Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 11, 2008 Page: 2 of 28
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2 I December 11,2008
TEXAS JEWISH POST & SINCE 1947
Simulation trains groups to handle a Mumbai-style attack
By Eric Fingerhut
WASHINGTON (JTA) — American
Jewish groups have been preparing
for terrorist attacks similar to the one
that struck Mumbai two weeks ago.
The leaders of more than 30 Jew-
ish organizations gathered early last
month in New York for a "tabletop
exercise" that simulated coordi-
nated attacks on Jewish community
institutions in multiple locations
throughout the United States.
"It was amazingly prescient for
what occurred" in Mumbai, said
Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive
vice chairman of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jew-
ish Organizations and co-chairman
of the Jewish group that sponsored
the meeting, the Secure Community
Network.
Established in 2005, the Secure
Community Network coordinates
security within the organized Jew-
ish community, disseminating and
Albertsons
it means a great dealT
sharing information among orga-
nizations and with law enforcement
officials.
Doron Horowitz, the director of
community security for the Jewish
Federation of Toronto, said the at-
tacks in India confirmed and cor-
roborated the importance of being
prepared for such attacks.
The three-hour simulation last
month provided community lead-
ers with some key tips on how to re-
spond to such an attack. The group
watched as mock newscasts reported
on multiple attacks: a firebombing at
one synagogue, a machine-gun at-
tack 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.
"OK, they've just entered your
institution and they're on the first
floor," the moderator said, accord-
ing to one participant. "What do you
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have in your facility to stop this at-
tack? What don't you have?"
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 se-
curity is not on the premises.
"We're challenging them to react
to real-time situations," said Paul
Goldenberg, the 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 prepared-
ness.
"Anybody can read a manual,"
said Rabbi Gary Moskowitz, a for-
mer New York City police officer
whose Tzedek Task Force on Coun-
terterrorism offers a 50-hour course
for religious organizations that in-
cludes security drills. "You have to
have a performance drill. If you don't
practice it, it's worthless."
Allan Finkelstein, the president of
the Jewish Community Centers As-
sociation, said he will share what he
learned in the exercise with his 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 lo-
cally."
In August 1999, a gunman burst
into the Los Angeles JCC and opened
fire, wounding five people before
fleeing. The man, a white suprema-
cist, later murdered a mail carrier be-
fore surrendering to the authorities.
More recently, in July 2006, a
Pakistani Muslim gunman opened
fire at the Jewish federation building
in Seattle, killing one woman and
wounding five.
Goldenberg said the American
Jewish community isn't facing any
specific threat now, but there is a
"heightened state of concern" owing
to the targeting of Jews in the Mum-
bai attacks. He also suggested that
the economic crisis may fuel white
supremacists and hate groups to tar-
get Jews.
In the meantime, the Mumbai at-
tacks have spurred community lead-
ers to action.
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, ac-
cording to David Pollock, the associ-
ate 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 is-
suing several security recommen-
dations. It included implementing a
surveillance detection or awareness
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program to identify and report sus-
picious activity, and reviewing and
testing response plans for lockdowns,
evacuations and active shooter sce-
narios.
The group's Web site, www.scnus.
org, has more information.
North American Jewish institu-
tions have become more prepared
and vigilant about security since the
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Since 2005, hundreds of Jew-
ish organizations, synagogues and
schools have received federal aid to-
taling tens of millions of dollars to
pay for security improvements. The
money, doled out in increments of
less than $100,000, comes from the
Department of Homeland Secu-
rity's nonprofit grant program.
Goldenberg said the Jewish com-
munity could be much more vigi-
lant about security and that there is
a proper balance between security
and "overload."
"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 sig-
nificantly below where it should be.
In the coming months, the Se-
cure Community Network will
partner with the Department of
Homeland Security in a new pro-
gram to train Jewish community
professionals throughout the coun-
try on understanding and mitigating
threats.
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Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 11, 2008, newspaper, December 11, 2008; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth188219/m1/2/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .