On May 18, two teenage gunmen killed three men at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and then turned the guns on themselves. Investigators found anti-Islamic writing in the suspect’s car and said the two teens had engaged in generalized hate rhetoric.
The attack on the Islamic Center comes only two months after an attack on a Synagogue in Michigan, and has renewed calls from Jewish leaders to increase safety funding for houses of worship.
The Jewish Federation of North America currently has 400 representatives in Washington lobbying for that increase in funding.
Threats and violence against U.S. religious institutions are on the rise, prompting synagogues, mosques, and churches across the country to ramp up security.
Antisemitism and Islamophobia have skyrocketed in the past three years, and both communities are often targets of hate groups.
According to FBI data, antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes both reached record highs in 2023 and the following years.
This attack has shaken the Muslim community in the U.S. This is how local and national Jewish institutions and leaders reacted.
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Our hearts are with the Islamic Center of San Diego and everyone grieving after Monday’s shooting. Three people—a security guard and two school staff members—were killed simply for being where they gathered to learn, work, and pray.
No one should feel unsafe in their house of worship. We know that fear—our community has carried it too—and we know it does not stay with one community. It reaches all of us.
This week, more than 400 Jewish Federation leaders are in Washington asking lawmakers to fund security for houses of worship across the country. Synagogue, mosque, church, temple. The threat does not stop at any one door, and neither does our resolve to keep one another safe.
To our Muslim neighbors in Cincinnati and beyond: we see you, we stand with you, and we grieve with you
The Jewish Fertility Foundation
Yesterday’s attack on a mosque is a wound we feel deeply. At the Jewish Fertility Foundation, we know this grief is not abstract: Muslim families are part of our community. We have interfaith grant recipients and support group members of all faith backgrounds, including many in the Muslim community, who come to us in some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
We also know what it means to be targeted. In March, staff member Taylor’s son was at Temple Israel when it was targeted. He was safe, but the fear of that day stays with you. That fear is what so many Muslim families are carrying right now.
No one should have to grieve the desecration of their holy space. No one should have to wonder if they are safe simply because of who they are and where they worship.
We stand with the Muslim community today and every day.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs
We are horrified by today’s shooting at a mosque in San Diego.
While we still wait to learn more details, what we know is this is particularly frightening in a moment when rising anti-Muslim hate and the gutting of anti-hate programs leave too many at risk and afraid.
The American Jewish Committee
We stand in solidarity with the Muslim community in the wake of the horrific shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont that left three people dead.
We commend law enforcement for the swift response to this attack, which is now being investigated as a hate crime.
As the Muslim community across the country grapples with this murderous assault, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring all houses of worship are safe. You are not alone.
Congressman Greg Landsman
Absolutely terrifying. The images of children being rushed to safety are heartbreaking.
Everyone deserves to be safe in their community, in their schools, and in their places of worship. Praying for this community