UK security boost goes unnoticed
INCREASED SECURITY measures around Jewish organisations in the wake of the Paris attacks have gone largely unnoticed, according to a poll conducted for the JC.
Despite unprecedented co-operation between the police and Jewish security groups, 58 per cent of British Jews said they had not noticed an increased police presence in their area.
The poll, conducted by Survation this week among 939 Jews found that 40 per cent had noticed a higher level of policing.
This week, the Community Security Trust and volunteers from the Shomrim group continued to work closely with constabularies across the country.
Headteachers have worked to reassure parents about the extra measures.
Patrick Moriarty, head of JCoSS in Barnet, north London, said anxiety was so high that parents had exchanged angry messages on Facebook over the extent of the threat. He wrote to parents in an effort to “calm the nerves”.
Pupils have been practising emergency drills, Mr Moriarty said. “We are advising pupils to move into a safe space and get out of sight. We are a secondary school, so our students know exactly what we are doing. Our staff and pupils know we have their back.”
At Sinai primary in Kenton, northwest London, headteacher Robert Leach said children as young as five had been preparing for an attack by playing a version of the game “sleeping lions”, in which they lie still to avoid detection.
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North West London Jewish Day School in Willesden, said patrols had been increased. Classrooms had locks fitted to ensure they could be “invacuated” — securely locked from the inside.
Headteacher Daniel Kerbel said that children know how to recognise the different alarm signals.
Plans for children from Finchley United Synagogue to visit Disneyland in Paris during half-term have been cancelled due to security concerns.
Greater Manchester Police said it was reviewing security, including in areas with large Jewish populations, but said there was no specific threat in the city.
A false alarm raised tension in Golders Green, north-west London, on Tuesday, after reports of men in a car taking notes outside kosher shops. But police found nothing suspicious about the vehicle, which was being driven by a local pensioner.