Federation’s community security director provides annual security assessment
"I see some unknown challenges ahead but also see us as a community rising up and tackling those challenges.”

Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Community Security Director Shawn Brokos met earlier this month with more than 50 Jewish leaders from across the region to give her annual security assessment, looking back on 2024 and providing a glimpse into what the community can expect in 2025.
There were 283 antisemitic incidents reported to Pittsburgh’s Federation in 2024, Brokos reported, down from 300 in 2023. Those numbers, though, come with a caveat.
Brokos said 2023 was a high-water mark in antisemitic activity. The spike was originally believed to be associated with the conclusion of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial.
“We thought we would see a plateau,” Brokos said, “and then Oct. 7 hit.”
After the terrorist group Hamas invaded Israel, there was a surge of incidents reported to the Federation.
“We saw a 30% increase from just Oct. 7 to Dec. 31, 2023, and then, what we’ve seen is a continued high pace of incidents,” Brokos said. “I think 300 is our new normal.”
Incidents that garnered attention this year included attacks on Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh; the arrest of an Upper St. Clair resident who tried to join Hezbollah; anti-Zionist graffiti painted on the buildings of Chabad of Squirrel Hill, Federation and at private residences; and the theft of a plaque at Taylor Allderdice High School that was dedicated to the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.
Several high-profile arrests were made in 2024, including that of two people who spray painted anti-Zionist graffiti at Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Federation, and former City of Pittsburgh employee Mario Ashkar on ethnic intimidation charges.
Brokos said the arrests show the continued partnership between community members and law enforcement.
To that end, 2024 saw the creation of Federation’s Virtual Block Watch, a network of community members who have registered their residences as locations with cameras and agreed to provide video to law enforcement and the Federation if needed.
The program, Brokos said, provided valuable information when Chabad of Squirrel Hill was vandalized. In addition to the Virtual Watch Program, Brokos said Federation increased training opportunities in 2024 — 93 trainings were held last year, with more than 7,500 people participating. A new page on Federation’s website is dedicated to providing information about the training opportunities.
Gone are the days of Federation training only for an active shooter situation, Brokos said.
“We’re doing a lot of medical intervention training, but it doesn’t have to be as high level as CPR certification,” she said. “It can be what we’re calling ‘first to respond.’ That’s really what we see a need for because in our locations that’s what we’ve seen the most — someone having heart issues or issues related to diabetes — where people need to know what to do until medics respond.”
Last year also saw local groups receive more than $2 million in state and federal grants, and Federation is committed to continue assisting organizations, both Jewish and non-Jewish, in applying for grants in 2025.
Twenty-five Jewish organizations now have access to the BluePoint emergency response system, with another eight scheduled to join the network soon.
Brokos doesn’t expect the number of antisemitic incidents to ebb during 2025, but she and her team are committed to ensuring the Jewish community is safe at events like the Maccabi Games, scheduled to take place here this summer.
New security initiatives include partnering with the city to install license plate reader cameras; -creating crisis response group tactical maps for law enforcement — robust maps that will be available to law enforcement officers that show exits, stairwells, rooms, lockdown spaces, etc.; and adding police boxes, which will assist law enforcement entering buildings when no one is there to greet them.
Brokos and her team — Security Program Coordinator Erin Fagan and Deputy Security Director Eric Kroll — through their partnership with the national Secure Community Network have started offering event monitoring to organizations.
“What that means is that if you are hosting an event, large or small, let us know and SCN will set up monitoring, meaning they will look for any derogatory intelligence or chatter that comes in about the event. The goal is they will pick it up and let us know,” she said.
Federation is also developing a campus incident report form to be used at local colleges and universities. The initiative, Brokos said, began after several students said they didn’t feel like issues they reported to their schools were being addressed. Federation will be part of the antisemitism working group at the University of Pittsburgh, she said, which will help create the form.
“We have a really good draft,” she said. “We’re relying on the working group to help guide us.”
The goal, Brokos said, is for students to have a safe place to report issues.
While she doesn’t have a crystal ball, Brokos said Pittsburgh will continue to be in a heightened threat environment for 2025. White supremacy, she said, is being conflated with international and domestic terrorism, requiring security and law enforcement to broaden the lens through which they view potential threats.
Pittsburgh has an “incredible” group of community leaders, Brokos said, who partner with Federation to keep the community safe.
“We have the infrastructure in place,” she said. “What I have seen in my five years of doing this job is that we do this together through teamwork as a community. We’re exceptionally strong and that’s something I take great solace in. I see some unknown challenges ahead but also see us as a community rising up and tackling those challenges.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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