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2026 Community Population Study Findings

Part Three: Safety and Security

As we continue our deep dive into the recent community pulse study conducted by the Leon Levine Foundation, in partnership with JFNA, this week we are focusing on findings related to safety and security. If you missed the previous emails, you can find parts one and two at these links.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DATA

This study dug into a number of important areas, including key questions related to community members' experiences and feelings around safety and security. Questions included:

  • The overall scope of antisemitic events that have occurred in the past 12 months  

  • How children are treated inside and outside of schools

  • How safe people feel in Jewish spaces versus other spaces

  • How comfortable people are showing their Jewish identity in public

  • Whether people know where to turn in the event of antisemitism

  • How educated and prepared people feel to address potential threats

The findings reflect a community experiencing high levels of concern about antisemitism, particularly in our K-12 schools. While most respondents report feeling physically safe, and relatively few report direct physical attacks, exposure to antisemitic content — especially online — remains widespread. Confidence in institutional responses exists, though awareness of available security measures remains limited.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR COMMUNITY

Based on these survey findings, we believe our community must focus on resilience over fear; preparedness over panic; empowerment over victimhood; and connection over isolation. As we reflect on this data, there are a number of important next steps for us to take at Jewish for Good.  

Increased Community Utilization of Our Regional Security Advisor (SCN)

Two years ago, Jewish for Good, in partnership with the Greensboro Jewish Federation and the Greater Raleigh Federation, hired Regional Security Advisor Bruce Gourlie through SCN. Bruce works alongside our community institutions to help evaluate, support, and strengthen local safety and security efforts.

Each of our local organizations will play an important role in partnering with Bruce to strengthen this work across our community, but collectively we can all engage in training to ensure we are prepared and empowered.

Beginning this fall, we will launch an annual community training series that includes:

  • BeAware: An Introduction to Situational Awareness (August)

    • SAVE THE DATE!  

  • CATT: Countering Active Threat Training (September/October)

  • Guardian: Identify, Protect, and Respond (November)

Increasing Communication & Education Through JCRC

This past year, we hired a full-time Director of JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council) to focus specifically on addressing antisemitism in our local community. 

The scope of work Ally Rosenbloom has accomplished in just six months has exceeded all our hopes and dreams, and we are looking forward to her continued work on behalf of our community. 

To that end, we are committed to:

  • Sending quarterly community updates (February, June, September, and December), which highlight both the work she is doing and a summary of what she is seeing in the field.

  • Hosting town halls twice a year (November and May) where community members can come together to hear directly from Ally regarding this work and have questions/concerns addressed.

  • Offering ongoing educational opportunities so we can better understand antisemitism today and learn best practices for addressing and preventing it.

    • SAVE THE DATE! Friday October 9, 2026, we will be joined by Dr. Rachel Fish for a teacher training on Identifying and Addressing Antisemitism in our Schools.

  • Want to stay informed about JCRC happenings? Join the listserv.

Continue to Evaluate & Enhance Campus Security 

Safety and security remain top priorities for our team at Jewish for Good. We invest significant time and resources to ensure we have the appropriate hardware, procedures, and practices in place to deter, detect, delay, respond, and recover from potential situations.

We will continue conducting regular facility assessments to ensure we have all critical recommended pieces in place. We will continue to train all our staff annually so they are best prepared to address a potential event and conduct regular drills so staff have the opportunity to prepare before an emergency occurs.

This fall, we will begin implementing several additional safety measures specific to deterring and detecting a threat, including:

  • Scan access for members at the Levin JCC entrance to better monitor building access.

  • Requiring IDs for all non-member visitors entering the building.

Stay tuned for more information this fall as we roll out these additional elements of our safety protocols.