Please Be Aware

The federal Hate Crime trial of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter is scheduled to begin April 24th with jury selection. The trial is expected to last several months. It will be held at the Federal Courthouse in Pittsburgh. Please see top article below for more detail.

Security measures related to the trial are ongoing, and we are encouraging everyone to remain vigilant. Be aware of your surroundings and report anything suspicious or concerning to 911, if appropriate, and then to our Security Department.

At the recent Jewish Digital Summit, Secure Community Network (SCN) National Director and CEO Michael Masters and JTA Senior Reporter Andrew Lapin discussed the online threat environment and how we, as a community, must have a comprehensive system to monitor and mitigate threats. You can watch the discussion on YouTube. Part of this discussion related to the “National Day of Hate” on Feb 27, 2023.

On March 14th from 1p-4p ET, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) will hold an encore webinar on Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016-2020. This study examines 173 mass attacks from 2016-2020 in public and semi-public spaces, including businesses, restaurants, bars, retail outlets, houses of worship, schools, open spaces and more. Register on secretservice.gov →

Security Matters in the News This Week

• Bowers Appears In Federal Court As Prospective Jurors Complete Questionnaires In Tree of Life Case (triblive.com → )
• White supremacists take responsibility on social media for carvings on sacred Native site (dailynontanan.com → )
• Bill enhancing criminal penalties for hate crimes clears committee (flvoicenews.com → )
• Blacksburg Jewish group’s sign vandalized, community steps in (wsls.com → )
• NYC park building vandalized with swastika, antisemitic graffiti (israelnationalnews.com → )

BluePoint Status

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

Passover Without Fear

Wednesday, April 17 @ 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Preparedness & Security Considerations In Today's World

Join the Secure Community Network (SCN) and co-sponsors, The Jewish Federations of North America, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for a pre-Passover briefing on the threat environment and best practices to keep this Passover season as safe, secure, and welcoming as possible.

Register

NEW: De-Escalation Training

Please contact Erin Fagan at efagan@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5252 to schedule this training.

Situational Awareness, Active Threat, and Usher/Greeter 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.

If you need more Emergency Safety Procedures Flip Charts contact Erin Fagan at efagan@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5252.