By Andrea Jacobs & Chris Leppek
IN THE wake of Tuesday’s slaughter of four rabbis praying in a Jerusalem synagogue, some Denver Jews feared that the unthinkable could strike right here at home.
Were not issuing special community alerts for synagogues and Jewish organizations at this time, Scott Levin, director of ADLs Mountain States region, told the Intermountain Jewish News Tuesday.
Still, this horrible situation should remind people and organizations that they must review their security plans, execute them accordingly and remain vigilant.
Levin, who empathizes with Denver Jewrys sorrow over the Har Nof massacre and multiple fatal attacks in Israel, views them as emotionally tied yet separate political realities.
Our situation in the US is not directly analogous to the terrorist attacks in the Mideast, he says. What happens in Israel cant be taken in isolation, but it must also be placed in context.
The escalation of terror in Israel is part of a terrorist campaign. Fortunately, thats not happening in America. We dont need to live our lives in fear.
Rabbi Joseph Black, president of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council, told the IJN that a local response to fears induced by deteriorating conditions in Israel would only be done in cooperation with JEWISHcolorado and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).
If JEWISHcolorado deems that further action is necessary, it calls in the rapid response team, which consults between regularly scheduled JCRC meetings at the behest of the JCRC.
Neither the JCRC nor the RMRC suggested that heightened measures were necessary in Denver as of press time.
When anything is related to the security of our community, we take our lead from the ADL, says Janet Sherman, JEWISHcolorados Israel and JCRC program director.
The ADL is closely monitoring the situation, Levin says. If it calls for an alert, we will certainly issue one.
Levin is cognizant of the rise of anti-Semitic acts in the US, which predated the Gaza conflict last summer. There has been an uptick in incidents, all of which require us to be alert.
Theres nothing wrong in being hypersensitive to our surroundings but not because of whats going on in Israel.
ACTING ON its own initiative, at least one Denver day school has tightened unspecified security measures in the wake of this weeks terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
We definitely have been talking about what we can do in terms of extra precautionary measures, a spokesperson for Yeshiva Toras Chaim told the IJN on Tuesday.
Even with what we have in place we have to take extra precautions and were going through that.
The yeshivas leadership is not making the assumption that violence in Israel is distant and necessarily disconnected from Jewish communities in places like Denver.
We dont take it for granted at all, the spokesperson said, and we have to make sure that we take care of the welfare of our students and our community.
Security procedures are already in place at the yeshiva, the spokesman added, but that doesnt mean were not concerned. We feel comfortable that were doing what we can but the situation in general is concerning.
At the Denver Academy of Torah, head of school Rabbi Daniel Alter indicated that this weeks attack in Jerusalem is part of a continuum of anti-Semitic violence in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere, all of which calls for increased vigilance and security at American Jewish institutions.
Speaking Tuesday, Rabbi Alter said, In a broad sense, all the things happening in the Middle East, and not just necessarily today, have definitely caused us to continually reevaluate our security precautions and procedures.
Those procedures are definitely far stronger than they were a few years ago.
Mordechai Hoffman, executive director at Hillel Academy, told the IJN this week that he was uncomfortable discussing the schools security procedures publicly.
Obviously, weve been on extra alert since this summer, Hoffman said. Beyond that, I dont want to say anything.
Hoffman did add, however, that as part of its regular practice, Hillel Academy makes it a point to keep parents informed of the schools security precautions.
Avi Halzel, head of school and CEO of Denver Jewish Day School, was also circumspect in discussing security protocols at his institution, Denvers largest Jewish school.
We are deeply saddened by the terror attack that took place in Jerusalem this morning, Halzel said via email.
We have robust and detailed security measures and plans to deal with every eventuality. We review our security measures frequently and make changes based on what has been learned from recent events.
DJDS is also in the process of upgrading two security systems, thanks to its being awarded a Homeland Security Grant.
The safety and security of our students and faculty, Halzel said, are the top priority.
Andrea Jacobs may be reached via andrea@ijn.com and Chris Leppek via ijnews@aol.com.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
