Muslim and Jewish institutions in Maryland said they were already on high alert when U.S. strikes on Iran over the weekend just ratcheted up the level of vigilance even higher.
“All we can do is tell everyone to adhere to the very intense security protocols that have been in place for a while now, to be vigilant and to follow our procedures,” Guila Franklin Siegel, chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said Monday.
That message was picked up over the weekend by government institutions around the state, which said they went on high alert after Saturday’s attack on Iran and a retaliatory strike Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar.
President Donald Trump announced the U.S. strikes Saturday evening against three Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israel in its war against Iran. Just as suddenly Monday evening, hours after the Iranian attack on the base in Qatar, Trump announced a “complete and total ceasefire” between Iran and Israel.
In the meantime, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem briefed governors of the weekend on the threat level and on measures the government was taking to keep the homeland safe.
Gov. Wes Moore said in a Sunday news release that he had been coordinating with the Maryland Military Department and the rest of his Cabinet to ensure the safety of Marylanders locally and internationally.
“We are actively working with all levels of government to remain vigilant against any potential retaliatory event,” Moore wrote. “Today, my thoughts are also with the Maryland Guard and Service members currently deployed in the Middle East and their families.”
Maryland State Police were also working closely with the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center and other agencies to assess potential impacts on the state, according to spokesperson Elena Russo.
Local Jewish and Muslim groups said they remained on high alert after the weekend’s news.
Franklin Siegel said the Jewish community had been at a heightened state of alert because of recent attacks in Colorado and Washington, and this weekend’s events didn’t change that.
Zainab Chaudry, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Maryland, said the Muslim community is facing heightened fear following the attacks. For Iranian-Americans living in Maryland, the strikes jeopardize their ability to return home or contact loved ones, she said.
“There’s a very real sense of uncertainty of the scope of the impact,” Chaudry said.
Mosques have also had heightened security generally for the past two years, Chaudry said, because of the Israel-Hamas war. This weekend’s attacks, Chaudry said, furthered already-inflamed tensions in both the United States and the Middle East.
The ongoing wars have created a “very real sense of fatigue” for those impacted in the U.S. she said.
But Franklin Siegel said the “institutional Jewish community” was “incredibly supportive both of Israel’s preemptive attack against Iran and of the United States’ actions this past weekend.”
According to Franklin Siegel, both Islamophobia and antisemitism have spiked in the recent political climate. Chaudry said the U.S. should prioritize its own people and values without getting involved in a war with Iran.
“We have so many of our own problems here at home,” Chaudry said. “We pray for the safety of all innocent civilians.”
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: scrane@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and Twitter.
