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Category Archives: Anti-Semitism

May 5779 be a year of peace and security; what you can do to help

August 09, 2018

Rosh Chodesh Elul includes clarion calls indicating that the High Holidays are coming soon. So, now is a good time to check out a recent presentation on synagogue security or to take a deeper dive into the library of documents available on the JCRC-NY Security Resources pages. Here are some relevant selections:

High Holiday Security and Emergency Preparedness Planning Library

Topical guidance

Vulnerability, Risk and Safety Assessments and Planning

TAU report| Anti-Semitism: “Good” news and bad in 2015

May 05, 2016
These statistics refer to acts of violence and vandalism perpetrated against Jewish individuals and Jewish private and community property worldwide during 2014. The figures are based on the Kantor Database for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism and reports of the Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism. It should be stressed that the graphs reflect only major violent incidents (such as arson, weapon attacks, weaponless attacks, serious harassment, and vandalism or desecration).
These statistics refer to acts of violence and vandalism perpetrated against Jewish individuals and Jewish private and community property worldwide during 2014. The figures are based on the Kantor Database for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism and reports of the Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism. It should be stressed that the graphs reflect only major violent incidents (such as arson, weapon attacks, weaponless attacks, serious harassment, and vandalism or desecration).

Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry just released its 2015 worldwide analysis of anti-Semitism. Read the entire report here. The executive summary is below.


The feeling with which the year 2015 ended was one of fear and concern, among Jews and non-Jews alike, especially in Europe. Waves of immigrants shook the continent, and terror took a terrible toll in human lives and brought up heavy questions and doubts regarding the ability of democracies to defend themselves and their citizens. The Jewish communities and Jews as individuals feel threatened by the influx of refugees on the one hand, and the increase in the right wing parties’ electoral power as a result, on the other. On the one hand, recent developments brought down the number of violent anti-Semitic cases perpetrated against Jews and Jewish sites, and on the other the nature of the violent cases have become more cruel, and the growing variety of verbal and visual anti-Semitic expressions, mainly on social media, became more brutal and insulting. An attempt to explain these seemingly contradicting tendencies is therefore required.

The number of violent antisemitic incidents worldwide decreased quite dramatically during 2015, especially after the first months of the year, in comparison to 2014: The Kantor Center team monitored 410 violent cases during 2015, compared to 766 in 2014, a decrease of approximately 46%. While this is the lowest number in the recent decade, it should be taken in consideration that 2014 was a very difficult year, especially due to the Protective Edge operation during the summer, and that the number of violent cases in 2015 is more or less equal to that of 2011, and that, compared to 2013, the decrease in 2015 is about 26%.

The decrease is most notable in the modus operandi in all its variations, especially the use of weapons (a decrease of over 60%) and arson (decrease of over 50%), and in weaponless cases, threats and vandalism as well. Regarding targets, the most notable decrease is in cases perpetrated against synagogues (by about 70%!) and individuals by close to 50%), as well as against schools and community centers, and the highest numbers of registered incidents was perpetrated against cemeteries and memorials.

It should be noted that these numbers are the result of the specific monitoring and analysis system developed by the Kantor Center team, which has been working together on these issues for more than twenty years now, and are based on the various reports sent to us by our contact persons in the world at large. The specific criteria (anti-Semitic motivation, and no exaggeration or diminishing of the severity of the situation, counting a multi-event as one case) are the basic reason for the differences that might occur between these numbers and those released by other monitoring communities and institutes.

Read the entire report here.

Resources and ADL backgrounder on shooter

April 14, 2014

As of now, all indications are that the gunman acted alone. However, any time that there is such an attack, analysts are concerned about copycat incidents. Out of an abundance of caution, the NYPD, and all of the police departments in the metropolitan area, are going to be giving Jewish institutions extra attention over the holidays.

ADL RELEASES BACKGROUNDER ON WHITE SUPREMACIST KANSAS JEWISH
COMMUNITY SHOOTER FRAZIER GLENN MILLER

New York, NY, April 14, 2014 …The shooter arrested in the killing of three individuals outside the Jewish institutions in Overland Park, Kansas is a white supremacist with a long history of promoting anti-Semitism and racism, according to a backgrounder released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The suspect, identified by police as Frazier Cross, but who is also known as Frazier Glenn Miller (or simply Glenn Miller), is a white supremacist from southwest Missouri with a career in hatred and white supremacy that has spanned more than three decades. In the early 1980s, Glenn Miller was one of the more notorious white supremacists in the U.S., but he eventually ran afoul of both the federal government and members of his own movement and has spent the last decade at the periphery of the white supremacist movement.

“The shooting at the Kansas Jewish community centers is a sad and tragic event which reminds us where the spread of anti-Semitism and racism can lead,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “We recently issued a report which indicated that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States had fallen precipitously over the past few years. So the statistics are good, and then you wake up in the morning and three people are dead because someone believed them to be Jews.”

ADL has reissued a security bulletin to synagogues and Jewish communal institutions across the United States urging them to review their security plans for the Passover holiday, which begins at sundown tonight.

Backgrounder: Frazier Glenn Miller

 

Originally from North Carolina, Frazier Glenn Miller began his career as a neo-Nazi in the mid-1970s, but soon switched to the Ku Klux Klan. He was present at an infamous shooting of left-wing activists by white supremacists in Greensboro in 1979 that left five dead, but was never charged with a crime.

By 1980, Miller had formed his own Klan group, the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (later changed to the White Patriot Party), a large regional Klan group that drew notoriety for its paramilitary training exercises. Members of the group committed several hate crimes against African-Americans during the decade, while its second-in-command was convicted of a plot to purchase stolen weapons, ostensibly to target a civil rights organization. During this period, Miller was one of the more notorious white supremacists in the U.S.

The activities of Miller and his group eventually led to a federal court order prohibiting its paramilitary training. Rather than obey the order, Miller went underground with several followers in 1987 after issuing a “Declaration of War” that called for the “blood of our enemies [to] flood the streets.” Federal agents soon arrested Miller hiding out in the Ozarks in Missouri on charges related to his “Declaration” and explosives violations.

Miller eventually pleaded guilty to possession of a hand grenade and received a five-year sentence. He also agreed to testify against other prominent white supremacists in a sedition trial in Arkansas in 1988—this latter decision earned him the enmity of the majority of the white supremacist movement, which now considered him a traitor to the movement.

After getting out of prison in 1990, Miller moved to Iowa (later to Missouri) and became a truck driver. Largely ostracized by white supremacists, he laid low until the end of the decade, when he self-published his autobiography (A White Man Speaks Out). This marked a return to activism; by the early 2000s, Miller began purchasing advertising space in local newspapers in Missouri for racist and anti-Semitic screeds, followed by his own attempts to publish a “white-friendly” newspaper called The European-American.

In 2004, Miller allied with fellow Missouri white supremacist Alex Linder to produce a more grandiose white supremacist newspaper that they dubbed The Aryan Alternative. Only a couple of issues were published, but they were printed in large numbers, which were distributed by various white supremacists for years. Miller also tried running for office, receiving only two votes in his 2010 attempt at a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri.

Throughout the 2000s, Miller actively promoted his racist and anti-Semitic views online, but remained hampered by the hostility with which most of the white supremacist movement continued to view him. In the years prior to the Overland Park attacks, Miller was a perennial but peripheral figure within the world of white supremacy.

Remembering Ari

March 01, 2013

Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp

On the anniversary of the 1994 Brooklyn Bridge terrorist shootings, Devorah Halberstam speaks out about gun violence in the NY Daily NewsI know too well what guns can do and on NY1 Online: Ari Halberstam’s Mother Speaks Out On Gun Rights.

NY1 Online: Mother of Teen Murdered on Brooklyn Bridge Discusses Efforts to Honor Son’s Legacy. Twenty years after her son was murdered on the Brooklyn Bridge, Devorah Halberstam, the mother of Ari Halberstam, told Inside City Hall what she is doing to honor her son’s legacy and continue the fight against terrorism. (03/03/2014 09:55 PM)

Kudos to Manhattan DA and NYPD on synagogue bomb plot conviction

December 05, 2012
Mayor Bloomberg, DA Cy Vance and Police Commissioner Kelly announce the arrests of two plotting to blow up Manhattan synagogues.

Details of May 11th Terror Arrests

May 13, 2011

 

This afternoon Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference to announce the arrest of two suspects accused of plotting to bomb a major synagogue in Manhattan. Michael Miller and David Pollock of the JCRC were invited and attended. Watch the video of the press conference in low or high bandwidth.

Mayor Bloomberg explained in his opening remarks:

“Yesterday, detectives from the NYPD arrested two men who said they wanted to destroy a major synagogue in Manhattan, and then purchased several weapons and a hand grenade from an undercover officer.

“Fortunately, long before their aspirations could take hold, New York City police officers were watching them and were in a position to take them into custody, before they could maim and murder innocent New Yorkers.

Read Mayor Bloomberg’s full remarks here.

Ahmed Ferhani, 26, and Mohamed Mamdouh, 20, are charged with multiple felony counts and hate crimes carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. In the course of the investigation Mr. Ferhani expressed clear anti-Semitism and asked an undercover officer whether he would join him in a plan to bomb a synagogue.

Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance, Jr., noted:

“The defendants plotted and took concrete steps to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish New Y orkers as an act of terrorism”

Read DA Vance’s statement here. Read the full criminal complaint providing more details here.

NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly described the police activities leading to the arrests and commended NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence David Cohen and his team for their outstanding work. He also commented that:

“While there are no specific plots targeting New York City in the wake of Bin Laden’s death, this latest case reminds us that we must remain vigilant every day.

Read Commissioner Kelly’s account of the investigation here.

When the news of the arrests broke this morning the JCRC called for heightened vigilance and tighter access policies in a security alert to synagogues, yeshivot and other Jewish institutions. Read the recommendations here.

Organizations wishing to apply for Nonprofit Security Grants will find more information at www.jcrcny.org/securitygrants and can reserve for the JCRC May 23rd  Grants Webinar here. Find guidance and practical suggestions on how to increase the security of your Jewish institution at: www.jcrcny.org/securityresources.

JCRC commends Mayor, NYPD and DA in Terror Arrests

May 13, 2011
JCRC President Alan S. Jaffe and Executive Vice President & CEO Michael S. Miller said in a statement:
 The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) highly commends Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance on the interception and arrest of two would-be terrorists from Queens, New York.

The New York Police Department performed expertly and heroically to prevent what would likely have been a vicious attack on a synagogue and members of the Jewish community resulting in death and destruction.  We hail their professionalism.

The JCRC-NY has emailed a Security Alert to hundreds of Jewish institutions in the metropolitan area urging the heightening of vigilance, the review of security precautions and the tightening of access systems.

Anti-semitism is a core component of militant-Jihadist ideology, and we call on the federal government to continue and increase its effective Nonprofit Security Grant Program to assist non-profits and religious institutions for target security hardening measures.

May 11th arrests reinforce need for heightened vigilance

May 13, 2011
Media outlets report the arrest of two individuals allegedly engaged in a terror plot in New York. See the NY Post article here. Law enforcement officials have not yet released details, but the article states: “One source said the man was trying to buy a handgun and talked about attacking a synagogue.” The NYPD is providing special attention to Jewish institutions.  We are grateful to the Mayor and the NYPD for their ongoing concern and efforts to keep all New Yorkers safe.
Harden your target now. The suspects have been described as “lone wolves.” The NYPD has cataloged over 50 cases of Americans who were radicalized to acts of violence and/or conspiracies over the last 30 months. This case may add to the total and those responsible for Jewish institutions should review their security precautions and introduce steps to ensure heightened awareness. The JCRC Security Resources webpage (www.jcrcny.org/securityresources) has guidelines and practical solutions on how to detect hostile surveillance and how to tighten your access systems.

Nonprofit Security Grant Program
. The US Department of Homeland Security’s 2011 Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) will be opening soon, allowing nonprofits to apply for up to $75,000 for target hardening measures such as security hardware and related training. The JCRC-NY will provide a free webinar training detailing the specifics of the grant and the application process. The webinar will be held on Monday, May 23rd, from 1:00 to 2:30 pm and is accessible from any internet capable computer. Please click http://bit.ly/JCRCNPSGWebinar to RSVP to receive login information. The JCRC-NY has hosted trainings annually and those following the JCRC-NY’s suggestions have had a high success rate. Get more information on the grants at the JCRC Security Grants website (/securitygrants).

Ongoing threat.
In the aftermath of the killing of Bin Laden we should remember:

  • Anti-Semitism is a core component of militant-Jihadist ideology;
  • Anti-Semitism is a common tool in the radicalization process;
  • Jewish-affiliated targets may be preferable for less sophisticated terrorists; and
  • Jewish institutions may not be priority targets, but may become secondary targets or targets of convenience.

Feel free to contact David Pollock at (pollockd@jcrcny.org or 212. 983.4800, ext 132) or Dov Horwitz at (horwitzd@jcrcny.org or 212 983.4800, ext. 129) if you need more information.

Hate begets hate: Westboro Baptist Church exposed

June 17, 2010

Over the last year the Westboro Baptist Church picketed Jewish organizations in the NYC metropolitan area on several occasions. Find out more about them and their tactics from the ABC News report: Raised to Hate: Kids of Westboro Baptist Church.
http://abcnews.go.com/assets/player/walt2.6/flash/SFP_Walt.swf

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