March 22, 2012
Homeland Security official briefs Jewish leaders after Toulouse
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Exterior view of the ground floor windows where special forces police staged the assault on gunman Mohamed Merah in Toulouse on March 22. Photo by REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
A top Homeland Security official briefed Jewish groups in the wake of the deadly attack in Toulouse, France.
Bill Flynn, an assistant undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security, spoke to over 120 leaders in a phone call on Wednesday, two days after lone gunman believed to be an Islamist extremist killed a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school in the southern French city.
Paul Goldenberg, who heads the Security Communication Network, the group affiliated with the Jewish Federations of North America that organized the call, said he and Flynn reviewed security procedures, resources and protocols.
“The most important element here is that Jewish communities are very much remaining open for business, we will do so in a much more vigilant matter,” Goldenberg told JTA.
In addition to the JFNA and SCN, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations helped organize the call.
Goldenberg said that requests for SCN training sessions have increased since the shooting, and that he is traveling to six cities over the next two weeks.
“There is no imminent or specific threat regarding the American Jewish community,” he said. “We will remain concerned about the lone wolf and those that are acting independent of organized groups.”
