In today’s Zoomcast, we will host Michael Masters, the CEO of the Secure Community Network (SCN) - the official homeland security and safety initiative of the organized Jewish community in North America.
SCN serves as the central organization dedicated exclusively to the safety and security of the American Jewish community, working across 146 federations.
In the conversation, Masters addressed current threats to the community and noted that SCN is training communities for emergency preparedness.
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“The skill sets that we're teaching are designed to empower our community, to commit to action so that we can live free from fear,” he said.
“My goal is that every member of the Jewish community is trained. So, whether you are walking into a synagogue or sending your kids to a summer camp in Maine, Massachusetts, Washington State, or Arizona, that our community is trained to a best practice standard, and that it is comprehensive and consistent across the community. we have a long way to go,” said Masters.
According to Masters, “whether it's related to bomb threats or someone making statements, if the incidents are not handled professionally and appropriately, that can have the impact of keeping members of our community from feeling safe and secure, which means they make a decision not to go to shul.”
“They may make a decision not to send their kids to Jewish summer camp or day school. And that is an unacceptable reality to us,” he continued. “We, for close to 4,000 years, as a community had dealt with threats, ranging from discrimination, expulsion, inquisition. This is another chapter in that threat dynamic. And we will come through this if we work together,” he said. “The mission of SCN working through and with the community is to keep this community vibrant and open.”