Law enforcement agents gathered with leaders of the Jewish community to hear about lessons learned from the Tree of Life Congregation shootings from the director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

As congregants prepare to engage in perhaps the most introspective time of the year, those charged with safeguarding synagogues are preparing to do so in light of a “new normal.”

Faith-based communities across the country have been facing a growing threat from xenophobia, bigotry, and hatred. The Jewish Federation of Cleveland, in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Attorney’s Office, hosted a security training session open to all Cleveland faith-based communities, called “Protecting Your House of Worship.”

When congregants of Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood gathered for services a week after the mass shooting at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, they might have noticed an increase of security with an armed guard at the shul.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland helps educate and empower the next generation of Jewish youth through our religious schools and five Jewish day schools to make sure that every little girl and boy can be whatever they want to be when they grow up.

Local law enforcement and security specialists reviewed safety practices, discussed possible threats and outlined emergency notification options during the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s annual High Holy Days security meeting Aug. 28.

Security for each Jewish federation is a “different animal,” Jim Harnett, director of community-wide security for the Jewish Federation of Cleveland told attendees at the beginning of the four-day Security Director’s Conference and PRT Training.

For years, security has been a factor when planning a local Jewish event because of the rise in anti-Semitic and terror attacks. The High Holy Days are no different.

Jim Hartnett, director of community wide security for the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, could not have predicted how timely a bomb threat management workshop would be when he scheduled it six months ago.