In wake of antisemitism spike, this is what Jewish institutions should do

• Published date: 15 June 2021
• Author: ERIC BERGER/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

A gunman forced his way into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing 11 people.

"Suddenly the problem was a lot closer to home," said Silber, who was working as a private security consultant after serving as director of intelligence analysis for the New York City Police Department.

Not long afterward, UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York announced a new $4 million plan to help secure local Jewish institutions in the region. Silber was hired as executive director to lead the effort to safeguard local Jews, the Community Security Initiative.

Since then, Silber has been leading a team of security professionals who help provide protection to Jews and Jewish institutions in New York City, Westchester and Long Island. They not only develop security infrastructure, but also conduct trainings, work with local authorities and strengthen community networks.

These days, with Jewish leaders around the country again alarmed by a sharp increase in antisemitic activity sparked in part by the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Silber has been very busy.

We interviewed Silber recently about what he and others at the Community Security Initiative are doing to try to keep Jews safe. This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Tell us about the last few weeks, since the outbreak of fighting in Israel and Gaza.

Since the conflict broke out, it's been super-high tension in the greater New York area, especially surrounding pro-Palestinian protest activity and pro-Israel protest activity.

As has been widely reported, on the periphery of some pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Manhattan there were a number of violent and threatening acts directed at Jews, including a firecracker thrown in the Diamond District toward scores of people and an attack on a young man wearing a yarmulke who emerged from the subway.

While much of our work is done to harden targets like schools, Jewish community centers, camps and museums, here were some incidents that didn't occur at institutions but rather at Jews who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was street violence.

How do you guard against such incidents?

We can't personally protect every one of the 1.5 million Jews who live in the greater New York area. However, one of our roles is to be the interlocutor with law enforcement. In the wake of these violent assaults, we had some very frank conversations —specifically with the NYPD — about...