US Jews' saviour: MMA-trained rabbi is teaching self-defense amid anti-Semitism in America

Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, there has been a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the world including in the United States. Jewish students and people have faced unprovoked attacks and violent incidents in the US, since the war began. Swayed by pro-Palestine and anti-Israel narrative, some Americans have turned against Jews residing in the nation, in what can be termed as hate crimes. There have also been some attacks against innocent Muslims in the US. The situation has even drawn the attention of US President Joe Biden who recently denounced anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Amid the situation, a rabbi in Los Angeles has started training Jews in self-defense classes and armed security for their safety. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Rabbi Yossi Eilfort who is a former MMA fighter, highlighted the need to act against injustice and hatred.

"Growing up Orthodox, people hating Jews has been a part of my life. A lot of people complain; I want people to act. And so I was trying to inspire people to take some level of action," said Eilfort.

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Notably, Eilfort is the founder of Magen Am USA, which is the only licensed Jewish nonprofit organisation on the West Coast to provide armed security services. He trains community members and volunteers in classes on gun safety, hand-to-hand self-defense and de-escalation. He also helps them learn verbal tactics and the use of intermediate weapons such as Tasers or batons.

Eilfort has been helping prevent attacks on schools, synagogues and other Jewish centers.

"We believe in prepared Jews. I think that more people with less training with more guns is more dangerous. I think people with more training is more prepared," explained Eilfort.

Eilfort recalled that there was a great demand for his training classes in the wake of violence after the death of George Floyd in 2020. He highlighted that since then, a similar demand has arisen now.

"Since that spike, this has been the biggest spike. We've been doing consistent training and keeping things going. In the last two weeks, we've basically told everybody, ‘We can't train you today. We’ve been trying to train you for the last couple years. We can't train you today. But we're putting out a new schedule,’" shared Eilfort.

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