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December 24, 1999/15 Tevet 5760, Vol. 52, No.17
Valley police step up Jewish protection effortsPolice departments in Phoenix and Scottsdale will be increasing their presence around synagogues and Jewish agencies just before and after New Year's Day to help deter anti-Semitic actions tied to the dawning of the year 2000.The year 2000 has special significance for some anti-Semitic, "millennialist" religious groups that believe some sort of violence or holy war is necessary to trigger the beginning of a messianic age, and for members of militia groups that believe a secret United Nations plan to conquer the world, called the New World Order (NWO), will begin with that year, and will be set in motion by Y2K computer problems. "Militias, adherents of racist belief systems such as Christian Identity and Odinism, and other radical domestic extremists are clearly focusing on the millennium as a time of action," the FBI stated in its report "Operation Megiddo," an assessment of the potential for domestic terrorism in the United States linked to the new millennium. The report was released earlier this year. While the new millennium officially begins on Jan. 1, 2001, "the majority of domestic terrorists, like the general public, place a greater significance on Jan. 1, 2000," the report stated. "As the end of the millennium draws near, biblical prophecy and political philosophy may merge into acts of violence by the more extreme members of domestic terrorist groups," the FBI report states. "The volatile mix of apocalyptic religions and NWO conspiracy theories may produce violent acts aimed at precipitating the end of the world as prophesied in the Bible." The report suggests that acts of violence are most likely to be aimed at government agencies and facilities. The Valley will see an expanded police presence next week, as departments put more uniformed officers on the streets, at least over the New Year's weekend. And while Valley police agencies report that there is no evidence of any planned acts of terrorism against Jewish organizations or people, the Phoenix Police Department has identified 12 or 13 Jewish sites that will notice an especially heavy police presence beginning Dec. 28 or 29 and continuing throughout the weekend, said Detective Sebon White, liaison to the city's Jewish community for the police department's Community Relations Bureau. "We won't have anybody permanently at any one spot, because of all of the parties and different things that are going to be going on," White said. "But we will be covering all of them - the congregations, schools and the facilities that have some kind of concern because of the New Year." Beginning Monday, Dec. 27, White will personally contact rabbis at all the city's synagogues, along with officials at Jewish organizations, to "let them know there will be a police presence throughout that weekend," he said. White said the department has contingency action plans for any sort of mass demonstration, protest or other action that might take place. Scottsdale police also are prepared for any New-Year's-related violence against religious sites, said Sgt. Doug Dirren, department spokesman. "All churches of all denominations, including the synagogues, are being looked at closely and are going to be dealt with according to plans already laid out for five days before and five days after (the New Year)," Dirren said. "During that whole time frame, every sworn officer is going to be out working. ... Are we specifically assigning officers to churches and synagogues? No, we are not. However, without speaking specifically to what the plans are, they are included in those plans." Chandler, Mesa and Tempe police spokesmen also said their departments, while not specifically bolstering patrols around synagogues or other Jewish sites, will be putting more officers on the streets throughout the East Valley during the New Year's weekend. |
