By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
One year after the violent shooting that rocked downtown Seattle and the Jewish Federation, Jewish institutions around the Puget Sound are continuing to rethink, enhance, and fortify the security procedures that allow access into their buildings.
Although there have been no specific threats or similar incidents since that Friday afternoon in late July 2006, gone are the days when Jews in Washington can walk freely into their own congregations, schools and community centers — no matter how well known they are to the staff there.
It’s a harsh reality that conflicts with an otherwise “polite” Seattle culture, but it’s a reality that must be accepted.
“Sadly, this tragic attack sent shock waves around Jewish communities nationally and internationally,” said Richard Fruchter, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. “Dozens of communities are going to the expense and effort of creating more secure environments for their constituents.”
This year, more than 10 Jewish organizations in Seattle applied for their share of $900,000, when Department of Homeland Security funds were made available to Jewish social service agencies in Washington for security training and equipment.
“The legislators in Olympia understand that when a social service agency like the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle is attacked, not only is the recovery slow in physical and human resources, but the other social service agencies for which we provide funding and services also suffer,” Fruchter said. “Something like this affects people in need everywhere.”
In addition to the money for ongoing security upgrades within Jewish organizations around Seattle, Fruchter said that local public agencies also showed their commitment to restoring a sense of order and calm in the community when disaster struck.
“We’ve had a wonderful response from the entire community, Jewish and non-Jewish, locally and abroad — from the first responders to the medical personnel at Harborview, and from the governor and mayor to the Seattle Police Department.”
Still, others say they want to see everyone in the Jewish community take security more seriously.
Instead of relying on cameras, sensors, locks, and new equipment, said Rob Jacobs, regional director of the local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, vigilant attention to our surroundings is what will ultimately protect us.
“I’ve walked into two Jewish institutions in the last month where the doors were unlocked, there was nobody in visual range, and anyone could have walked in,” said Jacobs. “Because of the heat, all of the doors were open. From the perspective of our office, we’re trying to find the factor and the motivation that will keep them vigilant.”
Jacobs convened a task force immediately after the shooting to work on community-wide security issues. He had hoped to set up a telephone tree that could warn organizations in the event of a local or national security alert or when there was any threat to the Jewish community in the region, but that effort was short-lived.
“Immediately after the attack, every single organization that we know of in the metro area was highly concerned,” said Jacobs. “But by the time six months went by, the next two meetings dropped off in attendance.”
The task force has temporarily disbanded but Jacobs hopes to redouble his efforts this fall.
Meanwhile, he talks in terms of possibilities and the likelihood of targeted hate crimes occurring in the Jewish community, but he admits, in no uncertain terms that there is the potential for serious problems.
“Many of the folks who do this are just lone wolves who have focused on the Jewish community as a scapegoat for their problems,” he said. “We know that on any given day, there is a low possibility that something will happen [at a Jewish site], but it’s very likely that something bad will happen at one of them.”
Members at the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island are generally happy to comply with the added inconvenience brought on by new security procedures, said executive director Barry Sohn, although he is always checking in with those they serve.
“It’s a constant discussion with our board and with our members,” Sohn told JTNews. “We have so many people using this facility, security is constantly an issue. We have people who feel we are not doing enough and we have people who feel that we’re doing too much. But, after the horrific shooting, some security changes were made and in the next fiscal year, we are going to enhance our security.”
Sohn said that the facility, which operates summer camps, teen and senior activities, a Jewish community high school, a preschool, and a health club is open 92 hours over the full seven days of each week.
Rabbi Janine Schloss, education director at Temple Beth Am in Seattle, said their religious school is also revisiting the issue in preparation for the upcoming school year by forming a security task force. According to Schloss, everything is on the table.
“We’ve changed our procedures and it was completely related to the shooting,” said Schloss, who is beginning her second year at the temple. “Last year we drew on the expertise of the Seattle Police Department and the security company we hired.”
Due to the completion this summer of a new wing added on to the religious school that expands the available
classrooms and teaching areas at the temple’s North Seattle sanctuary, Beth Am will need to reassess its security procedures, which are already quite comprehensive.
The Reform congregation is currently the spiritual home for 860 families with over 600 students attending their religion school.
At the beginning of the school year, said Schloss, each family is sent two passes which parents have to show in order to gain access to the temple — no exceptions.
TBA also pays a high price for armed security guards who are instructed to direct any adults without a pass to the office.
Parents have to sign their children in or out if they remove them from school early or bring them late. However, Schloss makes no apologies and believes that the members appreciate the diligent attention to safety.
“We need to have a plan that is effective, can be enforced and that lets parents know that their kids are safe.”