Iowa's Jewish community on high alert after recent hate crimes across the country
WAUKEE, Iowa — It's been more than a year and a half since the Oct. 7th Hamas attack on Israel, and even though it's on the other side of the world, it has been widely discussed and felt here in the U.S., including right here in Iowa.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines has watched everything happen over the last few years, taking extra precautions to stay safe in a time where there is a lot of hostility.
It is especially important after hate crimes across the country have happened, like a couple of weeks ago, two employees of the Israeli embassy were shot and killed in D.C. One of the victim's grandparents lives in Des Moines.
Then this past weekend, 15 people were injured in an attack in Boulder, Colorado.
Since Oct. 7th, 2023, more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents have been reported in the U.S. alone, according to the ADL.
'The situation really has put us on alert,' Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines Executive Director Jarad Bernstein said. 'It's both taking a toll physically and mentally. Physically, we make sure that we have security guards at all of our events, both at the Federation and synagogues. Mentally, it's taking a toll as well. To make sure it is safe for our community members to be out there publicly and proudly Jewish. And it's always also in the back of their mind, like, hey, this just happened not too far away. There are people who don't like us, and we just need to be aware of that and take precautions as a result.'
Last year, Attorney General Bird announced a statewide task force to combat anti-Semitism. Bernstein is a part of that group.
'We're focusing efforts on things that we think will matter, like ensuring that the criminal justice system and law enforcement officers know how to identify anti-Semitism and how to respond, making sure that university leaders,' he said. 'We see nationally big problems of anti-Semitism on college campuses, making sure that that doesn't happen in Iowa.'
'Antisemitism is real. It is present in Iowa, and we do need to combat it with all that we can. And that takes not just the Jewish community, but the help of everyone else.'
The Jewish community will continue to show its pride despite the challenges in the current climate.
'We are part of this community. We are your neighbors. We are your coworkers, your classmates. And, you know, the more that we are out there and educating people, hopefully the less hatred there will be.'
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