Rick Scott proposes $1M in funding for added security at Jewish day schools

Gov. Rick Scott proposed beefing up security at Jewish day schools across Florida with $1 million of the proposed 2018-19 budget.

The money would be used to “provide security and counter-terrorism upgrades” to video cameras, fences, bullet-proof glass and alarm systems, a statement by the Governor’s office said.

“After Florida’s Jewish community received hateful threats last year, we saw the need to provide additional security so the children that attend Jewish Day Schools can learn without having to worry about feeling threatened,” said Scott, who made the announcement during a visit to Boca Raton’s Katz Hillel Day School.

Tallahassee does not have a Jewish day school serving K-12 students, but does have programs like pre-K at Temple Israel, one of the city’s three synagogues. 

Lorne Reinstein, a member of the congregation at Temple Israel, recently installed a number of security cameras on the Temple Israel campus. Reinstein is vice president of Hi-Tech System Associates, which specializes in home and business security.

“With all the stuff going on with some of the other Jewish day schools in South Florida, they thought it was a good time to do a little bit more," in terms of security, he said.

Reinstein said his cousin lives in South Florida and has a child attending a Jewish day school, and was alarmed when his cousin said there were several bomb scares in the past year.

Shomrei Torah synagogue added security following an incident last December, when several letters featuring hate-filled rhetoric were delivered through the mail.

David Abrams, president of the Shomrei Torah congregation made up of about 100 families, described the contents of the letters to the Democrat in an interview at the time:

“While there were no direct threats per se, the writer of these eight pages — front and back — pulled up every conspiracy theory in the popular media," he said. "And of course, where such theories are concerned, Jews are often at the top of the list of groups that supposedly are involved in terrible deeds.”

Reinstein said, though the local Jewish population is small in comparison, national trends of anti-Semitism still have him cautious enough to want extra security measures.

“I think it’s prevalent everywhere, but I think it’s more prevalent in more predominantly Jewish areas, especially places that have true Jewish Day schools … that’s not to say it’s not a concern here, it definitely is.”

Barbara Goldstein, president of the Holocaust Education Resource Council in Tallahassee, echoed some of Reinstein's concerns.

"South Florida is probably one of the areas that is being targeted," with incidents of anti-Semitism, Goldstein said, "but it can happen anywhere. It doesn't just happen in Boca."

Monday’s announcement from Scott was not the first action he has taken this year with Jewish day schools in mind. In January, Scott signed the Fighting for Florida’s Future budget, which provided more than $654,000 in funding for security measures at Jewish Day Schools.

Contact reporter Ryan Dailey at rdailey@tallahassee.com or follow on Twitter @RT_Dailey