Yesterday Edmonton Police Service (EPS) notified our CEO, Stacey Leavitt-Wright, about a potential threat to our community’s three synagogues—Temple Beth Ora, Beth Shalom Synagogue, and Congregation Beth Israel. The threat is not deemed to be imminent. EPS termed this a “duty to warn” which was based on a credible tip. EPS has opened an investigation which is ongoing.  

Out of an abundance of caution, police have increased patrols around Jewish institutions. We have been in close contact with the synagogues and have advised them to continue to follow their established security protocols with increased vigilance. Please note that it is still safe to enter these buildings.  

Our Federation has robust, long-standing relationships with local law enforcement and is in continuing and transparent communication with the shuls and EPS leadership. We want to thank EPS and the synagogues for their partnership and responsiveness.  

What you can do

If you do notice anything suspicious, take a photo, document a license plate, and report it to the EPS via the non-emergency phone line 780-423-4567 or #377 (mobile devices within city limits) when there is no need for an immediate response. You can also submit online to police. Remember that the Federation has an online antisemitism incident reporting tool to notify our organization of any hate incident.  

Security training available

We are pleased to announce a new community-wide security and situational awareness training session on Sunday, March 30 lead by David Zafarti, director of community security at Federation CJA in Montreal. This training is open to all community members, and we encourage you to attend. Please register now and we will notify you with the event details once they are confirmed.  

Our Federation takes community security seriously and it is an ongoing and important aspect of our work. We will keep you updated on this issue when there is more information to share.