(RNS) — It’s well-known among Jews traveling in Europe that synagogues there can sometimes feel harder to get into than Fort Knox. Police barricades and metal detectors are commonplace as local and national governments move to prevent antisemitic violence. Calling ahead to submit identification before visiting is a given. But a new program debuting across the continent is shifting the burden from law enforcement to those inside the synagogue.
Partially funded by the European Union, EUCARE — standing for community awareness and resilience education — educates Jewish communities about ongoing threats, training them to identify suspicious activity, understand how to report to the relevant authorities and react in the case of a bombing, active shooter or other attack.
Locally appointed EUCARE representatives will work with law enforcement to gather intelligence on a community’s threat environment.
“We cannot have security everywhere, we cannot have security officers everywhere, nor police,” said Yael Landman, the director of EUCARE. “And we don’t want to meet in a world like that. So the basics of this program is that everyone should be responsible and an actor in their own security.
Yael Landman. (Courtesy photo)
“In prevention, the community has a role, a huge role,” Landman said. “When someone wants to commit an attack, not always, but much of the time, they come to gather information. This is where a community member or a passerby can notice someone acting strangely, looking strangely at the synagogue, for example, and can report it.”
In the case of an attack, “the first people on site are going to be the Jewish community members,” she added.
Such grassroots security programs have become increasingly popular among Jewish communities in recent years. In the U.S. a similar program, Community Security Service, boasts …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Partially funded by the European Union, EUCARE — standing for community awareness and resilience education — educates Jewish communities about ongoing threats, training them to identify suspicious activity, understand how to report to the relevant authorities and react in the case of a bombing, active shooter or other attack.
Locally appointed EUCARE representatives will work with law enforcement to gather intelligence on a community’s threat environment.
“We cannot have security everywhere, we cannot have security officers everywhere, nor police,” said Yael Landman, the director of EUCARE. “And we don’t want to meet in a world like that. So the basics of this program is that everyone should be responsible and an actor in their own security.
Yael Landman. (Courtesy photo)
“In prevention, the community has a role, a huge role,” Landman said. “When someone wants to commit an attack, not always, but much of the time, they come to gather information. This is where a community member or a passerby can notice someone acting strangely, looking strangely at the synagogue, for example, and can report it.”
In the case of an attack, “the first people on site are going to be the Jewish community members,” she added.
Such grassroots security programs have become increasingly popular among Jewish communities in recent years. In the U.S. a similar program, Community Security Service, boasts …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]