Shooting at Jewish Community Center in Kansas casts pall over Passover; temples add security

As Birmingham prepares to celebrate the start of the Jewish festival of Passover tonight with a ritual dinner called a Seder, there is concern over security after a shooting Sunday that targeted a Jewish Community Center and retirement center in Overland Park, Kansas.

"People are taking it very seriously," said Temple Emanu-El Executive Director Bob Gross. "I want everybody to feel safe."

Passover begins tonight at sundown and lasts eight days, through April 22.

Temple Emanu-El is expecting 100 to 120 people at a Seder tonight, Gross said.

"In light of the tragic events that took place yesterday in Kansas City, we have decided to have three security guards present, instead of one for tonight's Seder," Gross said in an email to members. "While neither the Jefferson County Sherriff nor the local FBI have any reason to believe that any such incident is imminent in Birmingham, we felt it is better for everyone's comfort level and safety to beef up security."

Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Jonathan Miller said the violent incident casts a shadow over not just Jewish Passover, but the Christian Holy Week and all of America.

"This is not who we are; it's not what we as Americans strive for," Miller said. "It's tragic. The man goes looking for Jews and he kills three Christians.

We have to be vigilant and prepare for the worst. We live in a society where children can't go to school without worrying for their safety.

You can't go to synagogue or a Jewish Community Center without worrying for your safety. It's a society that needs correction. It's a moral, spiritual correction."

Three people were killed Sunday in shootings at a Jewish Community Center and a Jewish assisted-living facility in suburban Kansas City. Police have identified the gunman as Frazier Glenn Cross, also known as Frazier Glenn Miller, 73. The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, which monitors hate groups,  said he was the grand dragon of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s and subsequently a founder of the White Patriot Party. The center said Miller served three years in prison on weapons charges and for plotting the assassination of Southern Poverty Law Center founder Morris Dees.

"Deranged people are more potent now," Rabbi Miller said. "We have to speak towards decency and kindness. This guy has been shouting 'Heil Hitler' for decades. We have freedoms. But we shouldn't profess that we have the freedom to hate."

The Chabad House on Overton Road will host a Seder tonight with expected attendance of about 100, and has asked Mountain Brook Police for extra security patrols, said Rabbi Yossi Friedman.

"We're pretty sure it's a random event," Friedman said. "We're not going to take any chances. You can't take these kinds of things lightly."

Knesseth Israel, the Orthodox synagogue also on Overton Road, will have a Seder on Tuesday, the second night of Passover, and guests are welcome, said Rabbi Eytan Yammer.

"We’re comfortable with the way we’ve been handling security," said Yammer, a former soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces. "We’ve asked a few individuals to be more conscious of anything that seems suspicious. It’s not only a matter of security, it’s a matter of hospitality. It’s about taking the opportunity to be welcoming."

The Levite Jewish Community Center sent out a note on security this morning, said Executive Director Betzy Lynch.

"The Levite Jewish Community Center joins the Kansas City Jewish Community and the worldwide community in mourning the loss of innocent human lives yesterday at the JCC in Kansas City," Lynch said. "This is a terrible tragedy and we express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims. The LJCC administration has been in contact with the Birmingham Police Department, FBI and Homeland Security and we want to assure you that there are no known threats here in Birmingham. This was an isolated incident and we are in no imminent danger. The safety and security of our members, staff and guests are always our primary concern, and as always, we will continue to take all appropriate measures."

The message of Passover is freedom from bondage, and that includes the modern-day bondage of violence in society, Miller said.

"The Passover story is a story about living in a broken world; having God come and save us from brokenness," Miller said.

While slavery is literal, it is also metaphorical, he said. "Slavery permeates the human condition," Miller said.

"People of faith find ourselves redeemed by God. The Passover story is about how people suffered. It's about getting to a place where you are ready for redemption. It's a universal holiday. It's universal to what human beings are about."

Yammer agreed.

"There is one message of Passover, that is freedom to serve God and bring righteousness," Yammer said.

"Every community has its own slavery – violence, oppression, being slaves to materialism."

Friedman said the key to ending violence is found in Passover.

"This is the holiday where we celebrate the birth of our nation, by going home, by focusing on the family," Friedman said. "That's such an important message.

Everything good that happens in society starts with how a child is raised. The commandment is to celebrate as families."

Dr. William Lewis Corporon, a physician, and his grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, members of the Church of Resurrection, were reportedly killed in a parking lot at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. The JCC was hosting a dance class and an audition for a play, both for teenagers.

Terri LaManno, 53, a Catholic occupational therapist and mother of two, was gunned down outside a Jewish retirement complex where she was visiting her mother.

"The victims will be in our prayers," Temple Emanu-El's Rabbi Miller said.