a giant issue with my community that is the elephant in the room is that in ideal circumstances, there would be no cops remotely near a synagogue. none. i have an extreme distrust of police for very obvious reasons but there is no other option to provide us protection. many communities in the south like mine cannot afford armed guards, and even though it exists with the fact that police and law enforcement often is heavily associated with antisemitic organizations there is pretty much no choice but to rely on them for protection. we know that police are not our friends. its pretty obvious. and it sucks as we also have to grapple with the very real fact that cops present makes black jews unsafe.
but no one is willing to offer protection otherwise. what is the option? let people firebomb our synagogue and just deal with it? let nazis break into our building and ransack the place? just pray for the best and be at the mercy of the people around us who actively present a real threat to us? i dont really know what the alternative is quite honestly.
this isnt even a bunch of jews being paranoid either, in the south there is very real threats to our lives we have to deal with.
kalayo