Chutz-POW!
A group of rabbis recently took part in a five-day “summer camp” centered on intensive firearms training, preparing Jewish leaders from across the United States for the High Holidays.
The pilot initiative was organized by Magen Am USA, a Los Angeles-based Jewish security organization. It brought 20 Chabad Hasidic rabbis from 12 states together for an accelerated course on responding to potential threats at their synagogues and throughout their communities.
Held in Los Angeles in August, the program combined firearms instruction with emergency medicine and broader security training. It came as Jewish communities in California and around the country confront heightened security concerns and growing fears of attacks on Jewish institutions.
But for Rabbi Yossi Eilfort, Magen Am’s founder, improving synagogue security is not as simple as placing more guns in the hands of religious leaders.
“Lots of people, lots of guns, little training,” Eilfort told the California Post. “That can be bad for the community.”
Magen Am is a registered nonprofit and a California-licensed security company. Its stated mission is to train and empower Jewish communities to create security teams within their own institutions.
The Anti-Defamation League documented 6,274 antisemitic incidents across the United States in 2025, including assaults, harassment and vandalism.
California had the second-highest total in the nation, with 817 incidents, while the Los Angeles region recorded 419. Although the number of incidents in Los Angeles fell from 532 in 2024, assaults rose 22% — the highest figure ever reported locally, according to the ADL.
Eilfort said Magen Am works alongside community members, government officials and law enforcement agencies to develop security programs. The organization also provides firearms education to members of the public.
The rabbi-focused course was launched after Jewish religious leaders began turning to Eilfort for guidance on firearms and security at their houses of worship.
“We’re visibly Jewish and we walk down the street and dozens of rabbis have people yell things at them,” Eilfort said, noting that rabbis have increasingly faced hate speech and protests.
A donor who asked to remain anonymous stepped forward to fund the pilot so participating rabbis would not have to pay for the training. The response was immediate.
Thirty-seven rabbis applied for just 20 spots, according to Magen Am.
Organizers prioritized applicants based on their security needs and the existing protections available to their communities. Some participants had never handled a gun before. Others already owned firearms but did not feel comfortable carrying them, while some were experienced gun owners looking for additional training and guidance.
The rabbis came from states including Alaska, Montana, Arizona, Florida, New York and Missouri, with California participants stretching from San Diego to Santa Barbara.
The five-day pilot ran from morning through evening, with Magen Am handling meals and hospitality as well as the training itself.
The curriculum included responsible firearm ownership, situational awareness, emergency medical procedures and coordination with law enforcement.
Eilfort declined to mention what specific law enforcement agency was involved in the training.
Participants also received instruction on suspicious-activity reports and how such reports are handled by fusion centers.
“It’s not all about the gun,” Eilfort said. “It’s all about community safety.”
The trainers themselves were members of the Jewish community, with some who had served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) . Eilfort, who has a background as a rabbi, is also a licensed and certified firearms instructor and a former MMA fighter.
“I’m not a security professional who found the Jewish community,” he said. “I’m a Jewish community member who realized we need more security in our community.”
For Eilfort, firearms provide only one layer of defense.
He emphasized safe storage, insurance, proficiency, licensing and compliance — and rejected the idea that the program was intended to encourage vigilante behavior.
“I’m not calling for vigilantism,” he said. “I believe in doing things right.”
One Los Angeles rabbi who participated in the pilot said the organizers packed what would normally be weeks or months of instruction into just five days.
The rabbi, who asked not to be identified, said participants began their days with morning prayers and breakfast before heading into classrooms or onto the shooting range.
The schedule mixed religious life with intensive security instruction, including lessons on stopping severe bleeding.
At the range, participants learned how to safely handle and holster a firearm, draw it, aim and respond to different emergency situations. They were also taught what to do if a firearm malfunctioned, the rabbi said.
“Every day they were building on the previous day’s learning,” he added.
The experience was particularly significant because it was the rabbi’s first time firing a gun.
“Some participants were very good,” he said. “They wanted to become excellent. And then there was someone like me that never touched a gun.”
By the end of the program, participants had moved from classroom instruction to a “FBI-style,” practical exercises at an indoor shooting range, where they faced a test designed to demand a high level of accuracy and firearm proficiency.
“It was a high level of being accurate and to know what you’re doing with a firearm,” the rabbi said.
The program also appears to have tapped in to a growing appetite among rabbis for this kind of preparation.
After the pilot ended, dozens more rabbis applied to join the program, with roughly 40 people placed on a waitlist, according to Eilfort.
Magen Am is now discussing additional funding and hopes to run another four to six programs next year, potentially expanding to as many as 10 to 12 programs the following year.
The organization has already begun expanding its broader security operations, including a new San Diego team.
But the biggest question for some rabbis is what role, if any, firearms should play in their religious responsibilities.
For the Los Angeles rabbi, completing the program did not immediately translate into a decision to carry a gun.
He said he is still considering whether firearm ownership is right for him and plans to undergo additional training before making that decision.
“I’m still in the journey with it,” he said. “My biggest takeaway is now I know how to use a firearm. God forbid, if it’s a case of an emergency, as a rabbi, I’m prepared.”
He also wrestled with the religious implications of carrying a firearm.
But Jewish law, he said, places a clear emphasis on protecting human life.
“If it’s a matter of life and death, you have to do all that you can to save a life,” he said. “So this could save a life.”
His hope, ultimately, is that the training never has to be used.
“If we would all be able to get along and respect each other’s differences, that will really make a community and a city and a country so beautiful,” he said.
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