Top security officials in the United States do not believe Chabad Houses are at risk locally -- but that may not apply on the international front. Nonetheless, they are encouraging the worldwide Chassidic movement to continue its outreach programs.
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement's National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE) recently questioned top security officials about the likelihood that terrorists could repeat a Mumbai-style attack in Chabad Houses in the United States.
"The truth is that Chabad has an unmistakable culture of openness which does create a certain level of vulnerability," admitted NCFJE chairman Rabbi Shea Hecht. But, he added, "the average Beis Chabad [Chabad House –ed.] will not thrive if it is turned into a fortress."
Each emissary of the massive Jewish outreach movement has been wrestling with this issue since the November 26 terrorist attack claimed the lives of six Jews in the Nariman House Chabad center in Mumbai, among them Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg.
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, private security experts Jules Kroll and Robert Tucker, NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly and LAPD Police Chief William Bratton all agreed that a Mumbai scenario could not happen in New York.
They also agreed that it is more likely that a Chabad House located in an international city could potentially become a target, especially in a high-traffic area.
However, Bratton noted that in the wake of Mumbai, police agencies in the United States and throughout the world have made it a priority to brief their Jewish communities on security. He also noted that the modus operandi of a terrorist group is to invest its time, money and risk to attack high-impact targets.
"By contrast, the Beis Chabad in Smalltown, USA, for all the wonderful mitzvos and good things that are accomplished there, is far below the radar of any terror organization," Hecht said, but stressed that this did not mean Chabad could now relax its vigilance.
"There is no security force in the world that is large enough to post an officer on every corner," he said. "Anyone who has been on the subway in New York already knows the mantra, 'if you see something, say something.' We have to drive this same message home to those who daven and learn in our mosdos [institutions –ed.]."
It was Giuliani, however, who underscored the importance of not allowing terrorism to gain a foothold in the world of good deeds. "It would be a shame if you cut back on your work, too much would be lost," he said, pointing out that terrorism is a means of manipulation. Hecht's strategy for dealing with the threat: establish more Chabad Houses and expand the programs.