Mitch Silber on Securing America’s Jewish Communities

The Tikvah Podcast

Tikvah

Judaism, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.6 • 620 Ratings

🗓️ 28 January 2022

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Last week, a British jihadist entered a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas and held four of its members hostage. In mid-October of last year, a woman emptied a container of gasoline and set it on fire in front of the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn while shouting anti-Semitic obscenities. That followed an attack on Shlomo Noginsky, a rabbi in Boston who this past July was stabbed eight times outside of a Jewish day school. Roughly five weeks before that, someone emptied a bag of feces in front of the Chabad of South Broward in Florida while shouting “Jews should die.” Whether individuals or institutions are being targeted, whether they’re in New York or Texas, anti-Semitism is on the rise in America, and Jews are called to be more vigilant than in years past.

This week’s podcast guest knows a thing or two about vigilance. Mitch Silber is the former director of intelligence analysis at the New York Police Department, where he oversaw research, collection, and analysis for the department’s Intelligence Division. Now, he’s the executive director of the Community Security Initiative, a small team dedicated to securing the Jewish institutions of New York from anti-Semitic violence. In conversation with Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver, he explains why this initiative came about and what it takes to protect Jews, in New York and around the country, from the anti-Semitic threats that have become all too common in America.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Earlier this month, a 44-year-old British anti-Semite flew across the ocean to wield a gun and hold hostage.
0:15.8	On the Sabbath, members of Congregation Beth Israel in Coleyville, Texas. In mid-October of last year, a woman
0:23.4	was caught yelling anti-Semitic obscenities in front of the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn,
0:28.9	while she emptied a container of gasoline and set it on fire. That followed the attack on Rabbi Shlomo
0:34.6	Noginski, who, in Boston this past July, was stabbed eight times outside of a Jewish day school.
0:41.0	Around five weeks before that, an anti-Semite appeared before the Khabad of South Broward in Florida,
0:46.3	emptied a bag of feces, and shouted, Jews should die.
0:49.8	And these anti-Semitic incidents target Jewish institutions.
0:53.2	I could list a half dozen other incidents
0:55.7	that target individuals or families. They're happening from New York to Los Angeles. Jews in America
1:01.4	should not exaggerate the scale of anti-Jewish sentiment or deeds, but we shouldn't underestimate it either.
1:07.8	Welcome to the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. There is plainly a rising
1:12.4	tide of anti-Semitism from coast to coast. Today, in light of the hostage taking at Congregation
1:18.5	Beth Israel, we discuss the physical security of America's Jewish institutions. That security depends
1:25.1	on prior analysis of intelligence, online monitoring, a coordination of law
1:30.6	enforcement from different agencies and at different levels of government. And so I'm joined by Mitch Silber,
1:36.7	the executive director of the Community Security Initiative, former director of intelligence
1:41.5	analysis at the New York City Police Department, where in the years after 9-11, he developed and managed the analytic and cyber units
1:49.3	and oversaw research, collection, and analysis for the Department's Intelligence Division.
1:54.5	If you enjoy this conversation, you can subscribe to the Tikva podcast on Apple Podcasts,
1:59.4	Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify. I hope you'll leave us a five-star
2:03.0	review to help us grow this community of ideas. I welcome your feedback on this or any of our other
	...

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