#Rabbi Mara Nathan | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mariacallous · 7 months

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WASHINGTON (JTA) — As the High Holidays near, Rabbi Mara Nathan doesn’t expect the recent wave of fake bomb threats directed at synagogues to significantly change the way she and her congregation worship together.

After all, her synagogue will already have its usual, extensive array of security measures in place: from bomb-sniffing dogs and security checks for each attendee to coordination with the local police department and FBI office. But she said emotions were running high as news reports piled up about synagogues evacuated after facing threats, often while livestreaming services.

“I think we’re on high alert,” said Nathan, the senior rabbi at San Antonio’s Temple Beth-El, a Reform congregation, “maybe a little more than usual.”

Nathan’s approach underscores how synagogues across the country have responded to the reports of rising antisemitism in recent years, and how a recent wave of nearly 50 spurious bomb threats is affecting — and not affecting — their procedures. The bomb threats, which have led to the evacuation of congregations from California to Florida, come after many synagogues have adopted a posture of readiness following the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and other violent antisemitic incidents.

“Law enforcement and the synagogues have to respond to it because you don’t ever know when it’s actually going to be the real thing,” said Evan Bernstein, the CEO of the Community Security Service, which trains volunteers to patrol their synagogues. “When multiple things like this happen, people become numb and maybe won’t respond in the same way if, God forbid, something is legitimate.”

That reality was laid out at a briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday focused on securing Jewish institutions during the High Holidays, which begin with Rosh Hashanah on Friday night. The briefing focused on the false bomb threat incidents, which security consultants predicted would continue because they lead to significant disruption with minimal effort.

“The increase in the bomb threats and the swatting incidents are designed to get a law enforcement response,” Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, using a term that refers to making prank calls in order to generate a police response. “They’re designed to create fear, they’re designed to create confusion.”

Leaders of the Secure Community Network, which coordinates security for Jewish institutions nationwide, told members of Congress and their staffers at the hearing that the bomb threats have become a popular tool for extremists. SCN and its partner organization, the Jewish Federations of North America, organized the 90-minute briefing.

“They actually targeted a livestreaming of the service so that they can witness the police coming in and disrupting the service during this swatting session,” said Kerry Sleeper, a former FBI assistant director who is now a senior adviser to Masters’ group, referring to a bomb threat during services in July at Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

(The Ann Arbor synagogue has for years been the target of anti-Israel and antisemitic protesters. Courts have rejected attempts by some of the congregants to stop the protests.)

“Here’s one my fren [sic] did yesterday,” said a message on Telegram, a social platform popular with extremists, which was attached to a video of a rabbi conducting services. “It’s funni [sic] bc when we swat them they have to shut down the synagogue for the day.”

One long-term result extremists are hoping for would be to inhibit Jewish expression, Sleeper said. “The question has to be obviously, do you have the comfort, the security to enter into a house of worship after there’s been a bomb threat or the threat of a shooting?” he said.

Masters said that ahead of the High Holidays, when sanctuaries see their highest attendance of the year, synagogues need to review security procedures in order to avoid panic if a threat is received.

He described methods that could head off panicked reactions during High Holiday services, including making contact with the local police department, reviewing an orderly evacuation plan and ensuring that police have officials in place to report whether an attack is indeed underway.

“In many jurisdictions, law enforcement is very proactive about sending someone to the synagogue, or at least doing a drive-by so … they know whether something or not is happening,” he said. “Having a point of contact at the synagogue that the law enforcement knows who they’re supposed to find, so they can do a coordinated response.”

The briefing also focused on a proposed increase of federal grants to protect synagogues and other religious institutions. The 18-year old program has grown exponentially in recent years as threats against Jewish and other institutions have increased, and there is an effort underway to raise funding from $250 million last year to $360 million.

“It is truly indispensable to the physical security of churches, synagogues, mosques, and all other faith based places of gatherings across the country,” Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said at the briefing. “There’s not a security camera or secure door that isn’t in some way costly and needing the help and support of these resources.”

Fingerhut added that Jewish federations have collectively spent hundreds of millions of dollars to enhance security for local institutions.

Sen. Chris Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat, said the briefing exhibited “the panoply of efforts we need to undertake in order to decrease the risk of physical harm to those who are in Jewish communities, for those who are showing up in synagogues, Jewish day schools.”

Increased preparedness due to the bomb threats is one of a few ways synagogues across the country are girding up ahead of the High Holidays. In New York City, the Community Security Initiative, which helps coordinate security for local institutions, is funding the purchase of one new patrol car each and other resources for four Jewish civilian security patrol groups that operate in heavily Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn, where a rash of street-level incidents have added to safety concerns. Last week, Bernstein’s Community Security Service launched a partnership with the Orthodox Union, an umbrella group with hundreds of member synagogues nationwide.

The bomb threats have reverberated across the country. At the Chicago Loop Synagogue, president Lee Zoldan told JTA that local law enforcement — with whom Zoldan said the synagogue has a “very good relationship” — often keeps a presence in front of the building, which is located in downtown Chicago.

Zoldan said law enforcement officers are aware of the recent wave of bomb threats and that the synagogue has shared its holiday schedule so that police know when people will be in the building. In addition, a few months ago the synagogue purchased a metal detector, and is considering asking worshippers to be screened upon entrance for the High Holidays. Zoldan said the measure was a response to the rise of antisemitism in the United States, rather than any specific threat.

“Anything we can do to enhance security, we are going to do,” she added.

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stabbyhobbit · 7 years

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NOT SO FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT TEXAS HAS A TRANSPHOBIC BATHROOM BILL IN THE WORKS

It’s called Senate Bill 6, and the lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, is trying to pass it. It targets inclusive bathrooms in schools and government buildings, and lets businesses discriminate as they please.

Here is Dan Patrick’s statement on it:

January 5, 2017

AUSTIN – Lt. Governor Patrick issued this statement today following the filing of Senate Bill 6, the Texas Privacy Act, by Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R – Brenham):

“The people of Texas elected us to stand up for common decency, common sense and public safety. This legislation codifies what has been common practice in Texas and everywhere else forever — that men and women should use separate, designated bathrooms. It is supported by an overwhelming majority of Texans including both Democrats and Republicans, Hispanics, African-Americans and Anglos, men and women.

“SB 6 also ensures that businesses have the freedom to determine their own bathroom policies and that no public school can institute a bathroom policy that allows boys to go in girls restrooms, showers and locker rooms and girls to go in boys restrooms, showers and locker rooms.

“This issue is not about discrimination — it’s about public safety, protecting businesses and common sense. I congratulate Sen. Kolkhorst for filing SB 6 and for her commitment to protecting the privacy of Texans and keeping them safe.” (source - Lt. Governor’s official website)

He also supported North Carolina’s similar, awful, HB2 HERE

You can bug him about it here:

https://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/ (Bottom of the page)

https://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/contact/

More information here:

http://www.vox.com/identities/2017/1/5/14173882/texas-transgender-bathroom-law-lgbtq

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/religious-leaders-enter-both-sides-fight-over-transgender-bathrooms/cVnoZmOrBIbx3l4qcTeTAK/

Statesman article under the cut

The fight over legislation to block transgender-friendly bathroom policies ventured into the religious realm Thursday as faith leaders gathered in Austin to promote competing views.

The day began with a closed-door briefing for Christian pastors by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and other state officials who see religious support as crucial to the passage of Senate Bill 6, which would limit the use of bathrooms in schools and government buildings to the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate.

The event by the U.S. Pastor Council was billed as “show up time” for those who would lead the fight in support of the bill.

That was followed by an afternoon gathering of more than 40 religious leaders — many holding signs reading “My faith does not discriminate” — who oppose SB 6 as immoral.

“Our lawmakers are considering anti-transgender bathroom bills and bills that come disguised as religious freedom — dangerous pieces of legislation that place a religious mask over what amounts to state-sanctioned discrimination,” said the Rev. Taylor Fuerst of First United Methodist Church, where the event was held.

SB 6, one of Patrick’s priority bills, would bar public schools from allowing transgender students to use multistall bathrooms that conform with their gender identity. Businesses could choose their own bathroom policies, but city anti-discrimination ordinances would be blocked from requiring transgender-friendly public bathrooms.

House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has questioned the need for the bill, and Texas business and tourism leaders have denounced the legislation as damaging to the economy.

Thursday’s briefing for Christian pastors, held at Hyde Park Baptist Church, drew about three dozen protesters.

The event was closed to reporters, but a news release from the Texas Pastor Council said SB 6 was a central issue at the gathering.

Pastor Willie Davis of Houston said the fight over SB 6 reminded him of the battle against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which voters rejected in 2015. The ordinance banned discrimination based on a range of factors, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We proved that these ordinances create unequal rights for a tiny few who are broken and hurting that, instead of pointing them toward hope and healing, trample on the safety, privacy and freedom of our women and children,” Davis said in a written statement.

The fight against transgender bathrooms was based on lessons learned in the civil rights movement, he said.

“Equal protection means exactly that, and we must keep all Texas women and children from suffering the violation of their privacy and safety that American blacks fought to eliminate,” Davis said.

Pastor Steve Branson of San Antonio said the religious leaders plan to hold lawmakers accountable for their actions on SB 6.

“This is simple. The Legislature will either protect decency, safety and freedom for all Texans equally by passing SB 6, or bow to radical liberalism that does not reflect the Texas we love,” Branson said.

A different message was offered at First United Methodist, where religious leaders met to mark the relaunch of Texas Believes, a coalition of interfaith leaders who minister to gay, lesbian and transgender Texans or adhere to a doctrine of inclusiveness.

It is time for progressive religious leaders to reclaim the moral center, said the Rev. Neil Cazares-Thomas of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas.

“We were founded on a system of liberty and the pursuit of happiness and equality for all people, not just for some,” Cazares-Thomas said.

“We believe in the separation of church and state. But more than that, we believe in the separation of church and hate,” he said. “Enough is enough, and we are not going to be silent anymore.”

Rabbi Mara Nathan of Temple Beth-El in San Antonio said Jews, who face hatred “for simply being who we are,” are commanded to use that experience “to reach out and protect the most vulnerable in our midst.”

“A bill like SB 6, cloaked in religious platitudes, is offensive,” Nathan said. “We are all created in the image of God.”

The Rev. David Wynn, a transgender man and a pastor at Agape Metropolitan Community Church in Fort Worth, said he has grown weary of seeing his community pushed to the margins “under the guise of religious freedom.”

“For those who support these attempts to legislate discrimination based on religion and call themselves Christian, please stop. You don’t get it. It’s offensive,” he said.

#bathroom bills #transphobia #transmisogyny #trans bathroom bills #texas #austin #senate bill 6 #sb6 #dan patrick #politics #I'm probably gonna keep posting this somewhat regularly until I start to hear more about it from things besides my hometown's local newspape

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