Security and nonlethal weapons experts tell Fox News Digital Jewish Americans are taking self-defense precautions amid soaring hate crime stats.
Jewish Americans, bearing witness to soaring antisemitism across the country, are taking self-defense precautions during the back-to-school season with the high holidays approaching.
Community Security Service (CSS) CEO Richard Priem tells Fox News Digital his organization has worked with approximately 500 synagogues and has trained an additional 15,000 community members around the country on how to keep their houses of worship safe amid a heightened threat environment.
In the 11 months since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, combined with rising levels of antisemitism at home, Priem said CSS has seen a "massive increase in demand" for its services, as the organization provides a sense of "empowerment" to Jewish Americans seeking the tools to "take ownership" of their own security.
"When we talk about self-defense, you're not looking at it purely from, you know, can I physically defend myself? But it's also about the Jewish community taking some ownership over their own security, not to replace law enforcement, not to replace paid security, but to add an additional layer of community security that we own," Priem told Fox News Digital. "Our mission is to protect Jewish life and the Jewish way of life. On the one hand, we want to increase security around Jewish institutions and events so that we can protect the people inside. But we also want to maintain the Jewish way of life, meaning we want to be able to continue living as Jewish Americans who participate in all aspects of American life, but also Jewish life, free from fear."