Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on March 2, 2017

The leader of the Anti-Defamation League said President Trump's steps to combat the recent spate of anti-Semitism should include not changing the mission of thecountering violent extremism program to exclude white supremacists.

As of Wednesday, 122 bomb threats have been called into 97 Jewish institutions in 36 states and two Canadian provinces. Twelve Jewish day schools have received threats. The ADL received bomb threats at two of their offices. (See full list)

Multiple Jewish cemeteries have also been the target of vandalism, with headstones knocked over -- the most recent in Rochester, N.Y.

The JCC Association of North America said they spoke with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on a Wednesday conference call about the threats to Jewish community centers.

"DHS has promised that its protective security advisers, stationed in all 50 states, will be in contact with JCCs within the next week, offering their expertise on protective measures, threat reporting and security awareness," said David Posner, director of strategic performance at the JCC Association."We look forward to working with DHS through this unparalleled level of assistance, which comes as very welcome at an extraordinarily stressful time for JCCs and the diverse communities they serve."

The ADL issued a security advisory Monday to all Jewish institutions in the country, calling on them to review security procedures.

ADL CEO and national director Jonathan Greenblatt lauded President Trump for mentioning the attacks at the beginning of his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. "So the real issue here is, how does the president pivot from words to actions?" he added.

Greenblatt told CNN on Wednesdaythat first theDepartment of Justice should "launch a fully resourced civil rights investigation so the culprits are brought to justice."

"Number two, we want to see the president convene an interagency task force; maybe the AG could lead it. But I think there's a need to get all the federal agencies' folks on how you fight hate," he said. "Number three, Homeland Security should clarify that their program in countering violent extremism is not going to be reduced to just radical Islam."

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to rename the program "Countering Islamic Extremism" or "Countering Radical Islamic Extremism," and exclude other extremists such as white supremacists who have carried out violent attacks in the country.

Islamic extremism, Greenblatt said, is"a problem, but let me be clear: neo-Nazis and white supremacists, the alt-right, that is a big problem as well."

"Number four, it's crucial that the FBI get state and local law enforcement trained up on how to deal with hate crimes," he continued. "And then, finally, I think education is the best preventative medicine. So Betsy DeVos, Department of Education, should emphasize the value of anti-bias, anti-hate education."

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ADL Wants to See 5 Things from Trump Administration in Response to Anti-Semitic Incidents - PJ Media

Category: Anti-Defamation League
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