H eadlines
Country Continued from Page 1
the series as “mission-centric”
for the museum. It’s in line
with the institution’s goal of
instilling a greater appreciation
for American Jews and their
contributions. It’s also “out of left field,”
Samuels said.

“It might change our
thinking about ourselves,” he
added. The Weitzman is not yet back
open in person due to COVID.

But it is back on solid
financial footing thanks to an
eight-figure gift from its new
namesake, Philadelphia shoe
designer Stuart Weitzman.

The formerly named National
Museum of American Jewish
History filed for chapter 11
bankruptcy in March 2020.

“The Jews in Country
Music” series is part of the
institution’s expanding slate of
Nefesh Mountain
Photo by Lawrence Rickford
Mark Rubin
hoto by George Brainard
online programming.

Samuels started in his
When you think of country music, you don’t think [of] Jewish immigrants.

position in February 2020.

While he never expected to These guys dressed Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens.”
focus on digital events, that
is exactly what he has done DANIEL SAMUELS
during COVID. And it has
“Now my job is continuing
opened his eyes to new possi-
But it was Samuels, a former
Attendees can ask questions
bilities. People have been to engage people online so we after the second, third and touring musician, who took the
checking into museum Zooms can keep reaching people across fourth Zooms, according to lead. Once the Jewish Bucks
Europe, Asia and the United Samuels. If you come for all County native learned that
from as far away as Asia.

States, and offering in-person four events, you will log off on his people had a history in
programs here and other places March 8 with a foundation of country music, he couldn’t stop
in Philadelphia,” Samuels said knowledge about the history of researching it.

of the museum’s hopefully Jews in country music.

He learned about Rubin,
not-too-distant future.

and Nefesh
“Let’s call it 101,” Samuels Buchanan
In the immediate future, said. “The intro class.”
Mountain. But he also learned
though, the country music
The intro class started about others who won’t be
series may help the Weiztman coming together a year ago featured in this exhibit, like
Exclusive Women’s Apparel Boutique
continue to expand its reach.

when the Country Music Hall Kinky Friedman, who formed a
Country music is one held a digital event called band called The Texas Jewboys
of America’s most popular “Suiting the Sound,” about and toured with Bob Dylan in
cultural and artistic indus- the costume tailors. Samuels the 1970s.

Custom designs, color options and
tries. The history of Jews in watched the program and
The topic of Jews in country
free alterations available
country music can therefore be learned that several of the music may make future
appealing to country fans, to tailors were Jewish immigrants. appearances at the Weitzman,
Evening Gowns
Jews and to people who fit into
That famous country too, Samuels said.

Suits/Separates The director even expressed
both categories, according to cowboy look with the shiny
Samuels. rhinestones and the western interest in following the
Cocktail Dresses
Country Music Hall’s lead
“What do you want fans of shirts? Jews helped create it.

country (music) to know about
“When you think of country and opening a special Dylan
Jewish people?” Samuels asked. music, you don’t think [of] exhibit. Dylan was born to
“What do you want Jewish Jewish immigrants,” Samuels Jewish parents and recorded
61 Buck Road
people to know about country said. “These guys dressed Elvis several albums in Nashville,
music?” Presley, Johnny Cash, Buck including a country album, in
Huntingdon Valley,
the 1960s, helping to grow the
Each event will feature Owens.”
PA 19006
conversations about the
After that, the director city’s music scene.

“The more I’ve talked to my
topic and musical perfor- connected with the Country
www.elanaboutique.com colleagues
about this series,
mances. Appearances
will be
Music Hall
about collab-
(215)953-8820 made by a curator from the orating on a series for the the more I’ve realized there’s
Country Music Hall of Fame local museum. Together, they so much more to dig into,”
in Nashville, Rubin and Nefesh made “Suiting the Sound” the Samuels said. l
Make an appointment today!
Mountain, among others. The first event in the Weitzman
Consult with the designer to
latter two are going to perform program. Then they built out jsaffren@jewishexponent.com;
explore your style options.

215-832-0740 as well.

the rest of the schedule.

Made in USA
12 FEBRUARY 10, 2022
JEWISH EXPONENT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



F TAY-SACHS
R F R E E E E
H eadlines
Secure Continued from Page 1
incident like Pittsburgh or like
Colleyville,” Riehl said.

The threat of an antisemitic
attack is felt by congregants as
well. “For many, it’s about
fear, and it brings that to an
immediacy,” Anti-Defamation
League Philadelphia Regional
Director Andrew Goretsky
said. “‘Can I go to synagogue
tomorrow? Can I send my
child to Hebrew school?’”
While Colleyville hasn’t
changed the approach Jewish
leaders have taken regarding
security, leaders said, it has
renewed the desire to have
a conversation about what a
secure community looks like.

“For the Jewish community,
it is really about the loss of that
sense of security and wanting
to figure out a way to retain
that,” Goretsky said.

According to Patrick Daly,
principal deputy director
and chief operating officer at
Secure Community Network,
communities can take five
steps to bolster their security.

Every organization inter-
ested in becoming more secure
must first do a security assess-
ment, Daly said.

For synagogues, this most
likely looks like finding ways to
improve the building’s security
technologies, a process Riehl
calls “physical hardening.” This
means making sure the building
has sufficient camera coverage;
proper lighting in the parking
lot and entrances; signage and
shatter-resistant glass on the
bottom floor — “things that
they can implement that’ll
hopefully make their facility
less of a target,” Riehl said.

Daly also emphasized the
necessity of organizations
having a plan in case of a
security breach or emergency.

This plan should include
proactive steps one can take
as well as response plans of
where to go, what to do and
what roles individuals play in
case of a security breach or
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM ADL Philadelphia Regional
Director Andrew Goretsky
Photo by Lafayette Hill Studios
natural disaster.

“We fall back on our training
to what we had planned or
prepared for, not necessarily
rise to the occasion in a crisis,”
Daly said.

Organizations should also
leverage state and national
resources, such as the
Non-Profit Security Grant
Program, which provides
funding to nonprofits seeking
increased security improve-
ments at their facility.

Pennsylvania announced a
$4.5 million budgetary alloca-
tion for the state grants earlier
this month.

“A lot of our facilities are
smaller in size, and equipment
doesn’t come cheap,” Riehl
said. Updating a campus with
appropriate security technology
can cost upward of $50-100,000,
Riehl said.

While funding
is game-changing for organiza-
tions, it’s not a perfect solution.

The high demand for the grant
means many applicants aren’t
able to receive funding and
can’t afford security updates
without it.

Instead, Riehl said, organi-
zations can invest in a cheaper,
more accessible option in the
meantime: security training,
such as threat workshops,
de-escalation training and
training for synagogue ushers
and greeters, another step
Daly states was necessary for
community safety.

SCN provides training to
Jewish organizations across
the country, including to
Philadelphia synagogues. Over
the pandemic, SCN provided
training to 17,000 people. Nine
thousand individuals attended
an SCN webinar earlier this
month, the organization’s
largest event to date.

Congregation Beth Israel
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker
cited SCN training as a helpful
tool in navigating the hostage
situation. However, facility security
isn’t an insular effort, Daly
argued. He
emphasized building good relationships
with law enforcement as a step
to ensuring community safety.

“One of the things that we
know is in a hostage situation
or active shooter situation, law
enforcement response is criti-
cally important,” Daly said.

By giving law enforce-
ment access to floor plans
and familiarizing them with a
facility’s layout, organizations
can ensure police can respond
more efficiently, he said.

In addition to building
relationships with law enforce-
ment, Goretsky emphasized
the importance of building
relationships with a variety
of community partners in
advance of a crisis.

“We learned from this
incident the importance of
building relationships with
ADL, SCN, law enforcement,
your local Federation, other
faith-based organizations, and
crisis-support organizations.

These already-established
relationships enabled expedient
response and support for
the both the immediate
and extended communities
impacted,” Goretsky said.

For Jewish organizations —
and individuals — looking to
take a proactive approach, ADL
Philadelphia Deputy Regional
Director Robin Burstein reiter-
ated reporting incidents of
antisemitism to the ADL.

Reporting smaller incidents
of hate allows the ADL to
have eyes on potential perpe-
trators of hate crimes. In the
case of Pittsburgh, reports of
previously unreported suspect
Robert Gregory Bowers, who
posted antisemitic comments
against HIAS, could have
helped identify him before the
Tree of Life shooting or more
immediately after.

“This guy was on nobody’s
radar, not the FBI, not the
ADL; no one reported him;
no one knew him or brought
him to anybody’s attention,”
Burstein said.

For organizations such as
the ADL and SCN, as well as
& & TAY-SACHS
CANAVAN CANAVAN
SCREENING SCREENING
CALL (215) 887-0877
FOR DETAILS
e-mail: ntsad@aol.com;
visit: www.tay-sachs.org
■ Screening for other
Jewish Genetic Diseases
also available.

This message is sponsored by a friend of
Nat’l Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases
Association of Delaware Valley
law enforcement, educating
community members on
security resources is especially
important following
a crisis, such as Colleyville or
Pittsburgh, Daly said.

“Unfortunately, when these
events occur, you have a short
window of time when people
are paying attention to them,”
he said. “It was surprising to
me after Pittsburgh, for some
communities, it wasn’t until
Poway occurred six months
later that people recognized that
this work was not a one-off ...

That this is an ongoing systemic
issue and enduring threat.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
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