After Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear program and military top brass last night, Jewish groups in the United States and around the world expressed solidarity with Israel and called for heightened awareness within Diaspora Jewish communities amid fears of Iran-backed attacks. 

The Israeli opening strike, which came within hours of the International Atomic Energy Agency stating that Iran had breached its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, also comes at a particularly tense moment for American Jewry. With the community already on edge following recent attacks in Washington and Boulder, Colo., Jewish security groups are warning that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has a history of supporting and facilitating attacks on Diaspora Jewish communities, may again attempt such an assault.  

The Community Security Service and Secure Community Network both called for Jewish communities to ramp up their security measures, even as they were not yet aware of specific threats. The New York Police Department also said that it was “deploying additional resources” to Jewish and Israeli sites throughout New York City. 

“Our safety can be impacted not only by domestic extremism like we saw in DC and Boulder, but by global events thousands of miles away,” Richard Priem, CEO of CSS, said in an email. “The situation is dynamic and can change at any time. Jews in America cannot afford to be complacent.”

The Secure Community Network urged communities to remain on heightened alert and “maintain robust security measures,” in a statement on X 

“SCN stresses that, while there is currently no credible or specific threat against the Jewish community, this development occurs amid an already intensified threat environment,” the statement said. “This environment is fueled in part by Iranian-linked actors, designated foreign terrorist organizations, violent extremists, and politically motivated groups – entities which continue to incite violence globally, including against Jewish civilians and communal facilities, often under the pretext of perceived grievances related to Israel’s war with Hamas and related military or political developments.” 

Jewish communal organizations from around the world and across the political spectrum — from the BBYO youth group and Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity to Agudath Israel of America and the European Jewish Congress — weighed in on the Israeli strike. Some voiced full-throated support for the operation, while others focused primarily on prayers and expressions of support for Israeli citizens, who are expected to face retaliatory Iranian attacks. 

William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, respectively the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations’ CEO and chair, described the strike as a self-defense measure by Israel — citing Iran’s rapidly developing nuclear capabilities and its extensive use of terror proxies to threaten the world.

“[Iran’s nuclear program] poses an immediate, existential threat to Israel and a grave danger to global security,” Daroff and Berns Korn said in a statement. “Israel has taken necessary and justified defensive action to protect its citizens and ensure its survival.”

They called for the United States and international community to rally around Israel and avoid “equivocation.”

“We expect the United States and responsible members of the international community to stand with Israel as it confronts the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions,” the Conference of Presidents leaders said. “Preventing a nuclear Iran is not only a moral obligation—it is a vital American and global strategic interest. This is a time for resolve, not equivocation.”

The Jewish Federations of North America issued a broader statement of “unwavering solidarity” with Israelis, noting threats posed by the Iranian regime.

“As we await further information, Jewish Federations of North America stand in unwavering solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel — as we have throughout our shared history — praying for their immediate safety, strength, and well-being, and for the protection of future generations to come as Israel defends itself from Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and other threats posed by the Iranian regime.”

The American Jewish Committee issued a similar statement, calling for solidarity with Israel and highlighting the threat Iran poses to the world and its own citizens. 

“We stand with Israel in its right to self-defense and in anticipation of any Iranian military or proxy response,” the statement said. “Iran supports worldwide terrorism. It violates the human rights of its people. It desperately pursues nuclear weapons. And it has sworn to destroy Israel. All nations should stand against the Iranian regime. The world should stand with Israel.”