U.S. Directs Global Missions to Seek High Holiday Protection for Jews

The State Department directed nearly all U.S. diplomatic missions to ask host governments at their highest available levels to protect Jewish communities during the upcoming High Holidays. A diplomatic cable asks for law-enforcement, counterterrorism or military deployments around synagogues, holiday venues and walking routes used by observant congregants. It also calls for security briefings, coordination channels, patrols and direct warning systems because observant Jews generally avoid electronic communications during holidays. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown September 11; the cable cites the October 7, 2023 attack on Simchat Torah and other holiday-linked attacks.