President's Message
SECURITY CONCERNS
Dear Temple Family,
When I became president of our Temple, I never thought I would have to write a bulletin article to reassure our Temple family that TBS was a safe place to be.
As you are of course aware, there has been an increase in anti-Semitic events recently throughout our country. Following the attack in Poway, Sheriff Wayne Ivey reached out to all synagogues in Brevard County to assist us in devising a plan to ensure that our synagogue is a safe place to worship. Rabbi Craig and I have been working closely with Sheriff Wayne Ivey and leaders from the other congregations to increase awareness and security.
Our larger community has shown us that we are valued and respected within our community.
What have we done so far?
We have updated our building security system with a new key fob system and had the entire building re-keyed to assure we know who has building access.
· We have hired off duty Sheriff deputies for Friday night and Saturday morning services.
· We have made arrangements with Eastern Florida State College to have World Religions students call ahead to attend services.
· We have had the Sheriff’s department do a walk through security audit of our facility.
· We have provided the Sheriff’s department with a blueprint of our facility.
Despite our past efforts, we all recognize that times have changed and we need to do more.
Currently we are working with the Sheriff’s department to develop a safety plan for our synagogue which you will be learning more about in the coming months.
If you have concerns or perhaps ideas on how we can increase our safety while remaining an open and welcoming house of worship please do not hesitate to contact me.
I want to emphasize that there is nothing more important to our Rabbi, Board of Directors and me than making sure Temple Beth Sholom is a safe and secure environment in which you can comfortably enjoy our religious, social, and educational experiences. Therefore, security will always be of the highest priority.
Please join us for our Congregation meeting on Sunday, June 30 at 3:00 PM. Sheriff Wayne Ivey will address our congregation about safety.
Please do not miss this!
Ilene S. Herr
President
Dear Temple Family,
When I became president of our Temple, I never thought I would have to write a bulletin article to reassure our Temple family that TBS was a safe place to be.
As you are of course aware, there has been an increase in anti-Semitic events recently throughout our country. Following the attack in Poway, Sheriff Wayne Ivey reached out to all synagogues in Brevard County to assist us in devising a plan to ensure that our synagogue is a safe place to worship. Rabbi Craig and I have been working closely with Sheriff Wayne Ivey and leaders from the other congregations to increase awareness and security.
Our larger community has shown us that we are valued and respected within our community.
What have we done so far?
We have updated our building security system with a new key fob system and had the entire building re-keyed to assure we know who has building access.
· We have hired off duty Sheriff deputies for Friday night and Saturday morning services.
· We have made arrangements with Eastern Florida State College to have World Religions students call ahead to attend services.
· We have had the Sheriff’s department do a walk through security audit of our facility.
· We have provided the Sheriff’s department with a blueprint of our facility.
Despite our past efforts, we all recognize that times have changed and we need to do more.
Currently we are working with the Sheriff’s department to develop a safety plan for our synagogue which you will be learning more about in the coming months.
If you have concerns or perhaps ideas on how we can increase our safety while remaining an open and welcoming house of worship please do not hesitate to contact me.
I want to emphasize that there is nothing more important to our Rabbi, Board of Directors and me than making sure Temple Beth Sholom is a safe and secure environment in which you can comfortably enjoy our religious, social, and educational experiences. Therefore, security will always be of the highest priority.
Please join us for our Congregation meeting on Sunday, June 30 at 3:00 PM. Sheriff Wayne Ivey will address our congregation about safety.
Please do not miss this!
Ilene S. Herr
President