Shawn Brokos

With the uptick in graffiti and antisemitic incidents please consider joining the Jewish Federation’s Virtual Block Watch Program. The program is entirely voluntary and is designed to keep our community safe through collaboration.

The defense team in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial has filed its notice to appeal the conviction and sentence.

With the uptick in graffiti and antisemitic incidents please consider joining the Jewish Federation’s Virtual Block Watch Program, a volunteer network that can be called upon to provide residential or business video surveillance footage to help prevent, deter, and possibly solve crimes.

William Murray was arrested yesterday for Ethnic Intimidation relating to the alleged hate symbol he drew at the entrance of Shaare Torah. At this time, we do not have reason to believe he poses a threat to our community.

An individual has been charged with the theft of multiple “We Stand with Israel” street signs in Squirrel Hill.

In many instances across the country, professional protestors are leading these efforts, and the rhetoric and actions continue to be concerning for Jewish students and the Jewish community-at-large.

The Schenley Plaza encampment was completely disbanded on April 29.

University of Pittsburgh was one of 33 universities engaging in anti-Israel protests. The protest initially started on Tuesday, April 23rd on Pitt’s campus but the students were then moved to Schenley Plaza with the agreement that they will vacate today.

This week, several Pittsburgh-area synagogues received threatening messages online. We then saw some Catholic organizations and other faith-based groups receive similar messaging. FBI Pittsburgh is investigating. These are separate and apart from the hoax bomb threats mentioned in last week’s newsletter.

Several Jewish organizations throughout Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, were targeted with hoax bomb threats this week.

SCN urges the American Jewish community to expand its vigilance and preparation to prevent attacks while encouraging Jewish facilities to remain open.

YTD 2024, the Jewish Federation has logged 73 incidents in our Virtual Command Center. This compares to 23 YTD 2023. We remain in a heightened threat environment and are working closely with law enforcement to monitor potential threat activity.

If you have been a victim of cyber-enabled fraud, please let us know and we can help guide you on what to do.

In just one year, antisemitic comments on TikTok rose 912%.

On Tuesday, Allegheny County Council members voted 9-3 against a resolution urging the federal government to call for a ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war after six hours of hearing public comments.

New protocols were announced for Pittsburgh Bureau of Police that may cause a reduction in officer response time.

So far in 2024, the Jewish Federation has logged 36 incidents in our Virtual Command Center. We remain in a heightened threat environment and are working closely with law enforcement to monitor potential threat activity.

Please let us know if you receive a message or request from Edaan Brook.

So far in 2024, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has logged 26 incidents in our Virtual Command Center. We remain in a heightened threat environment and are working closely with law enforcement to monitor potential threat activity.

The federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) grant will likely open in May with a short deadline.