August 3, 2006
By Jacob Sugerman

Jewish agencies enact its emergency response system following the attack

The local Jewish community is on high alert and is taking safety precautions following an assault that left one dead and several injured at the Jewish Federation in Seattle near the start of Shabbat last week.

Little more than a few hours after the attack on Friday, a number of local Jewish Community organizations, including representatives from Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Anti-Defamation League, the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts and the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston, met to discuss how to protect the Greater Boston Jewish community in the event of a similar occurrence here.

Enacting JEMS, or the Jewish Emergency Management System, a project undertaken by a collaboration of CJP, JCRC and the ADL, the Jewish population and institutions in the area implemented an emergency response plan as a precaution.

“The truth is, we didn’t believe and still do not believe that there is a specific threat to us here,” said Patty Jacobson, project manager of JEMS. “Nonetheless, what happened provides a little more urgency to efforts that were already underway … and it’s a reinforcement of the sad truth that we live in a dangerous time.”

Nancy Kaufman, executive director of JCRC, said: “These are troubled times we’re living in, and our hearts go out to our colleagues in Seattle. Clearly here in Boston we’re taking all necessary precautions to secure all Jewish institutions, but I’m confident this was an isolated incident.”

Last Friday, 30-year-old Muslim-American Naveed Afzal Haq opened fire at the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and wounded five others in an attack said to be directed at Jews in response to the current crisis in the Middle East. Fifty-eight-year-old Pam Waechter, a Jewish eight-year veteran of the federation, was killed by the alleged gunman. She was laid to rest on Monday.

“We’re all hurting and trying to maintain a sense of reality here,” said Robert Jacobs, regional director of the ADL in Seattle.

In recent years, Jewish Boston residents have not been victim to attacks on the same scale as the one that took place in Seattle, according to Northeastern University professor Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict. However, Jewish organizations are not taking chances.

Since the attack on Friday, the building that houses major Jewish agencies in Boston added extra security, and law enforcement has been recruited for a number of Jewish institutions across the region.

The New England Israeli Consulate could not comment on the steps they have taken to ensure heightened security for their office, but noted that all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure the protection of their employees.

The Anti-Defamation League sent out an advisory e-mail on Saturday to a variety of groups throughout the region, encouraging organizations to review their security policies and to contact police with any suspicious activities.

“Sadness and frustration are my initial responses... this is a loss of life that makes absolutely no sense,” said Andrew Tarsy, regional director of the ADL.

Despite the violent attack last week, a number of groups are reaching out to the Jewish community across the country and have declared their intentions to continue interfaith dialogue.

The Muslim community in Greater Boston, through the American Muslim Peace Initiative, has also declared its solidarity with their Jewish compatriots through a statement released over the weekend that condemned the violence as “senseless” and offered condolences to the victims and their families in Seattle.

“You can’t help but be affected by what happened,” said Barry Hoffman, Consul General of Pakistan to Boston. “It’s important that people understand that this wasn’t a typical incident that could be repeated. It was an unusual act by an abhorrent madman.”

Beth Wasserman, community liaison for Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, said the attack makes it all the more important to aim for peace overseas.

“I think that it was a great tragedy and loss for the Jewish community and a threat to all Americans. It brings a conflict home and reminds us why it’s important to settle political unrest between Israel and its neighbors.”