Charlottesville Jewish community hired security ahead of rally

Congregation’s rabbi says synagogue won’t be intimidated but move was deemed necessary to ensure safety of worshipers

By JTA 14 August 2017, 6:57 pm

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Members of the Virginia National Guard on the pedestrian mall in Charlottesville, Virginia, following violence at the United the Right rally, August 12, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Jewish community of Charlottesville, Virginia, hired security guards for the first time in its history ahead of a far-right event that ended with a deadly attack on protesters against racism.

Rabbi Tom Gutherz of Congregation Beth Israel told Haaretz Sunday that the move was deemed necessary ahead of Saturday, when 20-year-old white supremacist James Fields killed Heather Heyer, 32, and wounded 20 others by driving a car into a crowd of activists protesting an alt-right rally planned for the city that day.

“We had to hire the service of security guards because of the events,” Gutherz said. “We’re sad but we had no choice.”

The synagogue held scheduled activities Saturday, Gutherz said. “It was clear we wouldn’t let this intimidate us; these people can’t keep us away from our synagogue,” he said of the far-right activists.

Battle lines form between white nationalists and antifa protesters at the entrance to Emancipation Park during the "Unite the Right" rally August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP) — Battle lines form between white nationalists and antifa protesters at the entrance to Emancipation Park during the “Unite the Right” rally August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)

On Sunday, Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer, who is Jewish, blamed US President Donald Trump for some of the hatred on display in his city, where thousands of marchers chanted racist slogans, including about Jews and Blacks.

“Look at the campaign he ran,” Signer told CNN about Trump. “Look at the intentional courting, on one hand, of all these white supremacists, white nationalists… and look on the other hand at the repeated failure to step up, condemn, denounce, silence, put to bed all of these different efforts, just like we saw yesterday. This isn’t hard.”

On Saturday the president condemned hatred and violence “on many sides” in his remarks, but did not directly single out the white supremacists, whose attempt to hold a major rally in Charlottesville, Virginia resulted in the governor, Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, calling a state of emergency.

Disorder including clashes with counterprotesters left more than 30 injured.

White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clash with counter-protesters as they enter Lee Park during the "Unite the Right" rally August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP) — White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the “alt-right” clash with counter-protesters as they enter Lee Park during the “Unite the Right” rally August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)

Trump has come under bipartisan criticism for failing to explicitly condemn white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups in brief remarks he gave Saturday from his golf club in New Jersey.

Vice President Mike Pence did issue such a condemnation while speaking to reporters in Cartagena, Colombia. “We have no tolerance for hate and violence, white supremacists or neo-Nazis or the KKK,” said Pence.