As your Community Security Manager, I wanted to provide an update on what I’ve been doing recently. The terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th have had an effect on all of us and showed that security is more important than ever. Based on data released by Secure Community Network (SCN), they have logged a record 772 antisemitic incidents in October and 634 in November, up 290% from the past year. SCN has also been made aware of over 700 bomb threats/swatting incidents at Jewish facilities in just December alone. Unfortunately, one of our own synagogues is included in that number, showing that we are not immune.
As stated in my previous update, a priority with the creation of my position was to develop a better line of communication amongst all our agencies when it came to security matters. During this time, I have sent out numerous security notifications to our Community Leadership to keep them aware of security concerns as well as training opportunities. Many of the recent notifications have been to inform of Anti-Israel/Pro-Palestinian protests in the community. The vast majority of those events have been held on the University of Michigan campus.
I have also been working on several administrative projects. To help better inform the community about security matters I have been assisting in adding a “Security” page to the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor’s website. When it becomes operational it will include The Incident Report Form that can already be accessed on the Federation’s website at JewishAnnArbor.org/IncidentReporting, a Resource link for additional guidance from the Department of Homeland Security and SCN, an Event Security Needs form to let me know about upcoming events that law enforcement and myself should be aware of. It will also have a tab that will allow you to donate to the LiveSecure initiative which provides the personnel, training tools and resources needed to protect our Jewish community.
Another project that I have worked on was to update Jewish Community Security Inc’s “Law Enforcement Guide to Judaism” to include information for the Jewish facilities and organizations in the greater Ann Arbor area. This guide is designed to assist those in law enforcement, or anyone else, that are not familiar with Jewish culture and customs. I have sent this guide to all the law enforcement agencies in Washtenaw County. This guide will also be available on the Security page of the Federation website.
In addition to immediate responses whenever they’re needed, I have continued to meet monthly with local law enforcement to share any security concerns and request police presence at community events as needed. I was also able to arrange for Ann Arbor Interim Police Chief Patrick Maguire to attend the Community Leadership Council Meeting in November. This allowed our leadership to express their security and safety concerns directly to the chief. I have also assisted more of our local organizations with security training, including for the teachers at Temple Beth Emeth’s School, as well as Security and CPR training for the staff at the University of Michigan Hillel.
The draft of the community-wide Crisis Communications and Management Plan that we created has been finalized and distributed to community leadership for review. A tabletop exercise to test and train with a plan will occur in the near future with community leaders.
The federal security grant process is starting soon. I will be assisting our local agencies with completing applications for infrastructure improvements to make our community as safe as it can be.
To learn more about security efforts in greater Ann Arbor, or to get involved, please contact me at shane@jewishannarbor.org.