A Ramming Attack the Jewish World Cannot Ignore
When I watched the video of the car ramming into the World Chabad Headquarters early this morning, I was horrified—not only by the act itself, but by how easy it was to carry out.
In today’s antisemitic climate, violence against Jewish institutions is no longer shocking. What is shocking is how vulnerable a prominent Jewish institution appeared to be. There was nothing—no physical barrier, no visible deterrent—that prevented a single individual from turning a vehicle into a weapon.
I immediately went into soldier mode. After years in the Army, I’m conditioned to conduct an After-Action Review (AAR) after any mission, exercise, or incident: What happened? Why did it happen? And how do we prevent it from happening again?
The answer here was disturbingly simple. Nothing prevented it.
I consider it a miracle that no one was killed or injured – thank G-d! Yet we Jews must never rely on miracles. As I watched the footage again, the questions kept coming. What if the vehicle had been packed with explosives? What if this had been a VBIED—a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device – the same tactic that killed thousands of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan? What if the driver had exited the car armed with automatic weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition?
These are not far-fetched scenarios. These types of attacks have taken place in the past against Jewish institutions.
What struck me next was equally troubling: when the driver exited the vehicle, not a single trained security professional intervened. Everyone waited for the police to arrest him. The implicit message was clear—the people at the scene were completely dependent on authorities for protection.
It is important to cooperate and collaborate with local authorities, but we should never completely outsource our security to local authorities. Jews should be protecting Jews as per the Talmudic phrase: “All of Israel is responsible for each other (Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh) – Tractate Shavuot 39a.
Effective security means adopting a mindset long understood by the US Military: force protection.
Force protection is the set of measures used to safeguard personnel and facilities from attack. It includes deterrence, physical barriers, access control, training, and clear procedures. It is not reactive; it is constant.
In the Army, security is governed by standing operating procedures—SOPs—that cannot be waived for convenience or comfort. Visitors are screened. Vehicles are kept at a distance using barriers or cement blocks. Security is routine, visible, and sometimes inconvenient. That is precisely why it works and why it should be implemented in all Jewish institutions (synagogues, schools, etc.) Simple measures – vehicle barriers, trained guards, access control during peak hours – dramatically reduce risk.
So why hasn’t this happened everywhere already? The reasons are familiar. Security costs money. And community leaders often worry that visible security will make people uncomfortable, nervous, or fearful. It is easier to project normalcy than to acknowledge risk. But pretending everything is fine is not only naïve, it also endangers people’s lives.
If Jewish communities from New York to Paris, London to Sydney wish to continue flourishing—not merely surviving—security must be treated as a critical requirement, not an optional expense or a temporary response to tragedy. That means investing in training, implementing clear procedures, hardening buildings against vehicle attacks and active shooter scenarios, and ensuring that Jewish institutions are no longer soft targets.
The ramming attack at Chabad HQ should be a wake-up call heard across the Jewish world. We were spared the worst this time. We may not be spared next time.
The time to act is now.
COL (USA Ret.) Yonatan Zagdanski
Former Paratrooper, U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment (USA SOC)
Former U.S. Army Chaplain
Co-Founder & Chief Strategic Officer, Citizen Defenders
The Citizen Defenders initiative trains volunteers in Israel and abroad to become first responders in case of terror attacks. For info, contact, or to get involved, visit https://citizen-defenders.org/main
