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04 August 2023
Friends,
Our Jewish community is strongest when we come together in celebration, to learn and reflect, pray, or to simply enjoy one another’s company.
But in order for us to continue building our future together, we must also remain committed to the safety and security of our community. Federation is focused on ensuring every member of our community can engage in our vibrant Jewish communal life safely and without fear. To do so, we regularly seek to create opportunities for community members and institutions to enhance their safety, security, and emergency preparedness throughout the year.
One part of this is working with organizational leadership to assess security systems and protocols and support security enhancements. Another part is increasing our individual and collective response to any threat that might arise. While we frequently don’t want to think about such possibilities, it is critical that we each understand the possibilities that may arise as well as consider ways that we may respond. This is true both within the Jewish community and in the broader society in which we live.
That’s why, this August, I invite you to participate in one of two online security training sessions designed for community members.
Please join Federation and our partner, Secure Community Network (SCN), for one of two online community-wide Countering Active Threat training sessions, taking place August 28th at 7 PM and August 29th at 12 PM.
Sign up for one of two sessions, and please share this invitation with your friends, family, and neighbors.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Identify and explain the steps to survive an active threat incident: RUN, HIDE, FIGHT.
- Prepare for and respond to an active threat event.
- Respond to law enforcement’s arrival.
- Recognize the importance of additional training such as Stop the Bleed™.
Commit to action during an active threat event.
Trainings like this have been proven to be vital in prior attacks on the Jewish community, such as in Pittsburgh, PA and in Colleyville, TX. As antisemitism continues to rise locally and nationally in addition to increasing gun violence, we encourage everyone who has not yet been through a training to join for one of the two sessions above.
Federation is able to do this work due to the support and partnership of many throughout Jewish Greater Washington. We continue to assess the security of many local facilities, help secure millions in government security grant funding, and provide free security training to thousands of community leaders and members across Greater Washington. Now through Rosh Hashanah, Federation will provide nearly 30 training sessions throughout Jewish Greater Washington for organizations and synagogues led by our Deputy Regional Security Advisor – National Capital Region, Eddy Azcárate.
Together, we will continue to combat antisemitism, strengthen and sustain organizational security across the region, and build a safe, secure, and vibrant Jewish future in Greater Washington. Thank you for continuing to engage in and support these efforts.
Shabbat Shalom,
Gil