As people of the Jewish faith prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah around the world, Israel is weighing its options after an Iranian missile attack Tuesday.

“We’re concerned, we’re paying a lot of attention to the Middle East,” said Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson of Temple Israel in Albany. “I think most Americans and especially most Jews are because more than half the world’s Jewish population is in the state of Israel.”

Having faced bomb threats and a shooting incident within the last year, the rabbi’s synagogue is no stranger to violence.

“The building was full of preschool children,” said Laura Weisblatt said of that incident. “My husband and 3-year-old son and one of their friends were locked in a storage closet for hours."

So, in addition the instability in the Middle East, safety is top of mind as the synagogue prepares to host dozens of people over the next few days, celebrating the Jewish new year.

Synagogue leaders have taken various security precautions, some visible and others happening behinds the scenes to maintain some normalcy. It's a tricky balancing act but one the rabbi is determined to complete.

“Celebrate the new year, wish your family and friends whether they’re Jewish or not a good and sweet year to come,” the rabbi said. “That’s what we’re all praying for.”

The synagogue is communicating regularly with the Albany Police Department and the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, which have increased patrols around this synagogue and others in the Capital Region. It's a practice that we’ve seen across the state in recent months.