The Pacific Southwest Regional office sent a Security Advisory to all Jewish institutions in Los Angeles, Kern, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties following the tragic and disturbing news of a shooting Saturday in Denmark near the Great Synagogue of Copenhagen, which followed an attack at an event to promote the exercise of free speech. ADL called the tragedy another “wake-up call to all of Europe.”
Killed in the attacks were Dan Uzan, 37, a member of the Copenhagen Jewish community who was guarding a Bar Mitzvah celebration, and Finn Nørgaard, a filmmaker. Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein, the 22 year old alleged attacker, was shot dead by police. Police have also arrested and charged two other people who they believe helped Hussein. Within the past week, Jewish cemeteries in the eastern part of France and Northern part of Germany have also been found desecrated and vandalized.
The attack in Denmark was the latest of a number of violent terrorist attacks targeting members of the Jewish community over the past year. As with the recent terror attacks in Paris, once again we see that anti-Semitism is at the core of Islamic extremist ideology.
The Security Advisory stressed that “we are not currently aware of any imminent or specific threat to the American Jewish community.” However, “we need to be cognizant of the possibility of copy-cat attacks around the world, including in the U.S.; the increase of such attacks in general; and the reality that the U.S., like other Western countries, has been the focus of terrorist propaganda urging such freelance terrorism over the past several months.”
The Advisory suggested increased vigilance and reminded Jewish community organizations to revisit and reassess their security plans, measures and procedures. In addition, the Advisory gave institutions specific action steps and resources geared towards security.
Many resources are available on ADL’s Security Website and from ADL’s security manual Protecting Your Jewish Institution.