In 2017, five percent of Jewish communities in the United States had access to a professional security resource.
By 2024, 100 percent of Jewish communities in the United States had access to a professional security resource either directly or through a regionally based professional.
That significant change in the past seven years is due in large part to the ongoing work of the Security Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization of the Jewish community in North America.
SCN has detailed its accomplishments in its 2024 Annual Report. In 2024, the SCN Duty Desk:
- Logged more than 5,400 threat and suspicious activity reports;
- Made 1,364 referrals to law enforcement, including to the FBI.
“Since the October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, we have seen a dramatic increase in threats to Jewish communities around the world and here in North America—calls from both foreign and domestic terrorist organizations to target Jews,” says Michael Masters, National Director and CEO of SCN. “With the persistent calls to violence, it should come as no surprise that someone was bound to answer. This is exactly what we have seen in cities from Washington, D.C. to Boulder, Colorado.”
Through JEWISHcolorado’s partnership with SCN, Colorado institutions are included among the 43 communities in the U.S. with dedicated, full-time SCN security programs. JEWISHcolorado is fortunate to be able to offer the skills and resources provided by three SCN experts: Regional Director Phil Niedringhaus and SCN Regional Security Advisors Kevin Farrington and Brian Maloney.
The three were recently honored by JEWISHcolorado’s Jewish Community Relations Council with the White Rose Award for helping institutions receive nonprofit security grants to improve the security of their buildings and training more than 7,500 individuals across the state in actions that can be taken in a threatening situation.
“JEWISHcolorado is proud to partner with SCN in this life-saving work,” says JEWISHcolorado President & CEO Renée Rockford. “Together, we are working to protect and secure Jewish life in Colorado and throughout North America.”
Secure Community Network in 2024
In April, members of JEWISHcolorado’s Real Estate & Construction Network (RECN) visited SCN Headquarters in Chicago, where they saw in real time the efforts of SCN to track, address, and successfully counter the efforts of terrorist organizations and Jewish adversaries.
JEWISHcolorado’s Real Estate & Construction Network visits SCN headquarters in Chicago in April
“On the one hand, it’s disturbing to know that we need such a huge network to protect such a small group of people,” says RECN Chair Stuart Zall. “On the other hand, it’s refreshing to know that we are taking these issues into our own hands.”
In its 2024 Annual Report, SCN reported on actions taken to protect and secure Jewish life in 2024 which included:
- Training more than 40,000 community members in everything from situational awareness to Stop the Bleed;
- Helping secure $23.7 in nonprofit security grants to protect institutions with additional security measures.
In response to campus protests and violence, SCN launched Operation SecureOurCampuses, coordinating with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners and campus organizations like Hillel International, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and Chabad on Campus to work to ensure that Jewish students could be safe. SCN responded to more than 500 threats and implemented 40 customized security plans with Hillel International.
In 2024, SCN also launched the Camp Security Initiative to fill an urgent gap in communal security by reaching more than 3,000 participants in more than 300 day and overnight camps with real-time threat support and physical assessments.
To address threats from foreign terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which the former Director of National Intelligence reported were “opportunistically” inserting themselves in campus protests, SCN established the Red Cell Task Force. This Task Force monitors global developments and assesses their potential risks to North America’s Jewish communities.
With the backdrop of a continuously elevated threat environment since October 7, which has since included targeted attacks in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Boulder, as well as escalating threats from Iran and other hostile actors, SCN grows stronger every day. Through a nationwide collective effort, SCN reinforces the resilience, culture, and infrastructure that protect Jewish communities and ensure they remain prepared in the face of adversity.
“This work is only possible because of your commitment to participate, to engage, to report, to get trained, and to take action,” says Masters. “Each of those actions builds a stronger, more secure, and more resilient Jewish community. Together, we are building the security shield that safeguards Jewish life today and for generations to come.”