Stressing Security
By Paul Haist
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Leaders of almost every Jewish institution in and around Portland met Aug. 4 at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland to discuss security issues.
Security has become a top priority for Jewish communities around the country in the aftermath of the recent tragic shootings at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and as a consequence of heightened tension due to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The recent Portland meeting brought Jewish leaders together with representatives of the Portland office of the FBI and Portland's Bureau of Police.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dan Neilson of the Portland FBI office told the more than 30 Jewish leaders at the meeting that the main terror threat here was from "lone-wolf activity" of the type seen in the recent Seattle incident, rather than group activities.
He said that lone-wolf threats are hard to predict.
Both Neilson and Portland Police Sgt. Jeff Niiya suggested that the best defense against a Seattle-like incident is preparation and vigilance.
"Be aware of your surroundings," said Neilson. "Are you being watched for patterns of activity?"
"The biggest thing (you can do) with a lone wolf is awareness," said Niiya. "If you are more aware, that will set off alarms."
Niiya visited several of Portland's larger Jewish organizations July 31 to familiarize himself with their facilities and to offer suggestions for security improvements.
"We want to prevent something from happening much more than investigate (an incident)," he said. "You can't eliminate the threat, but you can minimize or mitigate it."
Of his visits to Portland Jewish offices July 31 Niiya said, "Everything we saw was pretty good." He said he saw lots of locked doors and electrically controlled entry systems.
Niiya singled out the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Portland Jewish Academy, housed in the same structure, for having obtained a professional security threat assessment several months ago and having taken steps to address issues discovered in that assessment.
PJA Head of School and MJCC Executive Director Julie Smith told the Jewish Review that the threat assessment has been updated and new measures taken, especially now that the building is being renovated.
Additionally, since the shootings at the Seattle Jewish federation, more security measures—visible and invisible—have been implemented at the school and community center, according to Smith.
The school and the center may be of chief concern across the Jewish community because of the presence of so many children and the facility's high visibility.
In a July 31 letter to PJA parents, Smith summarized security measures, noting that "security is always our top priority" and that "PJA and MJCC have had a close working relationship with the FBI and Portland Police for many years."
Smith said police patrols of their facility and the surrounding neighborhood were stepped up on July 29.
Regarding all the construction workers on the site now during facility renovation, she said that a background check is carried out on all workers.
A temporary guard shack has been set up in the center's parking lot and security guard presence has been increased.
Other measures include the installation of closed-circuit TV cameras, more staff training on security issues and additional emergency drills.
Security at the federation also is on people's minds, owing to the tragedy at Seattle's federation.
JFGP Executive Vice President Charles R. Schiffman told the security meeting that, in addition to existing security measures, the federation was adding surveillance cameras, strengthening all points of access, applying tighter restrictions on parking lot use and installing a panic-button system to alert authorities in the event of trouble.
Also, federation, Jewish Review and Melton Mini-School staff, housed in the same building, have received new instruction about facility security.
Other Jewish institutions, including synagogues, reported increased attention on security.
Asked what one should do in a worst-case scenario such as what happened in Seattle, Sgt. Niiya said people should either get out of the building, if possible, or lock themselves in or barricade themselves somewhere inside the building.
"Each one of your organizations should have an evacuation plan," he added, "and a designated place to gather" away from the office or other facility.
Special Agent Neilson urged caution around the use of weapons.
"When police enter the building, they are looking for the threat. They are looking for the person with a gun in his hand," he said. "Be aware of how you present to law enforcement."
Niiya told the Jewish leaders that in the event of an incident local police would be the first responders.
"Be prepared for the Police Bureau to respond very quickly and in a very lethal way," he said. "We will enter in force," he added, and bypass (apparently innocent) people to get to the threat."
Niiya said that police in Portland had been instructed "to exercise heightened awareness" after the Seattle incident.
Various people at the security meeting remarked on increased police visibility near Portland Jewish institutions since what happened in Seattle.
Niiya cautioned, however, that Portland Police Bureau resources are limited by budgetary constraints and that on a given Saturday, for example, there may be only 12 officers on patrol on the west side of the city, which, he said, means only four officers patrolling the southwest corner of the city, home to many Jewish institutions.
After an extensive question-and-answer session with the law-enforcement officials, the Jewish leaders agreed to reaffirm lines of communication between their various organizations to facilitate a coordinated community response to a possible future event.