Getting Back to Abnormal, Safely and Securely

By Zalman Myer-Smith – Executive Director of www.thecso.org

The Jewish community, like other communities, has been deeply impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. People have been desperately ill, some have, r’l, sadly not survived, and we are yet to learn the full extent of the emotional and financial toll of this continuing episode. It shall pass, G-d willing, and may it be very soon.

We have seen superhuman feats of caring, community activism, and unity during this unprecedented period of time and have been given an opportunity to give pause for both personal and professional retrospection.

As community leadership mulls the options and timeline for the best roadmap for return, we have been inundated with requests for incorporating best security practices into operations as site operational plans and contingencies are revised before opening.

Rabbis, Rebbetzins, School principals, and community leaders are now under pressure to provide guidance and a plan for their respective communities desperate for a resumption of regular activities. This is an unenviable task and lives are literally at stake. With this reset, an opportunity has arisen that should be grasped. Although it seems moons ago, antisemitism had been rampant before this began and continues to impact Jewish community life. Hate has not quarantined and historically, Jews have been blamed for pandemics and other societal calamities.

Getting back to abnormal will be a real challenge, on so many levels. Social distancing and COVID19 safe practices are just some of the areas we must incorporate in our daily lives. Governmental, medical, and halachic decisions are being made to free us from the shackles of this plague.

CSO just released guidance on return to site security and safety protocols. We had to factor in the reality that federal and local law enforcement and other sources are already advising that the Jewish community brace itself for an uptick in antisemitic incidents. Whether they be physical assault, graffiti, or shooting/stabbing incidents at sites (as we saw in 2019), there needs to be trained and drilled protocols in place to deter, detect, delay, and defend.

Every year our organization hosts two specific programs. One is Back to Shul (for the High Holidays) and the other is Back to School. They are tailor-made for a Synagogue or School environment, yet encompass similar principles.

While each site is unique with its own nuances, I want to share 10 fundamental general steps that all sites can apply to their activities. For obvious security reasons we don’t go into operational details and can do that in a more private forum, however, this comprehensive list will ensure critical steps to take to secure and make safe your location and site members.

 

1. Planning – Protocols, and Contingencies – Now is the ideal time to assess your security protocols. Have a plan, train it, and drill it.
2. Know your audience – Sites must now have screening for security purposes and those who may have COVID19 symptoms. We, as always, should be constantly screening visitors and members to our sites. Make protocols to do both.
3. Identify site weaknesses and appropriate responses – With talks of outside site screening where vulnerable lines of people waiting to join an outside minyan, we have new dynamics that an attacker can utilize to their tactical advantage
4. No to low budget items – A lot of the systems you can put in place can be no to low cost. Good security is not graded by how much you can spend.
5. Short, mid, and long term – Build a basic security plan of action for the short term and start building, training, and drilling for the mid to long term.
6. Train all personnel – EVERYONE is a responder. Trained observers who can report to security volunteers or assigned site members can help detect and delay an attacker and mitigate the damage that could be carried out.
7. Relationships – Law enforcement – Private Security – Government agencies – This crisis has shown us how powerful pre-existing relationships are with professionals we pay and expect to protect us. Strengthen or start those relationships before, not during or after an incident.
8. Budget – Forget budget, think protocols, and systems. You can make your site secure in 36 hrs or less and we can show you longer-term methods in getting security funding.
9. Know your threats & keep connected – sign up for CSO alerts
10. Report – If you don’t report an incident or know who to report to, it can negatively impact fellow local Jewish sites that could get attacked instead. If it’s not reported, it’s as if it never happened.

The CSO continues to lead the way in training, protecting, and aiding sites. We wish to thank our law enforcement partners, first responders & all medical professionals for their outstanding dedication in the life-saving work they do.

 We also thank and gratefully acknowledge our supporters, donors, and security volunteers for their continued encouragement in ensuring that our efforts in securing communities & protecting Jewish life can continue.

 

Zalman Myer-Smith is the Executive Director of www.thecso.org, a Florida based volunteer Community Security Organization liaising, training, and working with law enforcement agencies and serving Jewish community synagogues, schools, and centers. Zalman is also the Director of Security for both Lubavitch Educational Center in Miami and for Chabad of Florida.