{"id":85869,"date":"2025-12-16T22:04:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T22:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/85869\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T22:04:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T22:04:07","slug":"martin-county-synagogues-on-high-alert-following-mass-shooting-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/85869\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin County synagogues on high alert following mass shooting in Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The recent mass shooting in Australia is having a direct impact on the Jewish community in Florida, prompting synagogues in Martin County to elevate their security status. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office and local police are stepping up their presence to ensure safety during the ongoing Hanukkah holiday.<\/p>\n

Temple Beit Hayam, along with other local synagogues, is on heightened alert following the attack, which Australian officials stated was motivated by “Islamic State ideology.” The incident resulted in 15 deaths and over three dozen injuries.<\/p>\n

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek expressed unwavering support for the Jewish community. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re here to do whatever they need to keep them safe. And if there are any events outside of those two synagogues that involve our Jewish community, we would like to know about it so we can adequately protect them,\u201d the Sheriff said.<\/p>\n

Despite the fear prompted by the overseas attack, Cantor Michael Jarvis of Temple Beit Hayam urged the community not to generalize the incident. \u201cWe have far more friends in the Muslim community than we could ever hope to have enemies. And this is not the time to blame any group, and particularly to Jewish people, especially, I would say, how would you feel as a Jew if a Jew attacked someone and everyone started blaming all of us?\u201d Jarvis stated.<\/p>\n

See also: Mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach was inspired by Islamic State group, police say<\/a><\/p>\n

Visitors to local synagogues can expect extra security screening throughout Hanukkah. The synagogues employ their own armed security, which is being supplemented by the assistance of the Stuart Police Department and Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Both agencies were visible outside synagogues on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Matthew Tolman, Security Director for Temple Beit Hayam, assured congregants that their focus should remain on worship and celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we are concerned about security, leave that to us. See something, say something. Absolutely. But you’re here to worship. You’re here to celebrate. You’re here to spend time with your families,\u201d Tolman advised.<\/p>\n

When asked about specific measures, Tolman noted that while some details remain confidential, the public can expect an increased security presence and even TSA-style check-ins in some cases. Despite the threat, the Cantor emphasized the community’s resilience: \u201cAt the end of the day, we can hide or be proud of who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The recent mass shooting in Australia is having a direct impact on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-85869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-port-st-lucie","9":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}