Rabbi Jack Shlachter

By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Los Alamos

Earlier this month, local Rabbi Jack Shlachter attended the 2026 StandWithUs (SWU) conference in Las Vegas, Nev. I discovered this when I reached out to Rabbi Schlachter after the March 12 attack at Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.

Rabbi Shlachter told me that he was already scheduled to attend an antisemitism conference within the next few days. The last two years have found a group called Rabbis United holding its annual meeting in conjunction with the SWU event. While Rabbis United was a gathering of about 50, the conference itself had almost a thousand in attendance.

Jewish institutions have had to elevate their security over the past many years. It sounds similar to schools and their continuous education regarding school shootings. According to Source New Mexico, House Bill 450 provided $50 million to be split among schools for security, technical education equipment, school maintenance, and repair, with $35 million of that for security upgrades.

I’ve heard the term for needing to make security enhancements year after year called for Jewish organizations as “the Jewish hate tax”. What would businesses and organizations do if every year we also needed to raise funds for security? Instead, how do we get to the root cause of hate and reduce it?

The root cause of hate is often education. You can pick your topic, Asian hate, Jewish hate, LGTBQ+ hate, and so much more. As it relates to today’s topic, there are many resources available online. I’m not trying to get you to join an organization, think a certain way, or donate to anyone. I was just looking for a way we can reduce hate or know what to do when we see it. If you want a quick answer, just go to their booklet at www.standwithus.com/library/booklets/ten-things-you-can-do-to-fight- antisemitism/. I would also email it to you if you contact us at cya.org@att.net.

“I have increased optimism that by partnering with allies from other communities, we will ultimately be successful in reducing antisemitism,” Rabbi Shlachte said. “This disease strikes Jews first, but we serve as a canary in a coal mine, and the safety and freedom of every American, indeed, every human being, is in jeopardy when Jews are targeted simply for being Jewish.” The Jewish community is appreciative of the support they receive from their non-Jewish neighbors and allies. Particularly in this time of rising antisemitism, they welcome your efforts to reach out on their behalf. He welcomes community members to reach out to him at physicsrabbi@gmail.com.

According to Rabbi Shlachter, Jewish institutions in this country spend $1 billion annually to protect their facilities and constituents. This takes a huge toll on already-strained budgets and drives fear and anxiety in the hearts of congregants. Partnering with non-Jews to raise awareness about this issue has immense value. The Los Alamos Jewish Center will use information from the conference to guide them.

The Los Alamos Jewish Center will be holding its annual Passover (Pesach) evening celebration (seder). Passover begins Wednesday, April 1. To learn more about our local friends, visit www.lajc.org.