New York, December 30, 2020 … In response to various threats to the local Jewish community in recent years, including a series of violent attacks affecting Jewish communities of Jersey City, Monsey and Brooklyn last year, ADL’s Center on Extremism and the Community Security Initiative (CSI) today announced a partnership to focus on the security needs of the Jewish communities of greater New York City.
The Center on Extremism is the ADL’s research and investigative arm that monitors, exposes and disrupts extremist threats and provides information about extremism and hate of all types. The Community Security Initiative was formed by the UJA-Federation of NY and JCRC-NY in 2019 to enhance security and address antisemitic threats facing the Jewish community in the New York City metro area protecting a population of 1.5 million people and approximately 2000 institutions.
“In the wake of rising antisemitic violence in the United States and more specifically in greater New York City, it is more important than ever to collaborate with allies and experts in order to achieve our shared goal of safeguarding people and institutions within our community,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. “This partnership will allow ADL and CSI to work together to identify threats in the region, specifically those targeting community institutions, and refer them to law enforcement for further investigation and/or action.”
“We believe that one of the most effective means to safeguard our institutions and community is to collect and analyze threat intelligence, both on the surface web and in the deep and darker parts of the internet where extremists radicalize and plot,” said CSI Executive Director Mitchell Silber, the former Director of Intelligence Analysis for the NYPD. “Embedding CSI’s Threat Intelligence Analyst in ADL’s Center on Extremism enables CSI to have a broad view of the extremist landscape nation-wide in order to detect, identify and alert law enforcement to threatening individuals and groups for further investigation.
The partnership began in the fall of 2020 with CSI embedding one of its own staff members—a Threat Intelligence Analyst (jointly shared with the Community Security Service) —with ADL’s Center on Extremism team and has already proven successful.
ADL is a leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of antisemitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. ADL is the first call when acts of antisemitism occur. A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education and fighting hate online, ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate. More at www.adl.org.
The Community Security Initiative (CSI), is a new program created by the UJA-Federation of New York and Jewish Community Relations Council of New York’s (JCRC-NY) as a $4 million+ plan to help secure local Jewish institutions in the New York region. CSI serves as a security liaison between Jewish institutions and city, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in this capacity. www.ujafedny.org/get-info/security-resources.