We Can All Help to Better Protect Bay Area Jewish Kids at School This Year

Originally published in J. The Jewish News of Northern California on September 10, 2024.

Over the past 11 months, the Bay Area Jewish community has experienced unprecedented levels of fear and concern as antisemitism has spiked regionally, nationally and internationally. 

We have witnessed antisemitic flyers distributed in neighborhoods and driveways, hateful graffiti and vandalism across the Bay Area, and suggestions to boycott Jewish-owned businesses.

These acts fundamentally undermine our sense of belonging and safety in the region we call home. All humans have an instinct to maintain the safety and security of their own communities, but this instinct is especially pronounced within the Jewish community, given our long history of persecution. Jews today are not only grappling with the current rise in antisemitism, but like many other marginalized communities, we carry the crushing weight of intergenerational trauma from centuries of oppression.

Still, we cannot give in to this fear and let it define us. And we certainly owe our children the sense that they are secure and free to openly identify as Jews. As a new school year begins, after months of unending trauma for Jews worldwide, it is imperative that our local community come together, rally around our young people and help pave the way for a better academic year.

I am fortunate to be part of the community security team at the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund. The team helps Jewish organizations significantly boost emergency preparedness by providing security training and empowering them to develop vital procedures, obtain essential equipment and implement facility improvements that instill confidence and allow Jews to gather and celebrate together.

Since Oct. 7, the community security team has been at the forefront of discussions throughout the Bay Area about the Jewish community’s safety and security. During that time, we have had a massive influx of requests for security training and advice around planning Jewish community events. 

We have also spoken to parents concerned about their children facing new forms of antisemitism at school and have worked closely with educators at colleges, K-12 schools and early childhood programs to share lessons learned during the past academic year and to hear their fears and concerns about how to best prepare parents and students returning to school now.

According to the FBI’s report “Reported Hate Crimes at School: 2018-2022,” 30% of juvenile victims of hate crimes were targeted at school. The number of anti-Jewish hate crimes at schools during that period were surpassed only by anti-Black hate crimes. And in 2022 specifically, 10% of all hate crimes in the U.S. occurred on college and K-12 campuses.

Data suggests that the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2024 will far surpass any recent year, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. The number is so high that in 2024, anti-Jewish hate crimes will potentially surpass anti-Black hate crimes for the first time in America’s 10 largest cities.

Last year, we were caught by surprise by the spike in antisemitism. 

Going into the new school year, parents are trying to prepare their children — and themselves — for another potentially tumultuous school year. We have seen numerous amazing grassroots groups of parents rallying around their kids and asking us how they can not only become advocates for their children but also learn how to keep them safer. 

After speaking with parents, synagogues, school administrators and Hillel directors throughout the Bay Area, we found that the Jewish community is torn between trying to create safe Jewish spaces for our kids and preparing them for the reality of the world that they currently live in.

Responding to this need, our team has created a “Protect Our Kids” safety series. This series aims to educate parents and students by providing safety information and training that brings together our Jewish history of perseverance with our modern safety expertise of over 40 years of counterterrorism and security work. 

We seek to educate parents, college students and high school students on how to make good decisions that prioritize safety, help students find and build Jewish community, and provide a sense of comfort and empowerment that we all can be agents of change in the Bay Area to create a better future.

There is a saying in Judaism that if a wedding and a funeral meet at an intersection, the wedding gets to go first. This is because we believe in always providing a way for life and new beginnings. And this school year is a new beginning for us all.

We invite preschool parents to join our Preschool Safety Webinar with EarlyJ from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, to learn about the latest security recommendations from our law enforcement partners. This program will cover material specific to early childhood education and has been developed through our partnership with EarlyJ and the Bay Area Early Childhood Educators Association.