American Jews Enter the High Holy Days With Security Plans, Political Divisions and a Lot to Carry

American Jewish communities are entering the High Holy Days with prayer books, family traditions and security briefings—a combination no house of worship should have to treat as normal.

Congregations report heightened anxiety over antisemitic threats while also wrestling with deep disagreements about Israel, Gaza and Zionism. Rabbis face the difficult task of creating space for repentance and renewal without pretending the outside world has paused for the holidays.

Security has become part of religious preparation

Jewish organizations are training congregations, coordinating with law enforcement and seeking more federal support for nonprofit security. Those measures reflect real threats against synagogues and Jewish institutions from multiple extremist movements.

Protection must not require turning worship into a fortress. Communities are trying to remain welcoming while making plans for emergencies—an emotional and financial burden layered onto an already vulnerable season.

Internal disagreement is not disloyalty

Jewish Americans hold a wide range of views about Israeli policy, Palestinian rights and the war. The High Holy Days invite moral accounting, which means difficult questions belong inside the tradition rather than being treated as betrayal.

The Associated Press reported on the fears, divisions and preparations shaping the 2026 observances.

Antisemitism should be confronted without using it to silence legitimate policy criticism, and criticism of Israel should never become permission to target Jewish people. The distinction is not complicated. The refusal to make it is.