Increasing Security

March 23, 2008

by Daniel E. Levenson

We all know that the world can be a dangerous place; all one has to do is open up a newspaper (or go online) on any given day to read about the latest acts of violence taking place around the world. While we will never be able to completely eliminate risk from our lives, I do think it is important for Americans and especially the American Jewish community to take a closer look at the level of security in place at Jewish institutions around the country. The possibility of targeting of these institutions of individuals or groups who are angry at Israel or American Jewry over what is happening in the Middle East remains a very real possibility as far as I am concerned. The shooting at a Seattle Jewish federation building in the summer of 2006 by a man who was upset over the war between Israel and Hezbollah is the kind of incident that we think will never happen in America, but is precisely the reason that we need to be more vigilant in protecting ourselves.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, I think we should look to some of the ideas that Israel has put in place, when considering how to confront the threat of anti-Semitic terrorism in the United States. Generally speaking, I do think that that the American public at large might not put up with some of the security measures used in Israel, either because they would find them too invasive or too inconvenient, there are some steps we could take here to help safeguard our Jewish schools, non-profits and community centers, as well as synagogues. While I have no doubt that when federal or local law enforcement learns of a potential threat against Jewish targets that they share that information with leaders in the Jewish community, and that necessary precautions are taken, but I would argue that we need to take additional, more public steps, in order to safeguard the community.

The first and perhaps most important action we can take is to encourage greater vigilance on the part of the people who work in these places, as well as the people who use them. I can recall very vividly going to services on a Friday night in Jerusalem and before things got going someone spotted a backpack sitting on a chair toward the front of the room. Fortunately, it has just been left there by a careless American who didn’t realize that such “unattended packages” pose a serious threat in Israel, but the reaction of the Israelis was swift. They immediately asked everyone in the room who the backpack belonged to, and they were visibly concerned. In America, we tend to ignore this kind of thing, assuming that someone has simply forgotten their bag. I would argue that we can’t afford to make these kinds of assumptions. If we see something like this, it is imperative that we act. We need not be paranoid, but do we need to be realistic.

Second, I do not think it would be going too far to have metal detectors at the entrances to Jewish community centers and other buildings used by the Jewish community. In Israel, as many readers know, I’m sure, you have to walk through a metal detector and past two armed guards with M-16’s in order to get into a shopping mall. I’m not suggesting that we have to have that kind of an obvious armed presence every day, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask to have people pass through metal detectors before entering a building.

In terms of security personnel I do think that in some cases we should have more armed security at Jewish institutions, particularly at times of heightened tension in the Middle East and during major Jewish holidays. While it is true that many suburban shuls have police in the parking lot during the high holidays (mainly to direct traffic, it seems) I think we need to take it a step further and actually have security personnel whose main job it is to keep an eye on things inside and confront any threat that might arise. Like any good security operation, the vast majority of people would not even notice these security personnel unless an incident occurred, and then they would be very glad to have them there. We can have any number of alarm and surveillance systems in place, but the bottom line is that unless there is an armed and properly trained individual already present when an incident occurs, there is nothing to immediately confront (and hopefully stop) that threat before any number of people are injured or killed.

As I noted earlier, I don’t believe that we will ever be able to completely eliminate the risk of being targeted by terrorists with an ant-Jewish or anti-Israel agenda, even in America, but I do think we need to take a more realistic (and active) role in promoting and guaranteeing our own security. If that means it takes a few more minutes to get into a JCC or synagogues have to spend a little more on security, then I would suggest that we think of it as time and money well spent, and an investment for the future.