Program Marks New Phase to Unify National and Local Real-Time Threat Management and Information Sharing to Protect the Jewish Community

The Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America, and the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey (JFSNJ) today announced an expansion of the threat management and information-sharing capabilities for the Jewish community through the launch of a Regional Threat Center to cover participating Federations and communities across New Jersey, Delaware, and the State of New York.

Housed in JFSNJ, this hub will be directly connected to SCN’s national technology, data platforms, and analysts to create one fully integrated “Virtual Shield” to protect Jewish communities across North America.

SCN currently operates the largest coordinated security and threat management network in North America, which includes:

• The Jewish Security Operations Command Center (JSOCC™), which monitors threats, supports incident response, and coordinates directly with security professionals and law enforcement — 24x7x365 — with direct connectivity to the FBI and United States Department of Homeland Security, as well as with key partners in the Jewish community, to include Jewish Federations of North America, ADL (Anti-Defamation League), and Hillel International, among others;
• Project RAIN™, SCN’s proprietary, AI-enabled national threat identification, management, information-sharing, case management, and alert technology platform;
• National Centers of Excellence, which provide best-practice tools, materials, and curriculum for assessing and protecting institutions, ensuring emergency preparedness, and delivering life-saving training for community members and organizations; and
• Working with and in support of professional security initiatives serving the Jewish community across all 50 states and Canada, and with over 500 Jewish communities via over 130 security professionals.

The launch of this Regional Threat Center — and its coverage of key communities across New Jersey, Delaware, and the State of New York — following the launch of the Ohio Threat Management Center and the South Florida Regional Threat Center last month marks a critical enhancement of the Jewish community’s threat-management and information-sharing network. Staffed by trained analysts, each Regional Threat Center links local capabilities and expertise to SCN’s Project RAIN™ and JSOCC™ to enable continuous and multi-directional sharing of threats from across the country, including the first-ever, nationally developed database of potential bad actors, a robust case management system, comprehensive incident reporting, critical event coordination components, and a mass notification system.

The collaboration between SCN and JFSNJ and its partners builds on longstanding partnerships between the organizations.

“We are grateful and excited for this new phase of partnership with the Secure Community Network. JFSNJ and SCN have enjoyed a long and strong partnership, from helping us initiate our original security program to working with us to launch our information sharing efforts via LiveSecure. The integration of our work as a Regional Threat Center is the latest step in the natural progression of our collaboration that has included recruiting, training, and equipping our current analysts,” noted Jennifer Dubrow Weiss, CEO of JFSNJ. “Building out a Regional Threat Center with the SCN network in Southern New Jersey ensures our communities will have timely, actionable information to keep themselves safe. This is an example of what makes our collective Federation system strong: working as partners, together, to secure and strengthen Jewish life.”

Modeled After Proven Fusion Center Frameworks
The Regional Threat Center model draws from the Fusion Centers developed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security after 9/11 — a structure designed to break down silos, facilitate information sharing, and coordinate security activities across agencies and jurisdictions. By applying this proven approach to the Jewish community’s security infrastructure, SCN and its partners ensure that information gathered at the local, regional, and national levels is centralized, analyzed, acted upon, and then shared across communities in real time. The Regional Threat Centers will also strengthen coordination with local, state, and regionally located law enforcement and public safety partners. 

Next Steps
SCN plans to continue to partner with Federations, key partners, and donors to open eight additional Regional Threat Centers. The Regional Threat Centers will be strategically located to cover all major Jewish population centers in the U.S. and to make it easy for organizations to join the network; each Regional Threat Center allows for additional communities that wish to participate to join.
 
“Our security is strongest when we are united,” said Michael Masters, SCN National Director & CEO. “The faster we connect every region to this network, the faster we close the gaps that threats can exploit.”

This expansion will include the following New Jersey Federations in the Regional Threat Center: Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, Jewish Federation of West-Central New Jersey, Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, Jewish Federation of Ocean County, Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, Jewish Federation of Atlantic & Cape May Counties, Jewish Federation of Cumberland Gloucester & Salem Counties.