By:Jeff Lipton
Susan Klaperman, wife of Gilbert Klaperman, rabbi emeritus at Congregation Beth Sholom, is appealing to residents in the Five Towns to join the local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The group has fewer than 20 members, but needs between 30 and 35 to make it a strong organization, she said.
After the Congressional 9/11 commission report was released, Klaperman said it was determined that communities such as the Five Towns are "terribly unprepared for an attack of the magnitude" of Sept. 11, 2001. The Federal Emergency Management Agency called on local communities to form CERTs and to assist first-responders when they are unable to make it to a community because of transportation problems or communication breakdowns.
The CERT program educates residents about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic disaster-response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations, according to FEMA. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace in an emergency when professional responders are not immediately available. CERT members are also encouraged to support emergency-response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency-preparedness projects in their community.
Klaperman called a meeting of residents at Congregation Beth Sholom, Broadway and Washington Avenue, on Dec. 6, which 60 people attended and at which 17 or 18 were signed up for the Five Towns CERT. They will attend nine Monday-night training sessions led by FEMA representatives in the social hall at Beth Sholom, beginning Jan. 3, from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
"The whole idea of the CERT is for people who are local to assist in the community in which they live," said Klaperman, a former longtime councilwoman from Brooklyn who is also organizing a CERT there. She is the CERT coordinator for the Five Towns area. "The professional first-responders are not enough," Klaperman said. "We need about 15 to 20 more people who are dedicated to do this. This is serious stuff. We want to work at it, and we hope to get the kind of response that the community deserves."
She explained that those who sign up must be at least 18, strongly committed to completing the course and prepared to assist in emergencies. They would not only respond to terrorist attacks, but be trained to respond to hurricanes and floods as well.
Those who have signed up include a doctor, a nurse and a firefighter, but members need not be previously trained emergency personnel. One is a computer analyst, Klaperman said.
Jonah Bunzel, of Woodmere, an accountant with offices in Manhattan, said he is excited to be a part of the newly formed CERT. "I moved into the community four years ago and quickly joined Young Israel of Woodmere," said Bunzel. "This is my chance to give back to society. I'm feeling obligated, and I want to do it.
"We don't want to step on the feet of the first-responders," he added. "[Being a member of the CERT] is important in case of a disaster."
Bunzel said he believes the nearest CERT is in Glen Cove. "If there is a disaster, they will probably take care of their community first," he said. "They will probably not send people over to take care of the Five Towns. This community needs an immediate and local response."
Klaperman said she has heard that since the Five Towns has such a large Orthodox Jewish population, the community may be more vulnerable to an attack. "We need to have more people join up in the Five Towns area," she said. "There's no question that the feeling is that an Orthodox community is a major target [of terrorists].
"We have to understand what happens, God forbid, in the case of a radiological or biological attack," Klaperman continued. "Hopefully there will never be a disaster, but if there is, we have to be prepared."
"It doesn't matter where you are in the world, you may be vulnerable to an attack," said Bunzel.
Rabbi Klaperman said of joining a CERT, "I think this is the most important service that a citizen can perform today. [The world] is constantly exposed to terrorist attacks, and the organized governmental agencies don't have the sufficient manpower."
Susan Klaperman thanked the Five Towns Jewish Council and its executive director, Geri Gindea, for helping to organize the local CERT. "Without them, it would have been impossible to reach the number of people who responded to a call to establish this program, and they continue to assist in any way they can to help us create an emergency team in the Five Towns area," she said.
Anyone interested in joining the Five Towns CERT may call Klaperman on her cell phone at (917) 750-5403.
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