Please Be Aware
The investigation is ongoing into the attack of two Jewish Pitt students last Friday evening. The defendant has been charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and recklessly endangering another person. The defendant is in custody and is in the behavior clinic for mental health review. The preliminary hearing in this matter is scheduled for September 12. Please see the article below for more information.
We are actively monitoring a planned nationwide day of action by the National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), as announced on the National SJP X/Twitter account. The day of action is scheduled for September 12, 2024, and the group states that the “Student Intifada” will persist until universities divest from Israel and an arms embargo is imposed. For more information, read SCN SITUATION REPORT: Upcoming National Students for Justice in Palestine Day of Action (mailchi.mp).
There is a cyber “blackmail” scam targeting thousands of people right now, including many members of the Jewish community. The emails seem to be specific to every recipient, but they are using bots to match known information from a 2022 data breach to a Google Maps overlay to pick up these photos which are getting cropped to look like mobile devices. Please see this Situation Report for more information.
Investigation continues to progress positively into the threatening targeted antisemitic graffiti at Chabad of Squirrel Hill, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and two Squirrel Hill residences. Please know that there are no known threats of violence at this time related to this.
Year to date 2024, the Jewish Federation has logged 203 incidents in our Virtual Command Center. This compares to 187 year to date 2023. We remain in a heightened threat environment and are working closely with law enforcement to monitor potential threat activity. Please continue to report any suspicious incidents via the Incident Report Form.
Security Matters in the News This Week
- Community reacts to attack on Jewish students at Pitt (jewishchronicle.com)
- Hamas flags fly at anti-Israel march in New York City (jpost.com)
- US charges Hamas leaders over Oct. 7 massacre in Israel (APNews.com)
- Ponte Vedra teen sentenced to 10 years in prison for 2022 antisemitic attack (firstcoastnews.com)
BluePoint Status
This week we will be working on the installation of BluePoint at JFCS and Weinberg Terrace locations.
Please review your current contact lists in BluePoint. If changes are needed, please contact Erin Fagan at efagan@jfedpgh.org.
Our BluePoint training video and refresher video are available on YouTube. These are useful for new staff or as a reminder for existing staff.
Security Resources and/or Training
Guardian Training
Please contact Erin Fagan at efagan@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5252 to schedule this training.
Situational Awareness, Active Threat, and De-Escalation Training
If you or your organization have not yet had these training modules, please contact Erin Fagan at efagan@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5252. All can be made available in person or via Zoom.
Request Training for Your Organization →
If you need Go Bags, Emergency Safety Procedures Flip Charts or medical supplies contact Erin Fagan at efagan@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5252.
