Interfaith security initiative wins €3m grant from Europe
Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist groups will work together to improve security at their places of worship
Michael Daventry is Jewish News’s foreign and broadcast editor
Jewish groups in Europe are set to receive part of a multimillion euro grant in an initiative to protect houses of worship across the continent.
The Safer and Stronger Communities in Europe (SASCE) project, a partnership between Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist communities, was awarded the funds by the European Commission this week.
Worth €3 million (£2.61 million), the grant will see the four faith groups work together to enhance security in and around their places of worship.
The SASCE project is based on a model developed by the European Jewish Congress (EJC), a Brussels-based representative group for Jews in Europe.
The Conference of European Churches, Faith Matters and the European Buddhist Union are the other organisations involved.
“Solidarity and cooperation among communities of faith is vital at this point,” said Moshe Kanor, president of the EJC, “because an attack on one community is an attack on all communities.
“As we have seen in the attack on the synagogue of Halle on 9 October 2019, once the perpetrator realised he would not succeed killing Jews, he sought to kill Muslims at a nearby restaurant.”
As part of a pilot, 1,000 Jewish communal buildings across Europe will be equipped with new technology to increase their level of protection.
The four organisations will work together deliver security awareness, crisis management and training sessions for their communities, as well as wider communication campaigns.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
