H EADLINES
Security Offi cials Reassure Nervous Public
Ahead of Election Day 2020
L OCA L
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
BRAD ORSINI WANTED to
make one thing clear above all
during a recent Zoom town hall
about security concerns hosted
by the Jewish Federation of
Greater Philadelphia: “We have
no direct threats to anybody in
the Jewish community.”
Orsini, the senior national
security adviser of the
Secure Community Network
and the former commu-
nity security director for the
Jewish Federation of Greater
Pittsburgh, was making
a point that was echoed by
Jewish Federation’s director of
security, Frank Riehl.

Despite such reassurances,
it was obvious that there
remains plenty of anxiety about
communal safety ahead of the
Nov. 3 election; a substantial
portion of the questions asked
by virtual participants focused
on the dangers they fear could
come that day.

“Is there any concern about,
or expectation of, attempts
regarding voter intimidation,
either of individual Jews or
organizations, either as Jews
or supporters of Israel?” one
participant asked.

“If we observe verbal or
physical voter intimidation at
the polls on Election Day, do
we call 911, or a local police
phone number or the FBI or
someone else?” another wanted
to know.

Laura Frank, director of
Brad Orsini of the Secure Community Network addresses an anxious audience during a recent Zoom town
hall held by Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Screenshot via Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
public relations for the Jewish
Federation and interim director
of the Jewish Community
Relations Council, led the town
hall, and summarized several
Name: Cong. Adath ADULT
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4 OCTOBER 15, 2020
by Dan Tantino, a supervisory
special agent with the FBI, and
Mike McGrath, superintendent
of the Lower Merion Police
Department. Th ey spent about
UNPLUG The 6 Ws of Judaism
WHO other participant questions
that came in regarding staying
safe from extremist groups like
the Proud Boys and antifa.

Orsini and Riehl were joined
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