Published by NBC4 on 6/4/2025 As the nation continues to heal from a wave of antisemitic attacks, Jewish communities find themselves living in fear. One Maryland rabbi says he and his community are constantly looking over their shoulders. “Throughout the whole Jewish community in general, there’s a whole sense of apprehension and heightened sense of fear,” Stuart Weinblatt told News4. Security has been top of mind at Congregation B’Nai Tzedek in Potomac, where Weinblatt is a rabbi emeritus. In the wake of the murders outside the Capital Jewish Museum, several local police agencies have stepped up their presence outside of Jewish institutions, including D.C., Montgomery County and Fairfax County. One Jewish student at American University says FBI agents had to guard his piano recital after someone wrote on his concert poster: “Death to the Zionists, Hitler was right.” Last year, the D.C.-based Brandeis Center for Human Rights filed a civil rights complaint against American University, accusing the school of ignoring discrimination and harassment. More recently, lawyers at the Brandeis Center say complaints of antisemitism have gone up tenfold since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel 2023. Reflecting on this development, Brandeis Center President Alyza Lewin said, “It’s very disturbing for the community, because the community has been trying to raise awareness that this was where we were headed for years.” These incidents are not isolated to D.C. In the wake of the flamethrower attack on a group of Jewish people in Boulder, Colorado, Rabbi Weinblatt says his family in New York is worried, as well. “My granddaughter was about to take the subway, and my daughter told her to put away her Jewish star, not to wear it,” he said. “And she said, ‘Mom, I don’t agree with you, but I’ll respect you.’ And that’s the kind of thing we’re having to think about.” As Lewin pointed out, many Jewish groups are now keeping the location of their events secret to avoid threats. These are all new efforts for Jewish communities as they grapple with how best to stay safe. “One of the first steps in addressing antisemitism is recognizing that there actually is an antisemitism problem,” Lewin said.