[3] The aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018 included arguably the most ambitious and comprehensive effort, led by JFNA, ever taken to protect Jewish life in the United States, according to the New York Times.

JSOCC centralizes intelligence analysis and security operations across Jewish organizations, enabling SCN to proactively track threats and coordinate responses with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

Funded by private donors, the JSOCC features a 16-foot video wall for real-time threat monitoring, individual workstations for analysts, and the capacity to seat eight personnel, with overflow space to accommodate additional staff during major incidents.

So, it needs to be as comprehensive, complex, and formidable in our largest cities as in our most rural communities.”[10] Based in SCN’s JSOCC, the organization’s Duty Desk leverages Project RAIN (Realtime Actionable Intelligence Network), a proprietary technology platform that identifies and tracks threats to more than 12,400 Jewish facilities across North America.

Through Project RAIN SCN continuously monitors information from over 1,000 sources, including news, weather, social media, law enforcement, and the deep/dark web to gather intelligence and create situational awareness assessments and alerts relative to these Jewish locations.

To assist in the communities’ utilization of this federal program, SCN provides facility assessments, offers consultations on physical security solutions and strategies, conducts webinars, and facilitates grant review and guidance support.

SCN’s NSGP expertise and training programs were acknowledged as instrumentally life-saving during a July 2023 incident at the Margolin Hebrew Academy in which a gunman unsuccessfully attempted to enter the school premises.

SCN has emphasized establishing official coordination channels between major Jewish denominations and community advocacy groups to better streamline incident reporting and security preparedness.

Following the sentencing, SCN national director and CEO Michael Masters commented, “This sentence sends a message to violent extremists, terrorists, and antisemites everywhere that the United States will not tolerate hate and violence against the Jewish people, nor any people of faith … In the years since that dreadful day in 2018, our community has shown extraordinary resilience and determination, both in the spirit of demonstrating our strength in response to the heinous attack and working to increase our security to prepare for and prevent future acts of targeted violence.”[17] On August 10, 2023, Hardy Lloyd, a convicted felon with a history of white supremacist ideology, was arrested on charges of making interstate threats, attempting to obstruct justice, and witness intimidation specifically targeting participants in the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting trial.

SCN and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh worked closely with law enforcement, including the FBI, to monitor and share information about Hardy Lloyd’s activities, which eventually led to a tip-off resulting in his arrest.

On January 15, 2022, Malik Akram, a 44-year-old British Pakistani armed with a pistol, took four people hostage in the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, United States, during a Sabbath service.

Hostage negotiations ensued, during which Akram demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national and alleged al-Qaeda operative imprisoned in nearby Fort Worth for attempted murder and other crimes.

Within minutes of the attack, SCN Duty Desk intelligence analysts located the terrorist’s livestream on social media and alerted the local Federation security director, who deployed to the incident.

Throughout the day, SCN worked with its network of security directors; local, state, and federal law enforcement; and key international partners and counterterrorism colleagues until the crisis ended.

"[21] In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, SCN provided security and safety guidance to community partners and law enforcement based on real-time intelligence and threat assessments.

[24] In a profile interview with ABC News that aired October 19, Bradley Orsini, SCN’s senior national security advisor, disclosed that since the Israel-Hamas war “the number of threats [targeting Jewish communities] in the US has tripled from about 20 a day to about 60 a day.” [25] According to SCN data cited in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash that aired November 18, the organization logged a then monthly record of 770 antisemitic incident reports in the immediate month following the Hamas attack — the most ever internally recorded since the group’s founding in 2004.

[26] A December 17 article appearing in The Jerusalem Post reported that in November SCN tracked 634 incidents — up 290% from the year prior — that included vandalism, harassment, and assault, among other acute threats and actions.

[27] In addition to recording incidents, SCN worked in close partnership with local, state, and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, to refer individuals committing acts of antisemitic hate and violence to authorities.

Following an influx of reported threats and hostile activities targeting Jewish students at U.S. universities, Masters joined Fox News’s Harris Faulkner to discuss growing safety concerns on college campuses.

The initiative came in response to a “current heightened threat environment,” partially driven by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, including the Israel-Hamas war, which makes houses of worship “vulnerable as potential targets for malicious actors.”[30] SCN worked with DHS in developing and disseminating these performance goals tailored for nonprofits.

[31] In a press release following the surge, SCN National Director and CEO Michael Masters stated, “It’s critical to recognize that these are not victimless crimes or innocent pranks: They can have real — and even deadly — consequences.