A county patrol vehicle guards the Lubavitch Jewish Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rabbi Pinchus Ciment of Lubavitch of Arkansas said, “We work together with law enforcement to make sure things can operate in a safe way.”
At the nearby Congregation B’Nai Israel, tiny pieces of broken glass remain as evidence from an act of vandalism.
“I can’t say how it happened but it certainly has never happened before,” said Annabelle Imber Tuck, Temple B’Nai Israel Congregation president.
Both incidents are examples of growing antisemitism across America’s heartland.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack, Little Rock synagogues have been the target of two bomb threats, creating safety concerns for Jewish congregations.
“These are incidents we usually see in large metropolitan communities, not in our smaller communities,” said Lindsay Baach Friedman with the Anti-Defamation League. “So it’s even more shocking, it’s even more unsettling, to see and hear that the Little Rock Jewish community is so deeply impacted.”
A recent national survey revealed antisemitism to be at its highest level since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking the data more than 40 years ago.
Lindsay added, “Nationally, ADL is reporting out over 3,300 incidents of antisemitism since October 7th. Since the war
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