At sundown on Friday, Sept. 11, as America marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, Jewish families across the country will welcome in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year marking 5787.

They will enter synagogues at the moment of peak annual attendance, walking past armed guards, security cameras, secured doors and bag checks.

The convergence brings into focus how the Sept. 11 attacks transformed security in American synagogues and helped create the national infrastructure that now protects Jewish life.

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When Rosh Hashanah began six days after the attacks in 2001, a security guard stationed outside a synagogue was still unusual. Twenty-five years later, security is no longer an occasional precaution. It has become a permanent precondition of Jewish communal life.

«The confluence of events, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and Rosh Hashanah, is really very meaningful to us,» Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, told Fox News Digital. «If you trace the evolution of the security situation for the Jewish community in North America, you see that 9/11 really was a major turning point.»

Before the attacks, Fingerhut said, synagogues may have relied on police to direct traffic during the High Holidays or installed basic alarm systems, but there was no widespread belief that Jewish communities needed protection from threats to their physical safety.

Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue, Thursday, March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (Corey Williams/AP Photo)

«That changed on 9/11,» he said. «The Jewish community understood quite clearly that the people who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacking America that day, but they had a special animus for the Jewish community and the Jewish people.»

Fingerhut said that shift led Jewish Federations of North America to help create the Secure Community Network after 9/11, giving communities a model for protecting Jewish institutions and a unified channel to federal law enforcement.

For generations, Rosh Hashanah preparation meant apples and honey, prayer books and the shofar. Now the checklist also includes secured entrances, emergency plans and congregants standing watch while their neighbors pray.

The price of that new reality is staggering.

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Two flags flutter on a fence in front of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center at the Tear Drop 9/11 Memorial at sunset on June 13, 2026, in Bayonne, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

A national study by Jewish Federations of North America found that Jewish communal institutions spend an estimated $1 billion annually on security. Based on an examination of more than 4,500 institutions, that amounts to nearly $2.8 million every day simply to keep Jewish life open and accessible.

The organization leads the national initiative placing professional security directors across all 141 Federation communities.

Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, described the contrast on his own block.

«If you walk past the churches on our block, the doors are wide open, inviting people in,» Steinmetz told Fox News Digital. «But at our synagogue, there are security cameras, a double door system and a line of guards outside, at the cost of untold thousands of dollars.»

That security is no longer reserved for major institutions or large cities. From New York and Florida to Michigan and Los Angeles, ordinary worshipers are training in situational awareness, access control, surveillance detection, emergency response and coordination with law enforcement.

A close-up image of a Jewish man wearing a traditional tallit (prayer shawl) and tefillin during morning prayers. The tallit features blue decorative embroidery with Hebrew script, while the tefillin is wrapped around the arm, signifying a deep moment of spiritual connection. This powerful image captures the essence of Jewish worship, devotion, and tradition—ideal for themes of religion, faith, and cultural rituals. in a quiet moment of devotion, a Jewish worshipper wraps himself in tradition—tallit draped over the shoulders, tefillin bound tightly around the arm. This image reflects the sacred rhythm of daily prayer, echoing centuries of spiritual practice and connection with the divine. (iStock)

The Community Security Service, or CSS, said more than 20,000 people completed its training in 2025. Of those, 6,100 volunteers protected 440 synagogues and nearly 100 Jewish events, logging more than 300,000 guard hours across 24 states.

The Secure Community Network, or SCN, provides national intelligence and coordination. In 2025, it recorded 4,400 incident reports, trained 40,000 people and made 851 referrals to law enforcement.

«While the threat environment accelerates, our community has never been more prepared, informed or engaged,» Michael Masters, SCN’s national director and CEO, told Fox News Digital. «This year our Duty Desk logged nearly 3,200 threat incidents, pacing ahead of last year.»

Steinmetz said threats to the Jewish community «exploded after Oct. 7th,» adding that «the hatred of Israel encourages antisemites to come out of the woodwork.»

The FBI recorded 1,528 hate crime incidents targeting Jews in 2025, representing 63% of the nation’s 2,408 religiously motivated incidents. Jews comprise roughly 2% of the U.S. population, yet incidents targeting Jews represented 14% of all hate crimes reported nationwide.

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Jewish students at El Camino Real Charter High School during a walkout protesting antisemitic incidents at the Woodland Hills school on Tuesday, Feb. 2024. (Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

During the first eight months of 2026, major crime fell 6.2% across New York City while confirmed hate crimes targeting Jews rose 8%, from 212 to 229, according to new NYPD figures. That averages nearly one such crime every 25 hours.

Fox News Digital contacted NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about the department’s High Holiday preparations. The NYPD said it will hold a briefing ahead of the holidays and provide additional security details at that time.

In neighboring New Jersey, the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said it is coordinating with the state Attorney General’s Office, New Jersey State Police, the FBI’s Newark field office, local law enforcement and community partners.

«Together, we are protecting houses of worship, helping ensure every New Jerseyan can practice their faith without fear, and keeping New Jersey safe and secure,» NJOHSP said.

The coordination follows recent attacks on Jewish institutions.

On Aug. 14, a man was charged with allegedly disrupting a Friday night service attended by approximately 375 people at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, damaging ceremonial candlesticks and assaulting a congregant and security guard. The charges against include federal hate crimes and damaging religious property resulting in bodily injury.

Five months earlier, an attacker inspired by Hezbollah rammed a pickup truck carrying gasoline and fireworks through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, according to the FBI. Armed with a rifle and hundreds of rounds, he struck one security guard and exchanged gunfire with others.

Inside were 140 children at the synagogue’s early childhood center. Every child and staff member escaped without physical injury and the guard survived.

For Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, the assault remains a powerful reminder of the need for vigilance as families prepare to gather.

Members of the New York Police Department patrol in front of a synagogue on Oc. 13, 2023 in the Williamsburg neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Security has increased in New York City in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel and after a former leader of Hamas called for Friday the 13th to be a global Jihad day. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

«We take the security of our community with the utmost seriousness, and, of course, the assault on Temple Israel remains fresh in our minds,» Ingber said. «We will enter the High Holidays vigilant and prepared. But we will also enter them with confidence and pride.»

Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in suburban Detroit, who also serves as president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis, said Jewish Michiganders are entering the new year «with a feeling of heaviness.»

«From marking the 25th year since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to marking six months since the terrorist attack on our community and especially our children, anxieties are heightened,» Starr told Fox News Digital exclusively. «We enter with heaviness, but we are also filled with hope for a better tomorrow.»

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«No family should have to weigh their safety against their faith,» Fingerhut said.

Employing one full-time security guard costs an estimated $90,000 annually, according to Jewish Federations of North America. The organization is advocating for greater federal support through the bipartisan Jewish American Security Act, which would strengthen security assistance for at-risk nonprofit institutions.

For Jewish communities, the question is no longer whether security is necessary, but who will bear the growing cost of making worship possible.

A Bronx man was charged with multiple hate crimes after allegedly disrupting Shabbat services and attacking a congregant and security member at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, police said. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

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Steinmetz called that cost «a vicious tax on the Jewish community,» one «levied by the antisemites.»

For Fingerhut, the purpose of security is not simply to prevent an attack. It is to ensure fear never determines whether a Jewish family participates in Jewish life.

«We do not want anyone to make the choice not to participate in Jewish life because they are afraid for their safety,» Fingerhut said. «What we have learned is that the visible presence of security, and the real impact of that security, is what enables and encourages people to come out and participate in Jewish life.»

Fingerhut’s message to Jewish communities in America and around the world was clear: do not retreat, but continue to «lean into Jewish life.»

He said, «We will make sure that there is safety and security in place so that we can all feel confident in our involvement in Jewish life.»

That is the purpose, according to the experts, of every guard, camera and volunteer: not to turn a synagogue into a fortress, but to ensure that Jewish life continues inside.

As Americans weigh the costs and benefits of massive data centers emerging in their towns to fuel the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, the country’s reddest state could be poised to capitalize on billions of dollars in investment that other states are increasingly reluctant to welcome.

With wide-open spaces, abundant energy and a business-friendly environment, Wyoming has many of the ingredients tech companies are looking for as they race to expand their AI infrastructure in the U.S.

The opportunity comes as the rapid buildout of data centers has sparked political fights across the country over their enormous electricity demands, water use and tax treatment.

As some states and communities consider new taxes, restrictions or even moratoriums on data center construction, Wyoming has a chance to position itself as an alternative. Supporters argue the projects could bring billions of dollars onto local tax rolls and potentially ease the burden on homeowners.

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And Wyoming already checks many of the boxes data center developers are looking for.

«Data centers need a few things. They need land, they need affordable energy, they need to avoid natural disasters, and, of course, they need regulatory approval,» Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation, told Fox News Digital.

The Cowboy State also already has high-capacity fiber running along major interstate corridors, Walczak said, giving developers another key piece of infrastructure.

«If more states start imposing discriminatory taxes just on data centers, then places like Wyoming, at least as long as they don’t do likewise, can become even more attractive,» he said.

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As states weigh the costs and benefits of data center development, Wyoming could stand to attract billions in AI investment with its abundant land, energy and favorable business environment. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/Contributor/AFP/Getty Images)

Wyoming is wrestling with some of the same questions confronting communities elsewhere.

Cheyenne officials rejected a proposed one-year moratorium on new data centers in May following public debate over electricity rates, water use and other concerns. Wyoming lawmakers have also considered reclassifying data centers as industrial property, a move that would subject them to a higher property tax assessment rate.

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But Walczak argues that attracting the facilities could deliver a significant payoff for Wyoming homeowners.

«You have potentially billions of dollars worth of taxable property coming into a couple hundred acres,» he said. «And that’s the sort of increase in the tax base that can allow significant property tax relief for every other payer in the jurisdiction.»

Wyoming is emerging as a potential hub for AI data centers as tech companies search for locations with ample land and access to affordable energy. (George Rose/Getty Images)

«Wyoming’s been having a lot of conversations about lowering property taxes,» Walczak added. «This is a great way to do that.»

He pointed to Loudoun County, Virginia, the country’s largest data center market, as an example of how that tax base can benefit residents.

«Data centers provide about 45% of all local tax revenue to Loudoun County,» Walczak said, adding that the average homeowner would pay an estimated $5,800 more annually in property taxes without the industry.

Wyoming’s abundant land and energy could make the Cowboy State an increasingly attractive destination for billions of dollars in AI data center investment. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images)

The economic upside comes with a broader debate over who pays for the infrastructure needed to serve the power-hungry facilities.

Walczak said data centers can avoid pushing those costs onto residents if operators pay for the additional generation and transmission capacity they require.

For Wyoming, that leaves policymakers facing the same question confronting states nationwide as they look to capture a piece of the AI investment boom without leaving residents to shoulder the costs.