Synagogue asks for holiday police protection

A representative estimates 39 hours will be needed in September & October due to heightened antisemitism.

Representatives from Gemilas Chesed Synagogue in White Oak attended Monday’s council meeting to discuss getting police protection during their Jewish holiday services.

The synagogue is the only one in White Oak at the moment as Temple B’Nai Israel closed its doors back in May.

Vice President Larry Perl said there were some recent forms of violence against one of their synagogue members where their car was vandalized.

“We really need this service due to current antisemitic incidents,” Perl said. “We recently, as some of you know, a couple weeks ago, we had an incident involving damaging a car while the congregate was in service. He looks Jewish, and I’m not saying it was antisemitic, but they only damaged his car.”

The incident comes amid a spike in antisemitic violence across the country and in the Pittsburgh area since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Perl said the former police chief helped with the arrangement before. They expect to use around 39 total hours of police time during September and October, which includes the observances of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Council members stated that while they may have some policing staffing issues, they will do their best to accommodate the request.

Councilman Jason Russell said the White Oak community is sensitive to antisemitic behavior — both online and in person.

Perl said more incidents are coming to light in the area, adding that many are not made public and asserting that antisemitism does happen in White Oak.

“We greatly appreciate the service of the White Oak police,” Perl said. “During these incidents, White Oak police was invaluable with cameras and everything, so we appreciate that. They check out all the incidents. The world has changed, and we have talked to synagogues in Squirrel Hill and they are all having problems.”

The most recent reported instance of vandalism affecting a Jewish institution in the vicinity of White Oak occurred in July 2024 and involved the Chabad of Squirrel Hill synagogue in Pittsburgh.

According to our news partners at WTAE, that incident, which included antisemitic graffiti and a symbol associated with Hamas, was investigated as a hate crime by Pittsburgh police and the FBI.

In May, Pittsburgh police and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh asked the public for help in tracking down a group of people who they say were distributing hateful flyers targeting minority groups with a focus on the Jewish community.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission said in a statement in May that it strongly condemns the recent distribution of antisemitic rhetoric.

According to PHRC’s “2024 No Hate in Our State: Building Pennsylvania’s Beloved Community” Report, the FBI reported 285 hate crimes in Pennsylvania in 2023. The Southern Poverty Law Center identified 78 hate and anti-government groups in Pennsylvania, the fourth highest in the nation.

In the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism’s 2024 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, the organization recorded 465 antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania in 2024. That’s an increase from 394 in 2023 — 337 of the incidents involved harassment, 116 involved vandalism and

12 involved assaults.

“These attempts to intimidate and sow fear in our communities have no place in Pennsylvania,” PHRC Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter, MSW, said in the release. “Antisemitism, racism, and hatred is a persistent threat that demands collective action. At PHRC, we are committed to protecting the civil rights of all Pennsylvanians and ensuring that no community lives under the shadow of hate. We urge anyone with information to cooperate with authorities and help bring those responsible to justice.”

In other business Monday:

• The borough plans to apply for a $175,000 Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund grant for the veterans memorial project through its engineers. The resolution will be up for a vote at next week’s meeting.

• Council is not moving forward with a stop sign ordinance because there are several discrepancies in the data the borough received and multiple residents have concerns about some stop signs being removed. Council plans to discuss the issue with PennDOT.

• The Heritage Hill pool will be fully staffed through Aug. 17, but most employees will be going back to school in the coming weeks. Staffing issues will result in the pool being closed Aug. 18-22 and 25-29 and open Aug. 23, 24, 30, 31 and Sept. 1.