After a security incident at the Lower School on Dec. 18, JDS has removed its policy to distribute paper tickets for large community events and revise access procedures for these events accordingly, increase police presence at large events, stop advertisement of large school events on exterior signage in front of the school campuses and conduct a formal review of all public information about school events and to revise what and how it is shared.
At 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 18 at the Fanaroff Family Hanukkah Musical, “Hanukkah Goes Broadway,” a parent in the crowd noticed that someone in the audience was not a recognizable member of the community, and he was sitting alone. As a group of community members approached him, they identified that the man was not affiliated with the JDS community.
According to Head of School Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, there was a man who had a physical ticket for the musical, came in, and walked past the police officer to the gym to watch the musical. A parent noticed this person, questioned his presence, approached him and asked him a few questions, and then walked him to the security vestibule. The police officer on campus then escorted him off campus.
“In total, he was on campus four minutes. But he shouldn’t have been permitted on campus,” Malkus said. “Obviously, it was disturbing that he was permitted on campus in the first place.”
While there are many JDS events that broader community members attend, according to Lower School parent Ayle Karvani (‘07), Lower School students were only handed two physical tickets for their parents, and additional guests had to request them directly from the school. However, the man claimed that he found his physical ticket at church, which is inconsistent with how the tickets are generally given out.
Additionally, the parents noticed that he was wearing a keffiyeh, a Middle Eastern scarf that has become a symbol for the Palestinian identity and resistance. The man was also carrying a black backpack.
Malkus stated that “wearing a keffiyeh would not in and of itself be a reason someone who is otherwise permitted on campus would not be admitted.” However, he acknowledged that since Oct. 7, there have been heightened sensitivities surrounding what a keffiyeh represents and how it may be perceived on campus. Ultimately, Malkus noted that the individual should not have been permitted on campus because they had no legitimate reason to be there that evening.
“After October 7, if you’re not aware of either the word keffiyeh or what it looks like, then there’s a serious problem, because it’s become not only a symbol of terror, it’s always been a symbol of terror, but of hate and antisemitism and anti-Israel,” Karvani said. “So immediately, once I noticed the white Keffiyeh, and he had a hat over the white Keffiyeh, so only afterwards, when he took the hat off, you could see it was also wrapped around his head, not just around his neck, which some people could use in the past as a style, like a stylish scarf.”
Karvani said that there was little security action before parental involvement. She said that it was mainly the parents who were the ones who pointed out the suspect, and the parents were the ones who alerted security. Given that safety was put in parents’ hands, Karvani was surprised at the lack of security protocol.
“Security allowed this man in because their protocol was, if someone has a ticket, let them in…” Karvani said. “So once he was pushed out into that glass area, I was there with a few parents, frantic. The police officer had no idea what to do. A dad walked in. I told him to take out his camera and start filming, which is why there’s some film footage.”
Following the incident, Malkus received a large reaction from parents and community members who were concerned about this security breach. Malkus said that he received many emails from parents about who the suspect was and security concerns at the school. He said that he responded to many of the emails acknowledging that the incident was a mistake and that the school is going to make sure it does not happen again.
The man was then taken by the on-site police officer, who, according to Head of Security Herbie Epstein, claimed that he worked for the CIA or another government agency. Epstein said that in his experience, this man seemed to have a mental illness and assumed that the man was homeless. However, his identity remains unknown to JDS security. After questioning by the police, the man was escorted off the property.
“We got a police report, so the police did respond,” Epstein said. “They’re aware of it. Montgomery County, I will say, takes anything, any hate, bias, or anything like that, very seriously. They do a great job with the police department, and they all take it seriously. Got a few officers that come out, and we’re waiting on an update.”
According to Malkus, JDS is undergoing a security audit assessing the school’s general security, as institutions like JDS often do when the school applies for grants and security honors. This means that the school has extra independent expertise to help weigh in on how to reapproach the school’s security protocol.
“We rely on security,” Epstein said. “We always say it’s a team effort. It’s not just me. I’m one person. It’s not just Mr. King at the front here, or Ms. Hawkins at the Lower School, or any other security guard. It’s everybody. So we’re always learning. We’re always trying to adapt like, ‘all right, you shouldn’t do paper tickets anymore for this reason.’ So we’re always working around what is changing. Things are different than two years ago.”
This story was first published in The Lion’s Tale on Jan. 28, 2026.
