FAQ

American Jews are fortunate to be one of the most diverse and accepted communities in Jewish history. However, during the last several years, we have experienced a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents, including deadly attacks on synagogues and other Jewish institutions. In its annual Hate Crime Statistics report, the FBI continuously lists record numbers of violent anti-Jewish crimes, with nearly 60 percent of religiously motivated hate crimes targeting Jews. Similarly, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitic incidents surged to historically high levels in recent years, identifying more than 6,200 incidents throughout the country in 2025. CSS’s community security model makes a critical contribution to the overall security architecture of the American Jewish community.

CSS provides professional-level security training to Jewish community members and trains and coordinates security teams made up of community volunteers. All CSS training follows a process developed by leading security experts to identify, prevent and respond to security incidents. Because CSS security team members belong to the organization they protect, CSS provides an unparalleled way to embed security awareness within the Jewish community in a scalable and sustainable way.

Our vision is to create an informed and engaged community that fully adopts the notion that security is everyone’s responsibility. This culture of responsibility is one of the most crucial steps that any Jewish organization can take to increase its security preparedness.

Most funding comes from individual donors and foundations. CSS prides itself on removing the cost barrier to securing Jewish communities. CSS has been tremendously fortunate to receive significant support from major Jewish foundations and several Jewish federations. Their support allows us to provide a high-quality, welcoming security experience while saving institutions millions of dollars.

Review our in-person and virtual programs, and email info@thecss.org to talk with a program specialist in your area.

CSS is proud of its record of protecting institutions and events that span the full diversity of the American Jewish community, regardless of religious stream, political orientation or size. We work closely with Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and unaffiliated synagogues, as well as a wide variety of other Jewish organizations. Wherever CSS teams operate, we partner with local law enforcement agencies.

We take the halachic issues that arise in security work seriously so that all Jewish communities can fully participate in our activities. We have consulted with many Poskim and have certain policies and Heterim in place that enable all observant Jews to volunteer.