American Jewish groups have been preparing for terrorist attacks similar to the one that struck Mumbai.
Leaders of more than 30 Jewish organizations gathered early last month in New York for a “tabletop exercise” that simulated coordinated attacks on Jewish community institutions in multiple locations throughout the country.
“It was amazingly prescient for what occurred” in Mumbai, said Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. He also co-chairs the Jewish group that sponsored the meeting, the Secure Community Network.
Established in 2005, the Secure Community Network coordinates security within the organized Jewish community, disseminating and sharing information among organizations and with law enforcement officials.
Doron Horowitz, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Toronto, said last week’s attacks in India confirmed and corroborated the importance of being prepared.
The three-hour simulation provided community leaders with tips on how to respond to such an attack.
The group watched as mock newscasts reported on multiple attacks: a firebombing at one synagogue, a machine-gun attack at another and a bomb at a New York Jewish institution. Participants had to formulate a response plan, and the exercise facilitator pointed out vulnerabilities.
Among the guidelines for action were drawing up contingency plans, having key phone numbers available and ensuring that staff members are aware of what to do in an emergency in case the person responsible for security is not on the premises.
“We’re challenging them to react to real-time situations,” said Paul Goldenberg, national director of the Secure Community Network.
The idea is to take that knowledge back to their institutions, along with the procedures recommended by the security experts.
Security experts say simulations are critical to maintain preparedness.
“Anybody can read a manual,” said Rabbi Gary Moskowitz, a former New York City police officer whose Tzedek Task Force on Counterterrorism offers a course for religious organizations that includes security drills. “You have to have a performance drill. If you don’t practice it, it’s worthless.”
Allan Finkelstein, president of the Jewish Community Centers Association, said he will share what he learned with 360 member institutions.
“The key thing is how to help our local agencies go though that kind of training experience,” Finkelstein said. “They need to look at this locally.”
In August 1999, a gunman burst into the Los Angeles JCC and wounded five people before fleeing. The man, a white supremacist, later murdered a mail carrier before surrendering to authorities.
In July 2006, a Pakistani Muslim gunman attacked the Jewish federation building in Seattle, killing one woman and wounding five.
Goldenberg said the U.S. Jewish community isn’t facing specific threats now, but there is a “heightened state of concern” owing to the targeting of Jews in the Mumbai attacks. He also suggested that the economic crisis might inspire white supremacists and hate groups to target Jews.
Since Nov. 28, when the siege of the Chabad House in Mumbai ended and the hostages were found dead, more than 170 people have downloaded a 200-page manual on emergency preparedness from the Web site of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, according to David Pollock, the associate executive director of the JCRC.
Secure Community Network sent out a notification on the afternoon of Nov. 28 to its member organizations confirming the facts of the attack at the Mumbai Chabad House and issuing security recommendations.
They included implementing an awareness program to identify and report suspicious activity, and reviewing and testing response plans for lockdowns, evacuations and active shooter scenarios. The group’s Web site, www.scnus.org, has more information.
North American Jewish institutions have become more prepared and vigilant about security since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Since 2005, hundreds of Jewish organizations, synagogues and schools have received federal aid for security improvements. The money, doled out in increments of less than $100,000, comes from the Department of Homeland Security’s nonprofit grant program.
“We’re better than we used to be,” said Stephen Hoffman, the president of the Jewish federation of Cleveland and co-chairman of the security network. But he said security is significantly below where it should be.
In coming months, the Secure Community Network will partner with the Department of Homeland Security in a program to train Jewish community professionals on understanding and mitigating threats.
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