Josh Mandelbaum (IA): ‘Folks Are More Comfortable Now Coming Out and Spewing Things’

“I’m very concerned; the number of incidents that we’ve seen across the country is alarming. Anti-Semitism is something that many people thought was in the past or was less of an issue today. It’s been a real wake-up call. We had a community meeting at the temple after one of the attacks in New Jersey. All of the Jewish facilities around town have invested in security measures—doors are locked, people filter through just one door. We are more often hiring armed off-duty Des Moines police officers on regular Shabbats. So, yeah, I would say I’m very, very alarmed.”

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