Four Southern California Jewish organizations announced Wednesday they are banding together to expand a Community Security Initiative to better protect Jewish facilities across the region.
The Jewish Federations of Los Angeles, Greater Santa Barbara, Ventura County and the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys will all contribute funding for the effort, bolstered by financial support from the Jewish Federations of North America’s LiveSecure program and private donors.
According to the group the collaboration “ensures that every synagogue, school, early childhood center, Jewish community center, Jewish camp and Jewish institution in these communities has free access to CSI’s expertise and support.”
That support and expertise includes topics such as reporting threats to law enforcement, security training and assessing security vulnerabilities at various facilities. With collaboration of the four federations, the security initiative will now cover more than 700 Jewish institutions spanning across nearly 40,000 square miles, officials said.
“Threats to the Jewish community know no borders,” JFEDLA President/CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said in a statement. “We are proud that JFEDLA’s Community Security Initiative is now collaborating with other Jewish communities in Southern California to share our resources and ensure the safety of all Jews in the region. We are all stronger and safer when we work together as a united Jewish community.”
According to the federation, recent FBI data shows that 69% of religiously motivate hate crimes in the United States target Jews, although they only account for 2% of the nation’s population.
“Security has been at the forefront of our Jewish Federation’s work for some time,” Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys’ Executive Director Jason Moss said in a statement. “Through ongoing work with JFEDLA and this partnership, I am excited to bring CSI’s incredible resources and information to my community to further the work we have already done. Together, we are working to create an environment where Jewish community members throughout Southern California can feel safer and more secure participating fully in Jewish life.”