Tags: jerusalem | security | high holy days | police | synagogues | threats | holidays

Jerusalem Tightens Security for High Holy Days

By    |   Thursday, 14 September 2023 09:47 AM EDT

For the first time, the Jerusalem District Police announced that every synagogue in the city will have an armed security guard during the period of the upcoming High Holy Days, which begins on Friday evening.

"There is an increase in alerts and threats of all kinds exist on the days of Selichot, and on the weekdays as well as on the holidays," Doron Turgeman, the commander of the Jerusalem District said according to Ynet News.

Unlike in Europe, where most synagogues have security measures and police protection around the clock, Israeli houses of prayer don't usually have armed security present.

The police will also create additional checkpoints and crowd control measures to grapple with the tens of thousands of expected visitors to the Western Wall plaza, the Jerusalem Post reported.

"Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are significant holidays, and even though there are no simultaneous Muslim events, this remains a challenge," Turgeman told Israeli Channel 12.

"At the Western Wall, the limit of participants is almost 20,000 people at any given time. As soon as the place is full, the police will stop the entry from the Jaffa Gate and the other gates [of the Old City]."

The police will dynamically reroute Muslim and Jewish worshippers on their way through the Old City to the Temple Mount to keep them from harming each other.

Turgeman said that to deescalate the situation ahead of the holidays, "Eight people were banned from the Temple Mount just yesterday," adding that "there are 110 people being addressed in preventive actions because of the suspicion that they will incite and carry out hostile activities."

On Wednesday the police announced that they have completed preparations in the capital for the upcoming major events.

In Jerusalem alone, this year saw 19 terror attacks while 31 other incidents were thwarted by the police.

This article originally appeared on All Israel News and is reposted with permission.

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For the first time, the Jerusalem District Police announced that every synagogue in the city will have an armed security guard during the period of the upcoming High Holy Days, which begins on Friday evening.
jerusalem, security, high holy days, police, synagogues, threats, holidays
318
2023-47-14
Thursday, 14 September 2023 09:47 AM
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