Jewish officials seek security funding, reforms after Michigan attack

Michigan’s Jewish lawmakers are calling for reforms to fight antisemitism, more security funding following Temple Israel attack
A lone gunman drove his car into the West Bloomfield-based synagogue on March 12. He was the only casualty of the attack
It’s unclear whether the state House will act, though officials say the Senate should take up at least one measure ‘soon’

Jewish state officials on Monday said more security funding, better education and updates to anti-terrorism laws are needed to combat antisemitism in Michigan.

“The Jewish community is incredibly small, but has a disproportionate target on our backs,” state Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, said at a press conference in Detroit. “So, it really needs a lot of support from outside of the Jewish community to say, ‘we can’t tolerate this problem, either.’”

The calls for legislative reforms and state funding for security came four days after a man drove his car through the front doors of Temple Israel in what the FBI called a “targeted” attack on the West Bloomfield synagogue, which is reportedly among the largest synagogues in North America.

Joining Moss at the Monday press conference was Attorney General Dana Nessel and Democratic state Reps. Noah Arbit and Samantha Steckloff — representing West Bloomfield and Farmington Hills, respectively. Arbit and Steckloff are also members of Temple Israel.

While Michigan has toughened hate crime laws and last year approved $4 million for the Jewish Federation of Detroit to implement community safety measures, the officials argued more could — and should — be done.

Steckloff said she has already begun discussions about more budget funding for Jewish facility security, asserting that last year’s allocation “helped ensure that every child” at Temple Israel’s early childhood learning center “made their way home to their family” last week.

The attacker was confronted by security guards after driving into the synagogue, and law enforcement officials believe he then fatally shot himself.

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It was at least the 18th physical attack on a US synagogue in the past decade, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which says violent antisemitism has “accelerated sharply” in recent years.

Steckloff did not say how much money she will seek this year through a legislatively directed spending item — more commonly known as an earmark. She did, however, say she will request enough to pay for security training for every Jewish congregation, school and community center in Michigan.

“I am working with the Jewish Federation to find out what that number might be,” Steckloff added.

Nessel urged the Legislature to approve Senate Bill 502, which would update Michigan’s anti-terrorism laws in the wake of a US Supreme Court ruling that changed the standard for proving a true threat. It would give prosecutors another avenue to pursue a potential felony charge, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both.

The bill passed out of a Senate committee Jan. 29, but has yet to receive a full Senate vote. Nessel said she’d recently spoken with Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, who “recognizes the great importance of this bill and is working hard” to pass the legislation.

It’s not immediately clear if House Republicans would support the legislation or additional safety funding for Jewish cultural and religious sites. A request for comment was left with the office of House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township.

Arbit said he also plans to introduce legislation to propose an Office of Hate Crime and Extremist Violence Prevention within Michigan’s executive branch and wants every school district in the state to adopt a training program on antisemitism crafted by the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University.

Moss called for action beyond Lansing.

“If antisemitism was such an easy and simple thing to snuff out, we would have snuffed it out already,” he said. “What it really depends on as well are non-legislative reactions — the goodwill of people to speak out and say that they, too, can’t tolerate this in their community.”

Federal officials have identified the Temple Israel attacker as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon. Reports from the Associated Press indicate Ghazali waited in his car outside the synagogue for two hours ahead of the attack, and was armed with a rifle, commercial grade fireworks and jugs of liquid believed to be gasoline.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun confirmed in a statement posted to social media late Thursday that not only was Ghazali a resident of the city, but that Ghazali had lost “lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”

In the days since, Israeli military officials have alleged Ghazali’s brother, Ibrahim Ghazali, was a Hezbollah commander who managed weapons for a unit that fired rockets at Israel.