New York, NY, February 25, 2021 … In response to historic increases in antisemitic incidents and assaults and a surge in online hate ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and the Secure Community Network (SCN) today announced the signing of a formal partnership agreement that will dramatically enhance coordination and collaboration between the organizations in their shared goal of protecting and securing the Jewish community in the United States.
Following the October 28, 2018, attack in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ADL and SCN launched a Task Force – chaired by former Secretaries of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Jeh Johnson – to undertake a study of threats and attacks against the Jewish community, as well as seek to identify opportunities to enhance coordination to most effectively address issues of hate, antisemitism, extremism and violence as well as threats targeting the Jewish community.
A comprehensive joint assessment by ADL and SCN of respective missions, programs, and expertise laid the groundwork for developing the formal strategic partnership being announced today, and which will help ensure a more coordinated approach by the two leading national organizations to ensuring the safety and security of the American Jewish community.
The new agreement will enable the organizations to collaborate on intelligence collection more seamlessly and share timely information on potential threats to the community. It also provides for increased opportunities to ensure coordination, to include in the areas of data-sharing, community security efforts, training, and other areas.
“In the wake of the attack on the United States Capitol that included antisemitic elements, we are now taking our existing partnership to a new level,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “The protection of the Jewish community requires it. Our cooperation will allow our respective strengths to efficiently address the dramatic rise in hate, antisemitism, extremism and violence.”
“We are in an age where the criminal often moves faster than intelligence, and it is critically important to ensure intelligence efforts are as efficient as possible,” said Michael Masters, SCN’s National Director and CEO. “Our organizations have strengthened our intelligence centers to respond to this rise. Together, we can better collect the latest information, analyze it to discern trends, identify groups and individuals, determine how serious a threat may be, and disseminate information to the community so people can be better empowered and protected.”
Over the last several years, ADL, a global leader in fighting antisemitism and hate, and SCN, the official safety and security organization of the Jewish community that works under the auspices of The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, have steadily enhanced coordination with one another, Jewish communities and law enforcement. The new partnership will expand their joint focus in three crucial areas:
Increase information-sharing: ADL and SCN will share the latest incidents information and disseminate actionable information to the Jewish community so people can be better empowered and protected.
Ensure vital information, research and data are disseminated more broadly. ADL is the leading organization on hate and antisemitism, producing critical resources. ADL and SCN will work together to distribute this information – to security professionals, local, state and federal law enforcement, state and federal elected leaders and community members, among others.
Enhance our collaborative efforts to create a unified and collective approach to safety and antisemitism. SCN is the lead operational security organization for the Jewish community; SCN will leverage ADL data and expertise to inform its security initiatives – at both the national and local level – and both ADL and SCN will work to integrate trainings offered by the other organization into their efforts. Both organizations will also be working more closely in our threat mitigation efforts - from cyber to campuses.
The threat dynamic that faces the Jewish Community today is dangerous, diverse, and rising. According to ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, 2019 was the highest year on record for antisemitic incidents. And following the violence at the Capitol on January 6, ADL has identified more than 200 extremists participating in the attack, including one individual proudly wearing a shirt that read “Camp Auschwitz”.