Security Shabbat on Sept. 7

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Over the last decade, the leadership of Germantown Jewish Centre has been engaging with the question of how we keep our community safe and secure while retaining our character as a welcoming and open community. We have installed security cameras, created a key fob system to enter the building on weekdays, added a double entrance for our Early Childhood Program, and trained our staff in how to react to various kinds of emergencies. In the past year, with the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and a dramatic increase in antisemitic attacks around the country, this question has taken on greater urgency.

Beyond physical security measures, we all have a role in keeping our community safe. To help us do so, we are holding a Security Shabbat this year on which we can study the meaning of security in Jewish tradition, orient ourselves to our prayer spaces and emergency procedures in each of them, and learn from a security expert about specific things we can do if faced with an emergency while we are in the building.  We encourage everyone to come and learn together, increasing our security by growing our greatest asset:  our reliance on and trust in each other.  Please join us!

Shabbat services begin at their usual times.
All are invited to kiddush in the Marcus Auditorium following services.
Kiddush program with Frank Riehl will be during kiddush.

Frank Riehl has served as the Director of Security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia since 2017. In his position, he creates and provides a healthy, safe, and secure work environment at various campuses under the control of JFGP by enhancing and assuring physical security capabilities. Frank provides guidance, insight, and leadership for conducting all investigations within the Federation. Utilizing an extensive knowledge of security policy and physical security standards, he is an expert at devising and implementing effective strategies, standards, controls, and methods to protect people and properties from harm. Frank also organizes training and coaching sessions on security and safety.

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