Love and Care Report to the Congregation

Kolot’s Safety & Security Committee 

Love & Care Report to the Congregation
December 9, 2019 / 11 Kislev 5780

Adapted January 5, 2020

 

Background:

Kolot’s Safety & Security Committee was convened in October 2018/Tishrei 5779 in the aftermath of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA (October 27, 2018). Like every other synagogue and Jewish community across the country, we knew we needed to ask ourselves what it means to be safe and secure. Yes, from gun violence and anti-Semitic hatred, but also in the face of other kinds of emergencies or situations we might encounter. We knew that we had to address these big and smaller issues, and to do it in ways that worked for our unique community, with our specific needs, history, culture, values, and commitment to justice. We acted quickly to form a committee to address this, and staff and other Kolot leaders immediately started sharing resources, attending trainings and meeting to explore the issues. 

 

The Kolot Safety & Security Committee is composed of Kolot Board members, Kolot members, and staff. We are longtime and newer Kolot members and have various levels of experience and backgrounds regarding safety, security, and emergency planning. The members of our Committee are: Sherri Levine (Staff), Amy Plattsmier (Board), Rabbi Brian Fink (Board), Cindy Greenberg, Jessica Roff (Board), Rebecca Vilkomerson and Rich Greenspan (Board). We also coordinate and meet with the Rabbi and share updates to the Board. Mainly, we signed up to help our community take care of itself, in a way where we don’t lose sight of who we are at Kolot and what we value together.

 

Early in our work, we crafted some guiding and grounding principles:

  • We can and will maintain a culture of organizing, not a culture of security and fear.

  • We have an open door policy, and our approach to security practices will reflect that.

  • We will continue to welcome all, which may preclude plans that make people feel unwelcome, such as screening people upon arrival.

  • We recognize that safety is an ongoing practice, not an endpoint.

 

Work To-Date:

Over the past year we have researched best practices of like-minded faith groups while also investigating some mainstream resources that have been shared through faith, community, and neighborhood networks. Suffice it to say, there is quite a broad spectrum in the approach to safety and security, and not all shoes fit or align with Kolot’s values. Our goal up until now has been, in leading with Kolot’s values, to figure out what are the issues that Kolot should be considering/exploring and how to develop some practical solutions, while also keeping our doors and hearts open. It is a challenging balance. 

 

Here are some of the highlights of our work:

 

  • Conducted research, gathering information from other faith-based groups, synagogues, community, neighborhood, and citywide entities: 

    • This included setting up a database of trainings including by groups such as the Red Cross, NYC Action Medical, FDNY, and on issues including CPR/First Aid, De-Escalation, Bystander/Upstander/Accompaniment, and Self-Defense

  • Attended multiple trainings, including:

    • Active Shooter Training held by NYPD at the Fort Hamilton Army Base (November 2018);

    • UJA-Federation of NY webinar: Building Sanctuaries of Safety and Inclusion, lead by a panel of experts from the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative and Keshet (November 2018);

    • NYPD Pre-Passover Meeting for Jewish community leaders (April 2019);

    • NYC Human Rights Commission meeting Keeping Faith Communities Safe (April 2019);

    • Jewish Voice for Peace’s Hashkiveinu: Community Safety for the High Holidays (August 2019);

  • Conducted a safety audit at and in collaboration with our home worship space and under the guidance of officers from the NYPD 78th Precinct.

  • Implemented a new policy for Shabbat morning services to lock the Social Hall door once services in the Sanctuary have gotten underway (April 2019);

  • Drafted Safety Protocols for when we are at our home worship space, which we will be rolling out in the next few months in collaboration with the various Kolot stakeholders who regularly gather there;

  • Prepared Safety Protocols for 5780 High Holy Days at City Tech space (September 2019);

  • Supported CLP’s preparation of safety protocols for when school is in session (March 2019). 

  • Engaged with community partners around safety and security, including:

    • Kolot sign-on to a Community Safety Pledge organized by JFREJ in the immediate aftermath of Pittsburg (November 2018);

    • Met with NYPD 78th Precinct Community Affairs officers, including one of our two Sector B Neighborhood Coordinating Officers (NCOs), to build relationships (May 2019);

    • Met with JFREJ leaders who are working on a new interfaith communal safety initiative (June 2019);

  • Met with the Board of Directors and Executive Committee members throughout to provide updates and receive guidance.

  • And, we are currently in the process of making recommendations to the Board about trainings that staff, clergy, and congregants might attend this Spring (2020/5780) and ongoing.

 

Moving Forward:

 

While we have developed some new protocols and also started looking at Kolot events and services with a lens of safety in mind, we decided we needed to talk with all of you, our community members, to seek feedback and input moving forward. We recommended to the Board that Kehila Kedosha: Conversations in Sacred Community --- Love and Care: A Community Conversation about Safety and Security take place as part of that work. It felt important to us that as we kicked off 5780, the entire Kolot community would have the opportunity to come together to hear about the work that has taken place over the last year and give feedback to inform Kolot’s next steps.

 

As part of our conversation it is important to contextualize the work we are doing around safety and security within the larger context of the community we are at Kolot, the community we aspire to be, and the work we’re doing in many other areas. We’ve always had infrastructure to support, welcome, and care for each other including our Shamases, Gemilut Hasadim team, events for new members, and pastoral care from our Rabbi and Cantor. And we’ve committed to our ongoing work of becomming an anti-racist congregation, diving into the deep and complex journey of dismantling oppressive behaviors and systems, and creating a space where all truly feel welcome, supported, seen, and represented, and all feel comfortable to participate fully. The approaches, strategies, and “answers” to dealing with issues about safety, security, and caring for our community in all ways, big and small, require understanding, compassion, and a lot of nuance. 

 

Our committee's takeaway after a year of living with these concerns is two-fold. On the one hand, we have done important research and set up new protocols to help keep us safe. On the other hand, we know the world is still a scary place and there are no easy answers about how to navigate these challenging times. But what we do know is that our care for one another, and emphasis on community and values over fear, helps keep us safer. In fact it is our love for one another, that we know and see each other and look out for one another, that will keep us whole and keep us going.

 

We know safety and security concerns and protocols will be ongoing and evolving, in response to changing times and Kolot's continued growth and evolution. Our work on this to date is a starting point, and we look forward to the continued road ahead together.