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Leaders of an organization devoted to Jewish communal security met Aug. 9 with Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, as concerns over the safety of Jewish institutions have risen in the wake of several recent high profile incidents.

"We have built a very strong partnership with the Department of Homeland Security," said Secure Community Network (SCN) director Paul Goldenberg.

The SCN focuses on the security of the American Jewish community and whose network includes the 52 member organizations of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; the 157 North American federations represented by United Jewish Communities (UJC); the 350 JCCs, Ys, and camp sites associated with the Jewish Community Centers Association; and the synagogues, rabbinic institutions, and schools associated with the major denominations.

The meeting was the first between the SCN and Napolitano, though the organization has collaborated over the past several years with Homeland Security to develop and implement training and threat assessment programs with Jewish institutions and communities throughout the country.

"The Department of Homeland Security has been working side by side with the security network on the ground in places like Chicago, Ohio, and Connecticut," Goldenberg said.

Goldenberg expressed concern at what he sees as the recent increase in threats against the Jewish community nationwide.

"Over the last several months we have seen an extraordinary up-tick in incidents, both from the white supremacist movement as well as Islamic domestic terrorists," Goldenberg said. "There are threats from the extreme right and extreme left."

Etzion Neuer, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League's New Jersey Region, agreed that the past several months give reason to be concerned.

"When I see shootings at the Holocaust Museum, when I see a plot to bomb synagogues in the Bronx, I worry about the security of the Jewish community," he said.

According to ADL's annual audit, New Jersey led the country in anti-Semitic incidents in 2008, though anti-Semitism was down nationwide in 2008 for the fourth straight year.

Both Goldenberg and Neuer stressed the importance for local Jewish communities to develop security plans based upon education and awareness and not based upon fear.

"Our priority is to build a community of vigilance, not of panic or fear," Goldenberg said.

Danny Goldberg, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Ocean County, echoed that position, emphasizing the need for Jewish institutions to be vigilant against threats. It is the task of the federation, he said, "to sensitize the local Jewish organizations to the need to be vigilant -- to pass information to them when there are credible threats and try not to overwhelm them with information that tends to desensitize them."

Goldenberg recommended that institutions establish security committees to conduct vulnerability assessments in order to determine their respective risks and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.

He also urged Jewish institutions to develop relationships with local and state law enforcement agencies and take advantage of the free training and risk assessments they offer.

In New Jersey, for example, the state Attorney General's office offers security and emergency preparedness training through the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program as part of the national Citizen Corps Program established by President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Goldenberg characterized himself as "cautiously optimistic" about the future security of Jewish institutions, adding that "the community has become much more vigilant."

"If the Jewish community remains vigilant and does all it can to train staff, volunteers, and lay leaders, we can make it much more difficult for those who want to attack and hurt Jewish people," he said.

Neuer, on the other hand, felt that some Jewish institutions have not taken the adequate steps to ensure their security.

"Synagogues sadly focus on this issue once a year, around the High Holidays," he said.

Neuer recalled conversations with community leaders who cite lack of funding as a justification for poor security. However, according to Neuer, this justification is illegitimate.

"Though some measures do cost, shortage of funding is not an excuse," he said.

Adequate security, Neuer explained, "does not necessarily mean metal detectors, armed guards, and expensive cameras." Inexpensive measures such as proper lighting or having someone greet visitors at the entrance of the building can be taken, according to Neuer.

He also stressed the importance of collaborating with local law enforcement. "We have superb law enforcement agencies that are willing to work with Jewish communities," he said.

For Neuer, the meeting between the SNC and Napolitano is at once a positive and negative sign, in that it both demonstrates that Jewish communal security is being taken seriously by the administration, while confirming how very real the problem is.