U.S. Jewish Groups Advise Institutions to Report Any Form of Antisemitism

As all Jewish communities tighten up their security around the world, the security arm of national U.S. Jewish groups is requesting Jewish institutions to report any incidents of threats, vandalism or attacks.

The Secure Community Network (SCN) told Jewish institutions in a memo on Jan. 18, that the information they gathers could support national law enforcement agencies in discerning any national trends in threats.

Organizations should first alert local law enforcement of any threat or incident, and then report it to SCN to track it on a national level.

“This will allow SCN to better identify and assess incidents and trends and share that information back out to our security director and law enforcement network to keep you all better informed of other incidents across the country and assist you in security planning and decision making,” the SCN memo said.

In addition, SNC offers institutions online training on facing attackers, urging staff and volunteers to become acquainted with the procedures, according to JTA.

The memo described increased security in Europe in the wake of the Jan. 7-9 attacks in Paris on a satirical weekly, a kosher supermarket and police that left 17 people dead.

“While we are not aware of any credible, specific threats against Jewish organizations in the U.S. at this time, in light of the recent attacks in Paris and other counter-terrorism actions against suspected terrorist plots across Europe, it is imperative that we continue our vigilance, security efforts and increased information sharing to stay ahead of this continuously evolving threat,” SCN said.

SCN is funded by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.

Separately, SCN distributed a memo at the request of the French Jewish community contesting reports that the Great Synagogue of Paris had closed on the Sabbath immediately following the Paris attacks.

“Our French communal partners advised us that the Grande Synagogue was in fact open with enhanced security measures in place and that the synagogue received more members on that day then in recent memory,” the synagogue said.

“Furthermore, our community partners consider this to be a significant statement which needed to be conveyed to all Jewish communities and organizations throughout the Diaspora.”