Homeland Security Reaches Out To Jews After Threats

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By Daniel J. Solomon March 2, 2017

Following a week of threats and vandalism against Jewish community centers, cemeteries and other institutions, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is promising to coordinate more with American Jews to combat hate crimes and ensure the group’s safety.

“In light of the nature of the threats to Jewish Community Centers, I have directed DHS to heighten our outreach and support to enhance public safety,” Kelly wrote in a letter obtained by Politico. Though spare on specifics, Kelly said that his department would touch base with Jewish institutions in order to help them adopt best practices around security. He also pledged that his agency would help track down perpetrators of hate crimes.

“The right to worship and commune within and across faiths is fundamental to the American experience and our way of life. DHS will continue to support communities across the country to preserve these fundamental freedoms,” Kelly wrote.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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