With Jews under siege, security is a priority
Hundreds of Jewish leaders from across the country are descending on Washington for an Emergency Leadership Fly-In convened by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Federations of North America.
We do not come as lobbyists or advocates but as witnesses — bearing testimony to a moment of profound vulnerability and rising danger for Jews in the United States, in Israel and around the world.
What began as a response to the harrowing attacks on Jewish communal events in Washington, DC, and Boulder, Colo., has become something more. It is now a national moment of resolve — a clarion call that we will not be cowed, we will not be silent, and we will not be divided.
The Jewish people are under siege — at home and abroad.
On American soil, synagogues, schools and community centers have become targets. Jewish students face intimidation on campus. Peaceful events are disrupted by mobs. Threats pour in daily. Law enforcement at all levels is unable to keep up.
Meanwhile, the Jewish state is locked in an existential war with Iran. Israel’s actions in this war are not only legitimate — they are vital to restoring deterrence, stability and the prospect of peace.
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Our enemies do not distinguish between Jerusalem and Manhattan, Tel Aviv and Los Angeles. And so we must respond with equal clarity, coordination and courage. The Fly-In addresses both pillars of our communal security: the physical safety of Jews in America and the sovereign defense of the State of Israel.
Over the course of 36 hours, participants were set to meet with congressional leaders, senior White House and Cabinet officials, and top homeland security and law-enforcement authorities. Together, we would deliver six urgent messages drawn from recent events and anchored in longstanding Jewish values:
1. Guarantee the full protection of Jewish institutions across America, both the physical facilities and the massive increase in costs for security personnel.
2. Ensure the FBI has the resources it needs to fight domestic terror.
3. Provide assistance to local law enforcement to increase their patrols and capacity to protect events and public spaces.
4. Fight incitement to violence on social media.
5. Prosecute hate crimes to the full extent of the law.
6. Affirm America’s enduring commitment to Israel’s security.
None of these are partisan positions. They are moral imperatives. They are Jewish responsibilities. And they are American values.
We do not come to Washington for spectacle or symbolism. We come because the stakes are real.
Our brothers and sisters in Boulder and Washington never imagined their gatherings would end in violence. Patients at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva likely believed hospitals were off-limits, even to the Iranian regime. But we have learned — again and again — that what begins with slogans often ends with suffering.
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The chants of “globalize the intifada” are not just words. The ayatollah’s threats are not just rhetoric. They are incitement. And they demand action.
This is a moment that calls for clarity, for courage, and above all, for unity. There are times when our community must turn inward to wrestle with internal divisions. But not now. Now is a time to stand shoulder to shoulder and declare to the nation’s leaders that we will not allow fear to dictate the Jewish future.
We thank the leaders of every participating organization, the dedicated professionals in our Washington offices, and the hundreds of Jewish leaders who are stepping away from their daily lives to help secure the future of our people.
In 2025, we face grave threats, but we do not face them alone. We carry with us the strength of generations, the resolve of a people, and a sacred mission: to ensure the safety, dignity and continuity of Jewish life — everywhere.
William Daroff is CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Eric Fingerhut is president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America.
