This probably nothing but ...

Prompted by current world events where the situation between Israel, Iran and the U.S. has the Jewish community on edge, Village of Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner convened a local security summit in Village Hall on Feb. 2.

Though he said there was no specific threat, Oliner, who is a member of the Conference of Presidents, a central coordinating body that represents 50 Jewish organizations on issues of interest to those groups, said the increasing possibility of incidents has him concerned.

“We are targeting recent events,” he said, referring to the Mideast, where Israel and Iran are eyeballing each other. “There is an increased importance in security.”

Due to these concerns, Oliner had Paul Goldenberg, an internationally recognized expert in security and a 37-year law enforcement veteran, speak to a group that included rabbis and representatives from area synagogues, Jewish organizations, community leaders and local elected officials.

Goldenberg is the national director of the Secure Community Network, which is affiliated with the Jewish Federations of North America. The groups have collaborated with the Department of Homeland Security in apprehending attack suspects or preventing incidents.

His mother has called him “a protector of the people” he said, while bragging about her son’s career in law enforcement to her mah jong playing friends. But joking aside, Goldenberg is serious about security and explained his position.

“I was in Berlin and saw a building with walls around it and barbed and I was told that it is a kindergarten,” he said referring to a school building. “That will not happen here, we are not building walls and barbed around our synagogues.”

For Goldenberg, who has full federal security clearance to gain access to threat information about Jewish communities, security means awareness of what is going on in your community and reporting it to the police. “For our communities we need ‘force multipliers,’ not vigilantes, to be the eyes and ears for law enforcement,” he said.

That resonates with Capt. Danny Gluck, commander of the Fourth Precinct Auxiliary Police Unit 109, the 30-man volunteer force that patrols the Five Towns. As the eyes and ears for the Nassau county police, Gluck said the primary thing is to get people to be aware of what is happening on the streets, in the stores and office buildings. “You can’t be afraid to call,” he said, “give 911 as many details as you can over the phone so they know how to respond.”

Reporting suspicious activity was another point Goldenberg made. And Inspector Christopher Cleary, commanding of the 4th Precinct, drove that point home. “We love those calls that say this is probably nothing but,” said Cleary, who added that he was one of the first law enforcement officers to earn a master’s degree in homeland security.

Goldenberg reiterated that if something doesn’t look right a person, pick

up the phone and call. He discussed emergency plans for buildings that should registered with the police. If something were to happen, the police would have the information they need to access the facility whether it’s a school or a synagogue.

Herschel Sennett, a member of the Jewish Center in Atlantic Beach, thought that the forum was informative and he will take the information he gained back to the temple’s leadership. “I don’t feel there is an imminent threat, however there is agreement we are a target,” Sennett said, referring to the Jewish community.

For more information regarding security issues visit www.scunus.org.