Jewish identities are becoming increasingly pluralised due to internal dynamics within Judaism and wider social processes such as secularisation, globalisation and individualisation.However, empirical research on contemporary Jewish identities often continues to adopt restrictive methodological and conceptual approaches that reify Jewish identity and portray it as a 'product'for educational providers and others to pass to younger generations. Moreover, these approaches
Violent hate crimes at places of worship such as synagogues in recent years have engendered a distinctive dilemma for religious institutions: How can one ensure people’s safety and security without compromising the warm and welcoming environment that these communities seek to create? Drawing upon five interviews with Jewish leaders, this article explores how this dilemma is being negotiated by synagogues in Chicago. After presenting three key predicaments faced by synagogues as regards security, the article argues that securitization should be understood as a form of “white noise,” necessary to religious institutions’ functioning and yet necessarily invisible. Indeed, although security is now an essential feature of many synagogues, it is also at constant risk of undermining their cordial ambience through providing a reminder of one’s mortality, requiring that it be present, but in the background. Consequently, synagogues today are compelled to find a careful balance between hospitality and openness, with diverse and often paradoxical implications.
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