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    • A four-point strategic plan for Jewish safety
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    A four-point strategic plan for Jewish safety

    Pabio Posted on

    Local and global events after the horrible October 7 terrorist attack highlighted a sad reality for Jews everywhere: the threats we face are real and unrelenting. Although law enforcement and political levels are generally supportive and work well with us, the fact is that the Jewish community must take steps to ensure its own safety.

    The proof is in the numbers. Although Jews make up only about 2% of the U.S. population, we account for 68% of all religious hate crimes reported in 2023.

    Locally, the most densely populated Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles – Pico-Robertson – is an ongoing focus of violence, as Jews have been shot leaving prayer services and prevented from entering synagogues.

    According to the latest survey by Jewish federations, Los Angeles Jews are twice as likely to be concerned about their public safety as the general public; this number doubles again for Jews who wear visible Jewish symbols (kippah, Star of David, etc.). Additionally, almost all (98%) Jews feel safer when there is a presence of security in Jewish institutions.

    As president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the Jewish organization that promotes Jewish life in the city with the second largest Jewish population outside of Israel, I recognize the magnitude of this problem. Our federation has a strategy to create a security infrastructure that best protects our community.

    American and Israeli Jews (illustration) (credit: REUTERS)

    The backbone of this infrastructure is the Community Security Initiative (CSI), which plays a unique role in protecting every school, synagogue, summer camp and Jewish organization in Los Angeles and functions as a single point of contact for coordination of critical incidents. information sharing, safety and security training, and resources for Los Angeles Jewish institutions.

    Our strategy – designed in coordination with law enforcement – ​​is based on four pillars: training, physical risk assessment, information sharing and analysis, and advocacy. We believe this common-sense security strategy to keep Jews in Los Angeles safe can be replicated in communities across the country.

    Training

    CSI provides Jewish institutions with the latest safety and security training to make their people and sites harder targets. All training is free and covers topics such as advanced situational awareness, behavioral analysis, reporting suspicious activity, surveillance detection, active shooter mitigation, improvised explosive device detection, emergency planning and disaster preparedness.

    Physical risk assessments

    CSI assesses an institution’s physical security footprint and identifies key vulnerabilities through an on-site security assessment. CSI then prepares a site vulnerability report containing observations and numerous options – mostly at no cost – to strengthen the institution’s security.

    Information sharing and analysis

    The CSI Analysis Center shares information with local, state and federal law enforcement, as well as local security organizations, to identify potential threats to our community. CSI intelligence analysts provide 24/7 threat monitoring and analysis, which are regularly disseminated to Jewish institutions.

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    Advocacy

    Our close ties to elected leaders allow us to effectively support laws aimed at protecting our community. One of the best examples of this is the legislation created by the Los Angeles City Council to establish bubble zones around places of worship following the Pico-Robertson violence.

    Protecting our community is fundamental to allowing Jews to feel safe enough to express their First Amendment rights, like everyone else in America. Through our four pillars, we implement expert-approved strategies that work. We hope that this model will serve as an example and inspiration that other communities will use to maintain safety so that Judaism can flourish joyfully.

    The writer, a rabbi, is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.



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