WASHINGTON (JTA) — After more than a decade helming the Secure Community Network, the security arm of the national Jewish community, Paul Goldenberg is stepping down.
The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations launched SCN in 2004 to coordinate the distribution of information about security alerts. Goldenberg, a veteran of New Jersey and Florida police forces who had worked on hate crimes in the New Jersey attorney general’s office, was brought on at the outset.
He expanded its brief beyond coordinating security alerts to training communities in best practices and consulting with communities after attacks. Under Goldenberg, SCN worked more closely with federal agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
He also consulted with European Jewish communities as threats on the continent increased in recent years.
“For the past 10 years, it has been an honor to leverage my experience in law enforcement, hate crimes, counterterrorism, community engagement, and security to serve the Jewish community by developing, implementing, and overseeing the creation and growth of SCN,” Goldenberg, 62, of Irvington, New Jersey, said in a statement.
“Over the course of my career, I have worked to ensure that our community had an organization that was committed to its safety and security, working to prevent and protect against the tragedies that have confronted too many Jewish communities throughout history and right now, here at home.”
Goldenberg said SCN has become “a model that is recognized both nationally as well as around the world for its efforts to coordinate law enforcement, homeland security, and our community.”
JFNA President Jerry Silverman said Goldenberg “has served as a passionate advocate and reasoned voice of experience to the federal government in identifying issues, providing counsel and guidance, and representing the interests of the Jewish community.”
“As threats against the Jewish community from international foreign terrorist organizations as well as violent domestically-based extremists present new and heightened risks, that community has been fortunate to have Paul Goldenberg working on its behalf,” his statement said.
Goldenberg will remain as a special adviser and join a think tank at Rutgers University that focuses on transnational security issues. JFNA and the Presidents Conference will name a replacement in coming days.
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