Jewish Federation Los Angeles recently launched the Community Security Initiative, with the mission of representing the security-related interests of Jewish organizations throughout greater Los Angeles. In 2011, the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations published a report that indicated hate crimes against Jews comprise 77% of the total hate crimes in our county. What’s worse, the report found that hate crimes were up 15% from previous years!
With anti-Semitic incidents on the rise and given escalating violence and unrest in the Middle East, as well as growing anti-Israeli sentiment, it is critical that we work together to ensure our communal safety. Our Community Security Initiative is a single point of contact for critical incident coordination, information and intelligence sharing, as well as safety and security training. Working in partnership with federal, state and local law enforcement to ensure best practices, we offer these services:
- “One Voice”: We provide an Emergency Alert System that uses text, e-mail and phone to provide real-time information to the Jewish community during natural disasters, critical incidents and other potential threats.
- Information Sharing: We receive, vet and disseminate information and intelligence to the Jewish community as well as provide an environment through which security professionals can collaborate and share security-related information.
- Training: We facilitate and provide free safety and security training to help create a more secure environment at Jewish institutions.
- Vulnerability Assessments: We can facilitate vulnerability assessments to help organizations recognize potential weaknesses in their current security program.
- Future Security Endeavors: More programs are in development and the community’s input is welcome.
In late January, our Federation hosted a Security Fair where community leaders from Jewish organizations and synagogues had the opportunity to meet vendors and learn about the latest security products on the market. Click here to watch a report from Jewish News One, which interviewed participants and provided more details about our Community Security Initiative.
For more information, please contact Jason Periard, Director of Community Security, at (323) 202-4566 or CSI@JewishLA.org.
