That makes two of us. I was in the US this summer, and didn’t at all like what I saw. Bad vibes everywhere. Grocery stores that couldn’t stock their shelves, owners stuck with a lease and no way out.
Rabbi Kurtz's congregation isn't in Chicago, it's in souther Lake county, in a very affluent area. Trust me, not only are the grocery shelves stockes, but the botiques are well stocked as well. He's a good guy, and the JP might have put a slightly innacurate spin on his comments, though maybe not.
A point you miss is that here in America, affluent America, children attending school, Hebrew school, need to be guarded. Not just Beth El, but most Congregations which can afford it. Sabbath services, security, of course. Holidays, in many cases security is in uniform.
Off hours, lots of Synagogues you enter through security, sometimes bullet proof glass entryways.
And this is nothing new, it predates 9/11
Imagine if every Christian Sunday school in America required armed guards, LEOs guarding the doors at Sunday services. The jihadist threat would be history. It's coming