that I want to make sure gets out there, is our absolute gratitude to our internal teams, our amazing staff, local law enforcement and our teachers for really, like, a building full of absolute heroes, who were able to keep us safe,” Lader said.

The post A gunman rammed a Michigan synagogue. Its security preparations may have saved lives. appeared first on The Forward.

The newly elected president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) has warned that Jews across Italy are facing a deepening climate of hostility, fear, and targeted violence, sounding the alarm over what she described as a growing antisemitic threat.

During her first press conference on Monday as the newly appointed head of UCEI, the main representative body of Italian Jews, Livia Ottolenghi laid out the priorities of her mandate, highlighting efforts to strengthen Jewish communal life and tackle antisemitism that, she warned, “affects the entire society.”

“My commitment will be focused on consolidating the UCEI’s role as a point of reference for Italian Jewish communities and as an authoritative voice on the national and international scene,” she said. “It is essential that we work together to ensure the continuity, cohesion, and future of Italian Judaism.”

“In Italy, Jews don’t live well,” she continued. “Or rather, we live well only thanks to the police. Schools have bars on the windows, students must be escorted whenever they leave, and from kindergarten to university, we face serious challenges even in the simple practice of our Judaism.”

Ottolenghi added, “It’s far from a peaceful situation. Yet we continue to live our religious and civic lives fully, without fear.”

Previously a professor of Dentistry at Sapienza University of Rome, the 63-year-old Jewish leader warned that the alarming rise of antisemitism in Italian society and the surge in attacks “demands everyone’s attention,” urging both authorities and citizens to take immediate action to protect the community.

During the press conference in Rome, Ottolenghi also praised the Italian Senate’s recent approval of a bill aimed at combating antisemitism, calling it a crucial step for the community and emphasizing the need for continued legislative and societal efforts to combat hatred and protect Jewish life.

“It’s an important law, and we welcome its approval, as we believe it addresses a genuine and pressing need,” she said.

The legislation, which adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, also lays the groundwork for a national strategy against antisemitism, according to the European Jewish Congress. The three-year plan will focus on improving the monitoring of antisemitic incidents, strengthening security for Jewish communities, and promoting educational initiatives in schools.

The strategy further calls for training programs for public officials, the military, and law enforcement, and includes measures both to counter antisemitic hate speech online and to promote awareness of Jewish history and culture.

“Antisemitism is not a concern solely for Jews. It is a structural poison in our society, a direct threat to democratic principles and civil coexistence,” Ottolenghi continued. “The Senate’s consensus — though not as broad as hoped — sends a strong and unequivocal signal: combating anti-Jewish hatred is a shared national priority.”

Addressing growing regional tensions in the Middle East and the war against Iran, Ottolenghi described the situation as “worrying and fraught with unpredictable consequences that we all fear.”

Like most countries across the Western world, Italy has seen a rise in antisemitic incidents over the last two years, in the wake of the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Across the country, Jewish individuals have been facing a surge in hostility and targeted attacks, including vandalism of murals and businesses, as well as physical assaults. Community leaders have warned that such incidents become more frequent amid tensions related to the war in Gaza.

In November, a pro-Palestinian individual brutally attacked a group of Orthodox Jewish American tourists at Milan’s Central Station, allegedly chasing one of the victims, punching and kicking him, and striking him in the head with a blunt metal ring.

During the attack, the assailant reportedly shouted antisemitic insults and threats, including “dirty Jews” and “you kill children in Palestine, and I’ll kill you.”

In September, a Jewish couple was walking through Venice in traditional Orthodox clothing when three assailants confronted them, shouted “Free Palestine,” and physically attacked them, slapping both.

This incident followed another attack on a Jewish couple in Venice the month before, when a man and his pregnant wife were harassed near the city center by three unknown individuals.

The attackers approached the couple, shouting antisemitic insults and calling the husband a “dirty Jew,” while physically assaulting them by throwing water and spitting on them.

One of the assailants later set his dog on the couple in an attempt to intimidate them before the group stole their phones.

Last month, the Milan-based CDEC Foundation (Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation) confirmed that antisemitic incidents in Italy almost reached four digits for the first time last year, spiking to record levels.

Of 1,492 reports submitted through official monitoring channels, the CDEC formally classified a record high 963 cases as antisemitic, according to the European Jewish Congress and UCEI.

By comparison, there were 877 recorded incidents in 2024, preceded by 453 such outrages in 2023 and just 241 in 2022.

Norwegian police have arrested one person following an armed operation after a high-speed car chase near the Trondheim synagogue on Thursday evening, in an incident that sparked fear and emergency responses across the area.

Local authorities in Trondheim, a city in central Norway, say the exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear.

According to police reports, the incident began when officers tried to stop a vehicle near the city’s synagogue, but a passenger suddenly jumped out and fled on foot carrying what may have been a bag, while the stolen car sped away.

As the driver fled, a half-hour police chase unfolded, ending near Svorkmo, a village in central Norway, where officers used a spike strip to force the vehicle to stop.

Local media reported that the driver was taken into custody, though authorities have not released further details.

Police continue to search for a second suspect, maintaining a heavy presence around the synagogue with drones, while officers have reportedly been seen wearing bulletproof vests and carrying rifles and protective shields.

As of now, police have started lifting the cordons and scaling back security around the synagogue, which had been secured earlier ahead of a scheduled event.

Officials have confirmed that there is no immediate threat to the public in central Trondheim.

“Everything indicates that no connection can be made between the threat against the synagogue and this incident,” incident commander Karl Småland said.

This latest development comes amid an increasingly hostile climate for Jews and Israelis in Europe, with several Jewish institutions facing targeted attacks as regional tensions in the Middle East escalate and the war with Iran intensifies.

In Norway, police had stepped up security around synagogues and Jewish institutions following the March 8 attack on the US embassy in Oslo.