H eadlines
Terrorism Prevention Program Launched
L OCAL
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
ONE OF THE first projects for
Jennifer Arbittier Williams in
her new role as acting United
States attorney for Philadelphia
and surrounding counties is
the creation of the Threat
Intervention and Prevention
Network — a program
designed to stop acts of terror
before they happen.

“Even though I am a prose-
cutor, my goal is to prevent
crime from happening, and
it would be the best result if
no prosecutions arise from it
whatsoever,” said Williams,
who was appointed in January.

“The goal is to stop people
before they reach the point
where they commit violence
through whatever support or
redirection we can provide.

And we’ll do that through
relationships within law
enforcement and relationships
within the community.”
Williams was raised Jewish,
and her father, Steven Arbittier,
was president of Reform
Congregation Keneseth Israel
in Elkins Park in the 1990s.

When she was 15, her great-
uncle, Leon Klinghoffer, was
killed by Palestine Liberation
Organization hijackers aboard
the cruise ship Achille Lauro.

The loss of her uncle made
the threat of terrorism feel
personal and urgent.

“It was devastating to the
family, but the fact that Leon
Klinghoffer was Jewish, and it
was the PLO that committed
the act of terrorism, made
my family and I believe the
Jewish community feels extra
vulnerable to acts of terror,
even if they’re just civilians
living in the United States.

So that definitely impacted
my desire to go into national
security prosecution,” she said.

She was working at a New
York City law firm when she saw
the second plane hit the Twin
Towers on 9/11. Shortly after that,
she had her first interview to be
a federal prosecutor and moved
back to Philadelphia to work
in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

She became a prosecutor for
terrorism cases and eventually
chief of its national security unit.

gets hurt.

Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia has joined the
Community Team.

“It’s a win-win situation,
not only for Jewish Federation,
but also for the law enforce-
ment community folks that
we would be working with,”
said Frank Riehl, director of
security for Jewish Federation.

He said there had been an
increase in anonymous threats
over the past year and many
of Jewish Federation’s partner
organizations have experienced
Zoom bombings — virtual
Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer
Arbittier Williams
Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office
The goal is to stop people before they reach the point where they
commit violence through whatever support or redirection we can
provide. And we’ll do that through relationships within law
enforcement and relationships within the community.”
JENNIFER ARBITTIER WILLIAMS
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Her newly-created TIP
Network consists of two
branches, the Core Team
and the Community Team,
according to the U.S.

Attorney’s Office website. The
former is composed of threat
assessment experts from more
than a dozen law enforce-
ment agencies, and the latter
is made up of organizations
throughout the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania, including
businesses, nonprofits, educa-
tional and medical institutions,
community and religious
groups and others.

The Core Team trains the
Community Team to respond
to potential threats. During the
program’s upcoming meeting
on May 25, Williams said the
Core Team will explain factors
that can be predictive of violence
and provide a case study of
mass violence to analyze. The
goal is to help communities
recognize when individuals
are seriously contemplating or
planning violence and arrange
intervention before someone
JEWISH EXPONENT
services and meetings being
hijacked by anti-Semitic actors
who use graphic or threatening
images and audio to intimidate
participants. He said law enforcement
agencies like the FBI have
already helped him assess
the credibility of various
threats and offered advice for
enhancing security.

“Not only do they become
aware of it, but they also assist
me in identifying whether or
not it’s a legitimate threat,
or if it’s just some knuckle-
head acting tough behind his
internet presence,” Riehl said.

Williams acknowledged
that some communities may
feel wary about partnering
with law enforcement out of
fear that providing informa-
tion could lead to surveillance
and prosecution.

“We have talked to members
of the Core Team in detail
about how important things
like vocabulary are, because
we want to make sure we are
very clear about our mission
and about our approach so that
we don’t trigger distrust, which
I imagine would be natural
among some people, so it will
be a process,” she said.

This year has already seen
a spate of domestic terrorist
incidents, from the Jan. 6 attack
on the Capitol to mass shoot-
ings in Georgia and Colorado.

Williams said the uptick in
violence, which could possibly
stem from the pandemic exacer-
bating mental health issues
and fear, is encouraging her
department to roll out the new
program as soon as possible,
and that many of their commu-
nity partners feel the same way.

“People are eager to speak
with us and meet with us and
consult with us because every-
body is feeling like they need
to be very aware of potential
threats right now, because any
threat could turn into violence
if people aren’t paying atten-
tion,” she said. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM