Parents at a Cooper City Chabad are keeping their kids close, watching a rifle-carrying guard stand sentry outside Hebrew school, and wondering how long they can live like this.
Rabbi Pinny Andrisier says repeated antisemitic messages near his campus have pushed his congregation into a new, unsettling normal. Security has tightened, and local leaders gathered this week for a roundtable that zeroed in on stepped-up patrols, slow-moving grant reimbursements, and the emotional toll on families who say ordinary places no longer feel fully safe.
According to CBS Miami, Andrisier said, "Our children need to feel safe," and described a car that regularly parks outside his campus with antisemitic messages displayed. He told the outlet that police have said the speech is protected, even as it rattles parents and staff. The rabbi also said he has poured about $150,000 into gated security, cameras and an alarm system, and that he has been waiting roughly four years for federal grant reimbursement. The report noted that law enforcement officials at the roundtable pledged increased vigilance at synagogues and Jewish facilities.
The congregation that runs Chabad of Southwest Broward has been serving the area since the early 1990s and is in the process of expanding to a larger Cooper City site, according to Chabad of Southwest Broward. The campus previously advertised a request for proposals for physical security upgrades, a sign that years of planning and hardening were already underway. Now that long-term work is colliding with immediate fears about very current threats.
Rising Incidents And Regional Briefings
Antisemitic incidents in Florida remain elevated, and the numbers are not exactly calming anyone’s nerves. Data compiled by the Anti-Defamation League shows there were 353 antisemitic incidents in the state in 2024, and the organization documented a coordinated wave of bomb threats that hit dozens of Jewish institutions in June 2024, according to the ADL.
An ADL release also notes that the organization and the Secure Community Network teamed up with the Jewish Federation of Broward County to provide regional security and intelligence briefings for local Jewish institutions. Those sessions are designed to help congregations adopt layered security plans and rapid-response protocols. The coordinated efforts aim to get practical training, intelligence and baseline security standards to synagogues and schools that do not have full-time security teams.
Patrols And Local Response
In the wake of these threats and the tense mood at places like Andrisier’s campus, local police agencies have stepped up patrols at synagogues and Jewish centers in recent weeks. Officers have been a more regular sight outside services and community events, a visible presence meant to reassure worshippers even as it reminds them why the officers are there in the first place.
As WSVN reported, officials with the Jewish Federation of Broward County have been urging even tighter coordination between congregations and law enforcement so that religious life can continue while people stay safe.
At the roundtable, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz stressed the need to call out hate in clear terms and to push for more resources. "Antisemitism is the oldest -ism," she warned, according to CBS Miami. Community and faith leaders said they plan to press federal agencies for clearer guidance on how security grants are processed and reimbursed, so synagogues are not left shouldering costly upgrades indefinitely. Police and community groups also pledged to keep communication channels open and to share intelligence and training with smaller institutions that do not have security staff of their own.
For now, congregations say they will keep beefing up visible precautions while pushing lawmakers and federal officials for faster reimbursements and more training for volunteer security teams. The goal, leaders say, is straightforward but hardly simple: protect daily life in schools, synagogues and community celebrations so that families can reclaim the routines that have long sustained South Florida’s Jewish communities.
