MILWAUKEE COUNTY — A man rammed a car into a Jewish temple preschool on Thursday near Detroit, Michigan, in what the FBI is calling a targeted attack, prompting renewed safety concerns among Jewish community members in Wisconsin.
A security guard was struck by the vehicle during the attack, which also led to gunfire. None of the students or staff inside the synagogue were hurt.
For Abby Bar-Lev Wiley, a Jewish mother in Wisconsin whose children attend a Jewish preschool, the attack hit close to home.
"It's the midwest. It was at a preschool, at a reform synagogue. I go to a reform synagogue," Bar-Lev Wiley said.
Bar-Lev Wiley said dropping her children off at school the morning after the attack was an emotional experience.
"It's scary every time it happens and certainly bringing my kids into school this morning, I tried to stop and express to the security guards what their presence there means to us," Bar-Lev Wiley said.
Watch: Wisconsin Jewish community responds to Michigan synagogue attack, ramps up security
She said she knows other Jewish community members who have begun scaling back their participation in Jewish life out of fear.
"Hiding their Jewish stars when they're out, not going to events they would otherwise go to, not going to synagogue that they might otherwise go to. It's a hard tension to navigate," Bar-Lev Wiley said.
Despite those fears, Bar-Lev Wiley urged her community to respond with resilience.
"When we are made to be afraid, we respond by saying, 'no, we're going to be more Jewish than ever. You can't make us afraid,'" Bar-Lev Wiley said.
Rabbi Noah Chertkoff of Congregation Shalom in metro Milwaukee said the attack in Michigan reflects a broader national and global trend of heightened security at Jewish institutions.
"I can't think of a synagogue nationwide or even globally that isn't elevating their level of awareness of what's happening and elevating their security," Rabbi Noah said.
Rabbi Noah said his congregation first increased security in October after Hamas attacked Israel. He said the conflict has contributed to the current climate of concern.
"I think that there's a part of it that ties to the war in Iran that these things are happening in an imminent way right now," Rabbi Noah said.
The organization that provides security at synagogues and schools says there are no active threats to the Jewish community, but it is actively monitoring the situation and is in close contact with law enforcement.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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