Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Life

High Holy Days Self Defense

In advance of the High Holy days, Rabbi Gary Moscowitz of Queens has taken it upon himself to help Jews keep Jews safe. Moscowitz is training rabbis and congregation members to protect synagogues in the New York area — offering 100-hour courses in synagogue self defense, The New York Post reported today.

The former police officer, who has a black belt in karate, is training students to take down terrorists with running somersaults that they can use if attacked while praying. Students will learn how to use Kiddush tables for cover, in case of a surprise attack during the post shul nosh.

Interest in Moscowitz’s course reportedly peaked recently after thwarted attacks on two Bronx synagogues. When asked why the NYPD can’t protect synagogues he explained that they don’t recognize congregants. “A terrorist could put a yarmulke on, say, ‘Happy holidays,’ and blow the place up,” Moscowitz told the Post.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.