NEW YORK CITY, (December 30, 2019) – UJA-Federation of New York (UJA) and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY), in partnership with The Paul E. Singer Foundation, Carolyn and Marc Rowan, and several foundations, today announced that Mitchell D. Silber has been named the executive director of the Community Security Initiative, a new position created as part of UJA and JCRC-NY’s $4 million plan to help secure local Jewish institutions in the New York region.
“The recent wave of anti-Semitic crimes over the past week, including the horrific attack in Monsey, New York during a Hanukkah celebration, demonstrates the urgent need for additional levels of security for Jewish institutions,” said Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York. “With his extensive frontline expertise protecting Jewish communities, Mitchell D. Silber is uniquely qualified to lead this team and work with Jewish institutions and city, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to address the threats facing New York’s Jewish community.”
“JCRC-NY is deeply grateful to be partnering with UJA-Federation in this critical expansion of JCRC-NY’s security offerings,” said Michael Miller, executive vice president and CEO of JCRC-NY. “We conducted a nationwide search and are fortunate to welcome Mitchell D. Silber to our team. The safety and security challenges facing Jews and our communal institutions are unprecedented. This new initiative will have the resources to provide professional guidance and training to synagogues, schools, and other Jewish organizations in order to best protect all who enter our doors.”
In the new role, Silber will lead a team of an additional five new security professionals to help provide the highest level of protection to Jewish institutions in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. This will include developing the infrastructure to support and train professionals in synagogues, Jewish community centers, and schools. Silber will work closely with JCRC-NY’s David Pollock to lead a team to guide institutions to enhance their security, access government security funding, and build an enhanced communications system that will bind this work into an effective and efficient security network. Silber will begin on February 3, 2020.
Silber most recently co-founded the Guardian Group with former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, where he also served as principal. His responsibilities included analyzing security threats and risks to Jewish communities in Europe. He also served as the director of Intelligence Analysis for the New York City Police Department, where he managed and developed the Intelligence Analysis Unit, Cyber Intelligence Unit, and Telephonic Analysis Unit. He recently published “Terrorist Attacks Against Jewish Targets in the West (2012-2019): The Atlantic Divide Between European and American Attackers,” in West Point’s CTC Sentinel publication.
The New York Jewish community is home to approximately 1.5 million Jews and 2,000 Jewish institutions including synagogues, schools, camps, and other Jewish facilities. In September 2019, UJA and JCRC-NY announced the $4 million investment to enhance the physical security of these facilities. The plan was developed in consultation with security experts and other large Jewish communities in the United States. UJA has worked for many years, primarily with JCRC-NY, to help secure Jewish institutions in New York. ###About UJA-Federation of New York
For more than 100 years, UJA-Federation has brought New Yorkers together to solve some of the most pressing problems facing our community. Through UJA, more than 50,000 donors impact the issues that matter most to them, pooling their resources to care for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, respond to crises close to home and far away, and shape our Jewish future. Working with a network of hundreds of nonprofits, UJA extends its reach from New York to Israel to nearly 70 other countries around the world, touching the lives of 4.5 million people each year. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit our website at www.ujafedny.org.