This past year, we have endured increasing attacks and threats against Jewish individuals and institutions here in the United States, Canada, and abroad, with the North American Jewish community spending over $1 Billion to secure its institutions. The complexities of today’s threat environment require that we, as a community, remain vigilant and make informed decisions to keep the community safe.
 

With the High Holidays approaching this weekend, we know that synagogues and Jewish institutions have been preparing to ensure the safety of the community. Jewish Federations of North America, Secure Community Network (SCN), ADL (Anti-Defamation League), Community Security Service (CSS), and the Community Security Initiative for New York (CSI-NY) are sharing these essential reminders in preparation for the upcoming holiday season. The reminders below offer practical tools to help communities create safe and welcoming locations for worship, celebration, and gathering. 
 

8 Reminders for Jewish Communities
 

1. Reminder to share holiday service times and special events with law enforcement and the Jewish Community Security Initiative and/or security professionals servicing your community or region  

2. Reminder to consider using armed on or off-duty law enforcement, private security, and/or trained volunteer teams as additional layers of protection wherever possible

3. Reminder to extend the protections or security of your event’s/facility’s perimeter as far as possible, ensuring a multi-layered approach to security  

4. Reminder to open events only to known, vetted, and identifiable individuals and pre-screened invitation lists (e.g., no mass emails to the broad public) 

5. Reminder to require registration and verification of registrants with government provided identification

6. Reminder to limit access points for ingress and egress, to the extent possible, and subject to fire codes

7. Reminder to ensure appropriate access control and screening measures are in place including locks and entrance procedures 

8. Reminder to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to security, law enforcement and Jewish Community Security Initiative partners