WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — As the war between Israel and Hamas goes on, the impacts continue to be felt locally.
"I wouldn’t say there’s fear, but there’s anxiety. There’s awareness, there’s alertness," said Rabbi Yosef Wolvovsky, of the Chabad Jewish Center of Glastonbury.
While leaders said there have been no specific threats here in Connecticut they said it is important to be prepared.
"Whenever in the past violence has broken out in the Middle East we’ve seen an impact beyond the Middle East. We’ve seen Jewish communities targeted unfortunately and a rise in antisemitism," said David Waren, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford.
The federation has a community security director who serves Jewish institutions across the region. A position that was born out of a need for safety due to a recent rise in antisemitic incidents.
"He’s focusing on site assessments, security training, intelligence, law enforcement coordination. So it’s a very comprehensive effort and it’s already been in place for several years and is now serving us very well," Waren said.
When the conflict in the Middle East escalated over the weekend, local leaders said one of the first things they did was reach out to law enforcement partners.
Police were seen outside of synagogues and Jewish centers on Wednesday, in hopes of providing people with some peace of mind.
"If we don’t have safety and we don’t have peace of mind then we really don’t have anything as far as an operational level," Wolvovsky said.
He said, their security efforts also involved hiring security and volunteers from the community.
"People understand there has to be a rotation, there has to be a set of eyes, and so in addition to the hired help in addition to the police departments we organically sort of organized the volunteer operations within our congregations," Wolvovsky said,
On a federal level, this week lawmakers including Sen. Chris Murphy have called for more funding for security at places of worship.
Connecticut recently received $3.2 million for 23 synagogues and churches to make security enhancements.
A priority all the time.
"People have to feel secure. And that’s what we’re focused on," Waren said.
The West Hartford Police Department said in a statement:
"The West Hartford Police Department remains in constant contact with our local, state, federal, and private sector partners to assess, and prepare for, any potential threats to the safety of all of our community members. As current events unfold, members of the West Hartford Police Department stand ready to protect all of our community members and visitors, including at their places of worship and throughout the Town of West Hartford. We rely greatly on information we receive from the public, so we ask our community members to contact the West Hartford Police Department and report any incident that may pose a threat to public safety.
If any member of the public has any information regarding threats to public safety, please contact the West Hartford Police Department at (860) 523-5203, or 911 in the event of an emergency. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact can be made through the WHPD Tip Line/email at (860) 570-8969 / whpdtips@westhartfordct.gov."
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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