Jewish Security Network has scoured the best practices of Jewish communities around the world, sending delegations to the United Kingdom and South Africa to learn how their counterparts kept children safe at school, seniors safe in residences, and people of all ages safe in community centers and synagogues. It became clear that they would need to develop close relationships with local law enforcement – but as JSN leadership became aware of threats to other communities, it was important to share information with them. 

JSN was created by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto in 2024 to oversee the security needs of the Greater Toronto Jewish community.  In addition to relationship building, JSN monitors threats, operates a centralized command-and-control center, trains and empowers community volunteers, and provides support with hardening of buildings and security upgrades.

Jevon Greenblatt, CEO of JSN, suggests that this quiet but ongoing sharing of information is key to preserving the Canadian way of life and caring for fellow residents of Toronto, be they Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or any other religious or cultural tradition: “People often talk about the Jewish community being the ‘canaries in the coal mine,’ which is a terrible… but it's true, and history has shown that they don't just come for the Jews, they first come for the Jews, and then they start attacking others. So outreach builds our relationship with law enforcement, builds our relationship with government, and builds our relationship with other communities.”

From this initial level of ongoing communication, JSN has forged more direct collaborations with other groups.  

One of the first to respond was the Eritrean community, which has grown significantly in the Toronto metropolitan area. This ongoing collaboration, building upon more social connections between communities, has brought to Eritrean centers of community life training on situational awareness and, more than anything else, a shift in mindset and approach to security.

Greenblatt explains that key to JSN’s work is the knowledge that law enforcement is essential – but still needs to be supplemented by the community recognizing that we all need to be involved and play our part through engaged community leaders, volunteers and activated community members. 

JSN recognizes that other communities would benefit from elevated levels of awareness, in addition to policies and norms which protect the physical security of their communities. Greenblatt notes the similarities he has seen between Eritrean and Jewish communities – similar fears, similar needs, and similar aspirations. Security has become a “universal kind of language,” which reveals that “communities have more in common than they have different” between them – and that a threat is a threat no matter what, and no matter whom it is targeting. 

In the future, Greenblatt imagines a growing cadre of communities coming together around security, sharing best practices, and talking through common challenges. JSN is just over a year old, but it already is demonstrating the extent to which bridge-building and security can go hand in hand.

The Toronto Federation is a recipient of both a Jewish Federations of North America three-year LiveSecure grant and a grant from The Emergency Security Fund, in partnership with The Tepper Foundation. These grants have helped to bolster Toronto’s security capacity and to scale JSN’s support to other Jewish communities outside the Toronto area.