A Los Angeles-based Jewish security organization brought 20 Chabad Hasidic rabbis from 12 states together for a five-day firearms training camp this summer, according to a New York Post report highlighted by Breitbart News. The program, run by Magen Am USA, was designed as an intensive crash course to help the religious leaders respond to potential threats at their synagogues and in their communities.
Demand for the camp outpaced capacity: 37 rabbis applied for the 20 available spots, the Post reported. The camp was the organization’s most visible recent effort to train community members in self-defense, though it is far from the only offering in Magen Am’s portfolio.
A Broader Security Curriculum
Beyond the summer camp, Magen Am provides private training sessions, entry-level Rifle 1 and Pistol 1 courses, a firearms course specifically for women, and instruction on administering immediate first aid in the event of an attack.
The group describes itself as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit licensed to provide physical security, with a mission built around what it calls a holistic, multi-layered approach to community protection. In its own framing, the goal is to create a culture of strength, ownership, and accountability within the Jewish community.
“We are building a sustainable, secure Jewish future,” the organization states. “OUR security is OUR responsibility.”
The ethos reflects a broader trend among religious institutions in the United States, where congregations have increasingly turned to volunteer security teams and armed congregant training in the years since a series of high-profile attacks on houses of worship.
Rabbis as First Responders
The decision to focus training on rabbis rather than a dedicated security detail is notable. In many synagogues, particularly smaller ones, the rabbi is the first person on site and the last to leave. Chabad houses in particular often function as open-door community centers, with less formal security infrastructure than larger established congregations.
The camp’s structure — five days, 20 participants, 12 states — suggests organizers viewed it as a pilot or boutique program rather than a mass training initiative. The application ratio indicates no shortage of interest from clergy who feel a direct responsibility for the safety of their congregations.
Magen Am’s curriculum spans the basics of armed response and immediate trauma care, a combination that mirrors the priorities of active-shooter preparedness training offered to schools, businesses, and other religious institutions across the country. The women’s firearms course and the first aid offering indicate the organization is targeting a range of community members, not just rabbis or men.
Political and Cultural Context
The program sits at the intersection of two ongoing debates in American life: the role of armed civilians in public safety, and the security needs of religious minority communities. Proponents of such training argue that law enforcement response times cannot always be relied upon in a crisis, and that congregations have both a right and a responsibility to prepare. Critics of expanded civilian firearms training raise concerns about accidental discharges, escalation of confrontations, and the potential for armed congregants to be mistaken for attackers by responding police.
For Magen Am, the framing is explicitly communal rather than political. The organization presents its work as “boots-on-the-ground coverage for the community and by the community,” a phrase that emphasizes self-reliance without directly engaging the national gun policy debate.
That approach may help explain the program’s appeal across a diverse set of congregations in 12 states, ranging from states with permissive firearms laws to those with stricter regimes. Rabbis who complete the training return to communities with varying legal environments, and the course does not appear to address state-by-state carry laws in any detail based on the available reporting.
What Comes Next
It remains unclear whether Magen Am plans to expand the rabbinical camp, repeat it annually, or keep it at a fixed size. The organization did not indicate in the reported material how it selected the 20 participants from the 37 applicants — whether by geography, congregational size, prior experience, or some other criteria.
What is clear is that the camp filled a demand. A five-day intensive for clergy who spend most of their time on pastoral duties rather than tactical drills is an unusual offering, but the application numbers suggest it resonated with rabbis who see security as part of their job description.
The broader question — whether armed clergy make congregations safer or introduce new risks — is likely to remain contested. For now, Magen Am’s answer is to train more of them, one cohort at a time.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2026/09/14/jewish-security-organization-runs-firearms-summer-camp-rabbis/