Bergen Shomrim launched last Wednesday, September 18, with a bias training event in coordination with the NJ Department of Homeland Security, the state’s Attorney General’s office, and Teaneck Police, in addition to other state agencies. The event was held at the Jewish Center of Teaneck, with introductory remarks by Rabbi Daniel Fridman. He introduced the two ‘engines’ behind Bergen Shomrim, Adam H. and Deena S., both of whom he described as ‘synonymous with service,’ in Teaneck.

Adam explained the role and function of Bergen Shomrim: “With antisemitism on the rise, Bergen Shomrim’s neighborhood watch car patrol helps ensure the safety and protection of our Jewish neighborhoods, retail districts, and facilities. Our Search and Rescue team can rapidly deploy for complex scenarios to help find lost children and loved ones. We work with law enforcement, our security partners and local and county emergency management teams, while quickly engaging mutual aid from our partner organizations.”

The launch comes at a particularly relevant time for the Jewish community. The Jewish Link reported on Monday via its WhatsApp group that in the recently released 2023 Hate Crime Report, the FBI asserts that the Jewish community is the most targeted religious group in the United States.

Deena said that the idea of Bergen County Shomrim first began in the aftermath of October 7, when community members started asking how they could protect our community throughout the week, outside of the opportunities with shul security teams.

“Looking at what services our Bergen County security partners provided, we saw a gap in coverage outside of regular shul, school, and special event times. Shomrim works adjacent to law enforcement, CSS, and our other security partners to bridge that gap by providing additional security for our Jewish neighborhoods and retail shopping districts,” she said.

Adam noted that members and volunteers are professionally vetted with background checks, and that an emergency management app is being used to assist in their work. He added that they are in talks to build out an integrated security operations center with regional partner security organizations.

“Bergen Shomrim is using the JUNE emergency management app from Balcony Labs. JUNE will enable us to communicate in real-time with our members to report and track bias reports, hate crimes, protests, and other security incidents they identify while on patrol.

“Our long-term vision is to provide JUNE to the entire Bergen County Jewish community, enabling them to both submit and receive reports about ongoing incidents in their local vicinity. In the interim, the community can report incidents directly to their shul security teams or through our website so our operations center can share with our regional and national partners.”

Importantly, Deena added, “We ask that the community always call 911 for police emergencies and encourage them to report all events on our website after calling 911.”

Tim Torell, director of Community Security with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, lauded the vision of Bergen Shomrim, adding his encouragement for the volunteerism endemic to the new organization. “Volunteers don’t get paid; not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.”

One Shomrim member spoke about the collaborative efforts of various branches of law enforcement, explaining how Shomrim will interface with Teaneck Police in sharing essential information. He also provided the direct email for the community policing department and emphasized the importance of residents reporting incidents directly to the police department.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer sent a video message which was shown during the event, praising the new Shomrim group. “The timing can’t be understated; no one should feel unsafe in their schools and houses of worship.”

“Investments pay dividends when it comes to public safety. Our best days will always be ahead of us if we work together,” said Gottheimer.

Detective Izzy Chaudhry, representing the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security, shared his perspective on educating and informing about bias crime, emphasizing the importance to “prepare and prevent in the field of keeping religious communities safe.”

In defining “bias,” Chaudhry said he chooses his words carefully, because there is a difference between suspicious activity and the perpetration of an actual crime. He described suspicious activity as being based on behavior; not race, creed, color, etc., emphasizing the principle of: “If you see something, say something.”

He urged residents to always report observations to local police first. Although surveillance and other information is shared between agencies, every piece of information—no matter how minor—can help to string together a meaningful profile, leading law enforcement agencies to significant progress and often action that prevents and/or identifies criminal activity.

Chaudhry added that an abundance of this information comes directly from local citizens who report their observations to appropriate agencies. Impact notices also go to the FBI and these SARs [suspicious activity reports] help them to be the eyes and ears of the community.

Assistant Attorney General Yolanda N. Melville, who serves as senior counsel and director of community engagement, said her role is to be a liaison to stakeholders across the state to connect them with the office’s initiatives. A “bias incident,” for example, is the use of the swastika symbol, a racial slur, or other degrading language. An actual “bias crime” is defined as when someone has been threatened because of their race or religion, followed by a physical assault or threat of physical violence.

Other officials addressed the group describing their roles more briefly.

The group shared the following way to reporting bias incidents:

Report suspicious or criminal activity to local police via 911 or 1-866-4-SAFE-NJ

Email [email protected] or visit www.njohsp.gov/njsars

Report bias incidents to www.bergenshomrim.org/report-incident

Addressing the issue of funding, Adam shared, “Bergen County Shomrim Watch is a 501(c)(3) organization that is 100% volunteer run, so all proceeds go directly to serving the community. Donated funds go towards Shomrim vehicles, equipment, membership and recruitment resources, insurance, and critical gear used during car patrols and Search and Rescue operations.”

Learn more about Bergen County Shomrim by visiting their website www.bergenshomrim.org/