No increased threat to day schools, but CIJA urges vigilance

Vancouver Talmud Torah

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA)’s new national director of security says the conflict in Israel hasn’t changed his approach to security assessment at Canadian Jewish day schools. 

Adam Cohen, who took on the role in April in addition to his job as director of community security for Federation CJA in Montreal, spent August conducting a flurry of security audits in day schools across the country – visits that he said had been planned prior to the war. 

As of Aug. 20, Cohen, who is Montreal-based and Israeli-born, had completed audits for 15 day schools in Montreal, more than 20 schools in Toronto and several in Winnipeg. He plans to audit day schools in Calgary and Vancouver this fall. 

He stressed that the audits weren’t prompted by any increased threat to day schools or the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. 

Adam Cohen

Howard English, CIJA’s senior vice president for the Greater Toronto Area, said the organization has, for several months, been working to connect Cohen with Jewish federations and community institutions in cities Canada-wide. Part of this has involved familiarizing him with schools’ infrastructure and safety protocols in the lead-up to the new school year.

Still, both Cohen and English acknowledge that the war in Israel has sparked a heightened sense of concern among day school parents and that this should not be downplayed. 

“We certainly recognize the anxiety felt by school administrators and parents,” English said. “We wanted to be able to show the heads of these institutions there’s somebody with expertise who will provide pragmatic, how-to advice… advice based but on the reality that tensions are high in the Middle East, emotions are strong around the world.”

He added: “The security audits would have been conducted in any event now that Adam is with us.”

Cohen, who has worked for Federation CJA for more than four years and previously worked in what he called “personal protection” in Israel, observed: “One thing is for sure, schools are much more willing to co-operate right now. In past, they may have said, ‘We’ll do [the security audit] next year. We don’t want to be bothered’… but, given what’s happening in Israel and Europe, schools are more proactive about asking us to visit them.”

Cohen said audits usually include evaluating a school’s monitoring of entrance and exit points and assessing staff’s knowledge of screening techniques and procedures for dealing with an aggressive individual, be it a student or intruder. 

He generally advises schools to set up cameras at key access points and use a buzz-in system to enter doors.

“Security guards are good,” Cohen said, “but they’re expensive and not easily accessible. If staff know what to look for, that’s usually enough.”

He also helps schools make “intelligent choices” about equipment, be it extra lights, cameras or locks.

“There’s a lot of [security] vendors out there whose agenda it is to make sales,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for the past 20 years… I’ll say, ‘This guy wants to sell you the Ferrari, but you don’t need the Ferrari.’”

Cohen said he may, at some point, re-visit each school that he’s audited to run training exercises with staff, something he’s done at various intervals with schools in Montreal.

“You’re only as strong as your weakest link,” he asserted. “If you have million-dollar equipment and no one knows how to use it, that’s bad.”

The CJN spoke to several day schools across Canada, and none expressed feeling a greater sense of threat due to Israel’s war with Hamas. Still, a number expressed that they were considering, or had made, security enhancements, both for general upkeep and to make parents more comfortable.

Elliott Brodkin, executive director of Associated Hebrew Schools in Toronto, said his school has been audited by Cohen and is awaiting his final report. Irrespective of this, the board has decided to hire a security guard for each of Associated’s four campuses, with two at its Neptune site, which operates some classes out of portables. 

“We’re not aware of any increase to risk at the school… and we don’t feel any threat increases in Toronto,” Brodkin said. “But [employing guards] gives parents and staff more comfort given the conditions in the world Jewish situation.”

David Young, executive director of Netivot HaTorah Day School in Toronto, said Netivot already has a security guard and doors that can only be opened using a swipe card, but Cohen suggested the school take additional measures, such as placing film over classroom windows to slow down the time it would take to break the glass.

“The second [Cohen] walked in the building, he saw things we could do differently,” Young said. “That’s how in tune he is to this kind of stuff.”

The administration has emailed parents assuring them that Netivot is being “as proactive as we can to ensure the safety of anyone in and around the building,” Young said, adding that the school will likely request an audit every few years.

Cathy Lowenstein, head of school at Vancouver Talmud Torah, said her school is considered “one of the most secure institutions in the city,” because it has only one entrance and a full-time security guard. After consulting with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, however, the school decided to hire an additional guard for the first days of school, to ensure “our families feel… we are taking the situation seriously and can feel good about coming to school.”

She said the school is also in the process of establishing a formal safety and security committee to “deal with things ongoing,” and is looking into keeping the second security guard on for longer.

Lowenstein said the federation routinely works with Vancouver police and a private security firm, as well as engaging in dialogue with CIJA, to assess whether local day schools are in danger.

“The security expert doesn’t think there’s a heightened sense of risk,” she said, “but there’s a heightened feeling of concern, and that’s real. We have 500 children in this school, and we are being vigilant.”

Laurence Kutler, head of Montreal’s Talmud Torah Elementary School and Herzliah High School, said his staff has been working with Cohen to address security concerns that run the gamut from infrastructure to teaching faculty members how to react to a threat. “We have a lot of security as is, and we don’t do anything without discussing it with the head of security. I can’t go into details… if we say too much, we compromise security,” he said.

Claire Sumerlus, head of Robbins Hebrew Academy, said she doesn’t feel there is enhanced risk, but said “it’s always good to be prudent.” Robbins has been audited by Cohen and will be installing extra lighting and more cameras in its hallways. It’s also instituting a policy requiring all parents to wear special tags while on school premises, to confirm their identity.

Addressing whether schools are particularly vulnerable compared to other Jewish institutions, Cohen said: “Jewish school are frequented [almost] daily. Synagogues are frequented once a week or on holidays. It’s statistical. A place that’s used daily by large numbers of people is my No. 1 priority. But that doesn’t mean schools are more vulnerable.”

His overall advice is to use caution.  “The No. 1 one rule I tell them is, ‘Be vigilant,’” he said. “If there’s something you’re unsure about, report it. Ask questions. Do this regardless of the political situation.”