Gripping a .44 Magnum inside a small New York State synagogue, 65-year-old Fay Ziegler wants to know if she'd be able to pull the trigger.

Key points: The number of attacks against Jews in the US has risen from 751 in 2013 to 1,879 acts in 2018.

The number of attacks against Jews in the US has risen from 751 in 2013 to 1,879 acts in 2018. Amid this increase, Jews are taking shooting lessons and arming themselves

Amid this increase, Jews are taking shooting lessons and arming themselves But some in the Jewish community are uncomfortable with the number of citizens taking up arms

"I have arthritis," she tells the tactical assault trainer, who recommends she try a Glock instead.

Next up, a young and heavily pregnant woman opts for the Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle.

She's never owned a firearm before, but a recent spate of attacks against members of her community has convinced her of the need to be armed before the baby is born.

"A lot of Jews in America have been brought up, unfortunately, with the attitude: 'Guns? That's not us. That's not what we do'," trainer Yonatan Stern tells his class.

"We cannot allow ourselves to continue to be helpless victims."

Tactical trainer Yonatan Stern addresses his class of Jewish people intending to take up arms. ( ABC News )

Mr Stern, a former Israeli Defence Force soldier who runs a tactical training business, says he's been swamped by requests from fellow Jews who've had enough of the recent attacks against them.

The most recent incident happened a few kilometres down the road.

Just four days prior, a man armed with a machete burst into a rabbi's home and started stabbing people at random.

Mr Stern says any Jewish leader who urges members of their community not to take up arms has "blood on their hands".

"Of course, the murderer's responsible. But just as much, that rabbi who told you not to get a gun because it's not the Jewish way, he's the murderer too."

It's a debate now raging inside this Jewish community.

Australian family represents the debate

The Oliver family at their home in Monsey, New York. ( ABC News: Niall Lenihan )

Melbourne-born rabbi Dov Oliver moved to Monsey, New York, 13 years ago with his wife, Shevy.

They've always agreed on the need to be security conscious, but when it comes to firearms, they don't see eye-to-eye.

"I do see the merit and the value in being armed, but in a responsible way," says the rabbi, as his wife squirms uncomfortably in the seat beside him.

"I have a different viewpoint," she says firmly, but declines to expand any further.

They live in Rockland County, about an hour's drive north of New York City.

The community has seen a rapid expansion in the Jewish population in recent decades, to the point where around a third of its residents today are Jews.

"Most of the people who live here were escaping the crime and noise of Brooklyn," she says.

Now, violence has come here too.

Research from the Anti-Defamation League shows attacks against Jews in the US have doubled since 2013. ( Reuters: Eduardo Munoz )

Recent Hanukkah stabbing left five injured

A few streets away, news crews are still camped outside the home of rabbi Chaim Rottenberg.

He was hosting a Hanukkah party on the final Saturday night of the year when the attacker came through the front door, slashing and stabbing anyone within reach.

Five people were taken to hospital, including 72-year-old Josef Neumann, who remains in a coma and isn't expected to walk or talk again.

It could have been much worse, if not for the actions of Josef Gluck.

Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg was hosting a Hanukkah party on December 29 when an attacker burst through the front door and stabbed multiple people. ( Reuters: Eduardo Munoz )

After ushering children and others to safety, he returned and confronted the attacker, using the first thing he could get his hands on.

"I grabbed the coffee table and I picked it up and I smashed it into his face and I ran out," he told the ABC.

Crucially, he also had the presence of mind to take a photo of the car number plate as the attacker fled.

It helped lead police directly to Grafton Thomas, who has been charged over the attack.

Anti-Semitic violence is on the rise in the US

Since 2013, there's been a surge in the number of anti-Semitic acts across the United States, including vandalism, harassment and violence.

Attacks against Jews in the US have risen, research shows. ( Supplied: Anti-Defamation League )

Research compiled by the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks attacks against Jews in America, shows the number of incidents rose from 751 in 2013 to 1,879 acts in 2018.

That's in line with the number of overall hate crimes reported in America.

Figures for 2019 haven't yet been released, but authorities are expecting another increase.

Rockland County legislator Aron Wieder says the number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in New York State has more than doubled in the past couple of months.

"What is driving those people to do this? We don't have the answers," he tells the ABC.

"And quite frankly, there's no answer to hate."

He says police resources are inadequate to deal with the violence, but he's uncomfortable with the number of citizens taking up arms.

Legislator Aron Wieder says he is uncomfortable with citizens taking matters into their own hands. ( ABC News: Niall Lenihan )

"We don't want to have a society where people are taking up arms to protect themselves when government failed them," he says.

"That's terribly wrong."

Some are turning to private security

Former police officer Patrick Brosnan, who now runs a private security company employing more than 5,000 people, says his phones have been running "off the hook" since the Monsey stabbing.

He says people are more fearful now than during his time as a detective in the South Bronx in the 80s and 90s.

"There were 2,245 people murdered back in 1990," he says.

"100,000 robberies. It was crazy. I see this as actually worse.

"There's a complete randomness to it that I see as both baffling and terrifying."

Patrick Brosnan says he has observed heightened fear in the Jewish community. ( ABC News: Niall Lenihan )

He blames social media and chatrooms for providing a haven for would-be attackers.

"In the darkness of [their] mother's basement under the backlight of a laptop, where other individuals are across the world saying: 'You got it right, mate. You're right! Go light up the school. That's what I want to do'."

'Spread light and goodness and kindness and love'

Rabbi Dov Oliver insists it's "not all doom and gloom", pointing to Rockland Community College where he works.

"There's people there from Pakistani, Indian [and] Sri Lankan backgrounds," he says.

"I play cricket with them and have a great time doing that.

"Unfortunately, the people who do these horrible things, they really make the press and spread the fear."

He says the world is engaged in a battle between "good and evil".

"We have to take it upon ourselves … to look to spread light and goodness and kindness and love," he says.

"It's our responsibility as people on the right side to do the right thing."

Chloe Ross and Ryan Chatterjee contributed to this story.