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My Synagogue's Anti-Semitism Tax
(Wall Street Journal) Howard Husock - Serving on my synagogue's board of trustees, I found that more than 5% of our budget is now devoted to security to protect the congregation. I call it the anti-Semitism tax. When I reviewed the budgets of mainline Protestant churches in my own community, I found no security line items remotely on par with those in my synagogue. There have been numerous shootings at religious sites in recent years, but the Jewish community has been the greatest target of religious-based hate crimes in the U.S. since official reporting started. I'm chary about the message sent by the synagogue as fortress. We risk giving prospective new members the impression that attending shul is dangerous. The writer is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.