A spokesman for Michiana’s Jewish community says its members still generally feel safe after the murder of two people this week at a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., but they still hurt emotionally and they worry about the future.
Bob Feferman, community relations director for the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley, says like most synagogues nationally, South Bend area synagogues increased security in 2018 after a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. And Feferman says non-Jews locally and in most of the Midwest have shown sympathy and understanding for Israel’s situation since the Hamas attacks in 2023.
“We have not experienced direct threats to our community here in South Bend, for the most part," Feferman says. "They feel safe here locally but they are definitely saddened by this tragic event and I can see this in the Facebook posts of my friends. The concern is the atmosphere nationwide and that carries over. That can go anywhere. The shooter lives in Chicago and he went all the way to D.C. to murder these two people.”
Feferman says many local jews worry more about their friends and family in larger cities on the coasts and in Israel. That includes Feferman and his wife Shoshana, a rabbi in Valparaiso. Their son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren live in Israel.
“Just yesterday the Houtis in Yemen fired two missiles and they woke them up twice. So the sirens go off and they have to get up, get the kids up and take the dog and go to a saferoom. So we are definitely aware of how difficult their situation is."
Elias Rodriguez reportedly yelled “Free Palestine” before shooting the young Jewish couple at the museum. Federal officials are considering charging him with a hate crime.
