US synagogue volunteer guards learn mass casualty response from Israeli medics

Israeli medics from Magen David Adom taught a two-day mass casualty response course to volunteers of the Community Security Service (CSS), a US synagogue security group, in Westchester County, New York, on August 13, 2026. Twenty volunteer guards from across the US attended. The course focused on treating victims and preparing for first responders after an attack, drawing on Israeli experience from terror attacks including the October 2023 Hamas invasion. CSS has over 7,000 volunteers at more than 500 synagogues.

Israeli medics from Magen David Adom (MDA) taught a two-day mass casualty response course to volunteers of the Community Security Service (CSS), a US-based synagogue security group, in Westchester County, New York, on August 13, 2026. Twenty volunteer guards from across the US attended, including from New York, Philadelphia, Illinois, Florida, and Washington, DC. The course focused on teaching guards how to treat victims and prepare for first responders' arrival after an attack, drawing on lessons from terror attacks in Israel, including the October 2023 Hamas invasion. CSS, a nonprofit, trains Jewish community members in security methods to protect synagogues and Jewish events. The partnership was announced on Monday. The course was part of CSS's efforts to protect American Jewish communities amid rising antisemitic attacks, which last year murdered 20 people, making it the deadliest year for Diaspora Jewry in more than three decades. The volunteers will incorporate the lessons into training for other guards at their synagogues.