Orthodox Jewish men and their children. Photo: wiki commons.

Threats against the U.S. Jewish community are on the rise, but fortunately it has developed a network to identify potential dangers. It’s called the Secure Community Network —SCAN for short. According to Ynet,  the nerve center was established in Lower Manhattan a few years after 9/11.

Paul Goldenberg, who heads the operation, told Ynet that the rise of anti-Semitic attacks has justified SCANs establishment.

“This past decade we have seen an unprecedented number of attacks against American Jewish institutions from both the extreme right or the ultra right wing, and also from those that want to threaten and harm and/or kill those from the Jewish faith, the Jewish religion, in the name of religious fundamentalism and extremism.”

Jewish leaders in the US built SCAN to monitor for dangerous activity and also to train community members in ways to keep themselves and their facilities safe.

Following Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense, SCAN has had its hands full dealing with attacks on the community. “Quite candidly, the events in Gaza inspired some here and abroad to make a decision to attack Jewish institutions here in the United States. We’ve seen some very serious cyber attacks on dozens of synagogues, Israeli advocacy groups, and other Jewish agencies, some of which have absolutely no connection to the state of Israel or to geopolitical events in the Middle East,” Goldenberg said.

“SCAN acts as the homeland security effort for the organized Jewish communities,” Goldenberg said. It partners with local, state, and federal officials to prepare for lone shooters, explosive devices, and even natural disasters.

David Leonardis of New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security says of SCAN:

“It’s a good situation, it’s a good relationship. We have a good partnership. We provide information to them to get it out to the Jewish community, and they do a great job at doing that. So when we offer training they’ll be able to share that training or other resources to the entire Jewish community. And it’s very comprehensive.”

A video about SCAN can be viewed below: