Protecting the synagogues (Illustration)
Photo: Israel Bardugo
Kick-ass rabbis team up to defend synagogues
Unsure of NYPD's ability to protect synagogues during holidays, black-belt rabbi establishes martial arts course to teach worshippers how to take down terrorists
A group of New York rabbis has developed a martial arts program that can turn any member of their congregation into a weapon against terrorists.
The group, which calls itself the International Security Coalition of Clergy, was established a few months ago by Rabbi Gary Moscowitz, according to the New York Post.
Moscowitz, a black-belt in Karate and a former NYPD officer, fears police won't be able to protect his fellow Jewish New Yorkers from attacks on synagogues during the High Holidays.
The 52-year old rabbi is determined to take matters into his own hands. "Jews are not like Christians," Moscowitz told the Post. "If I turn my cheek, I'm coming around to make a kick."
Last May police discovered a terrorist organization composed of Muslim Americans who planned to attack synagogues in the Bronx. The reports were a wake-up call for Moscowitz, who decided enough was enough.
He claims he doesn't fear Muslims specifically, but extremists in general. "We're just worried about the safety of the houses of worship that are being threatened with rhetoric on regular basis and extremism," Moscowitz said.
The rabbi explains that in the beginning no one took his organization seriously, but he was eventually able to loosen people up and build a course of around 100 hours.
The course teaches rabbis and synagogue-goers how to take down a terrorist who succeeds in entering the houses of worship, use tables as means of defense against gunfire, and to pull out a handgun while performing a flip.
Moscowitz, who spent nine years with the NYPD, says the city's police force is not well enough equipped to secure synagogues because it doesn't recognize the dangers.
"A terrorist could put a yarmulke on, say, 'Happy holidays,' and blow the place up," he warns.
