Federation votes for community security

Earlier this week the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland unanimously approved initial funding to hire a Director of Community Security.
There are 22 other Jewish communities who currently have someone in this role, including Pittsburgh, which they acknowledge helped to save lives due to trainings and community communications. Each city has expressed the tremendous benefit of such a hire.
This individual, who will be employed by Secure Community Network (SCN), the official homeland security and safety initiative for the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, will be housed at the Jewish Federation, yet will serve as a community resource for all Jewish organizations. Their responsibility will be to design, develop, resource, implement and then manage safety initiatives and security programs.
The decision to onboard a security director is not an inconsequential investment. It is, however, one we believe must be done.
There is a significant need for this role as reflected in the threats and incidents currently seen around the nation. With rising anti-Semitism, we are at a point where we must do even more in regard to security for our community. This new Director of Security will help each of our organizations and our community better prepare and respond to both man-made and natural disasters. This professional will also assist with writing security grant proposals for funding from the Department of Homeland Security.
Extracted from Nov. 16, 2018, Marc’s Remarks. Marc N. Blattner is the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.
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