As Anti-Semitism Soars, the “Community Security Initiative” Protects Jewish Communities in NY

Edited by: TJVNews.com

The greater New York City Jewish community is home to approximately 1.6 million Jews and 2,400 Jewish institutions, including synagogues, schools, camps, and other Jewish facilities. In December 2019, UJA and JCRC-NY announced the creation of the “Community Security Initiative (CSI)”, a comprehensive program to protect and enhance the security for the Jewish communities and institutions of New York City, Long Island and Westchester (recently expanded to Rockland County).

CSI’s genesis came in the wake of a rising tempo of Anti-Semitism in the U.S., including the deadly attacks against the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 and in Poway in 2019, as well the significant increase in documented attacks and threats directed at Jewish schools, synagogues, agencies and individuals during 2019. These incidents included deadly attacks in Jersey City and Monsey as well as verbal harassment, anti-Jewish/anti-Israel graffiti and hate speech.

The Community Security team’s mission is to enhance security in greater NYC by:

• Tracking threats to the community in the deep/dark web, via threat intelligence analysts
• Responding to Antisemitic incidents in our region
• Enhancing the physical security of every institution in the 8 county-region
• Providing synagogue, school and JCC staff and leadership active threat training
• Assisting with physical security assessments and federal and state grant applications
• Fostering community connectivity with law enforcement
• Supplying a real-time communications system that links the Jewish institutions in our region as part of an emergency communications system.

The executive director of the Community Security Initiative is Mitchell D. Silber, the former Director of Intelligence Analysis at the NYPD. He leads a multi-layered, fully operational team of security experts that combines regional security managers with extensive and diverse experience in law enforcement, intelligence analysts with sophisticated investigative experience, a cyber security specialist, and more.

Threats

In New York, online rhetoric has lately metastasized into real-world incidents. In the Bronx, individuals affiliated with the antisemitic “Goyim Defense League” held banners on overpasses that read “Kanye is right about the Jews,” while giving salutes to Hitler. Moreover, on November 3rd, the Jewish community in New Jersey was placed on high alert as the FBI warned of a credible threat to synagogues in the area. During both incidents, the Community Security Initiative (CSI) was in direct communication with law enforcement and, in the latter situation, worked with our partner organizations to keep the community in New York informed.

When an incident occurs in New York, CSI regional security managers are in close contact with any impacted institution to ensure their safety, collect information, and liaise with law enforcement. Our analysts investigate online spaces to collect intelligence about a perpetrator or the incident in order to share with law enforcement. This relationship with our partners was especially important during the aforementioned New Jersey threats, during which CSI was in contact with our FBI partners to obtain credible and timely information, closely monitoring developments. This cooperation with law enforcement also proved useful with the “Goyim Defense League” banner drop on October 27th in the Bronx. During this incident, CSI shared detailed information with law enforcement about the individuals and their organization.

Furthermore, in light of the uptick in anti-Semitic assaults taking place in Brooklyn on a regular basis, the CSI team has been working with local law enforcement and legal professionals to better understand the mechanisms needed to hold these perpetrators accountable and deter future attacks.

CSI works tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of the New York Jewish community across the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, and Rockland County. CSI acts as the bridge connecting community institutions to law enforcement and as a leading investigator of threats to the New York Jewish community.

For more on CSI, see: https://www.jcrcny.org/security/