Jewish Federations of North America and Secure Community Network Announce the Hiring of Oren Baratz as Senior Advisor to the CEO & Director of Special Projects

Jewish Federations of North America and the Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America, today announced that Oren Baratz — who has been serving as Senior Advisor for the LiveSecure Initiative of Jewish Federations of North America and the Senior Vice President, External Affairs for the Jewish Federation of Cleveland — will be joining SCN in the role of Senior Advisor to the CEO & Director of Special Projects.
 
In his new role, Baratz will provide support and expert recommendations to SCN and its leadership on matters of communal safety, security, intelligence, and preparedness, with a focus on integrating the perspective and issues of Jewish Federations throughout North America.
                                           
In his role at Jewish Federations of North America, Baratz served as a senior advisor to leadership for the $130 million LiveSecure security campaign and assisted communities with guidance, counsel, and support in building security programs and applying for LiveSecure security grants to launch or expand community security initiatives.
 
During his more than twenty years of service at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Baratz oversaw a variety of areas, including its international operations and JFC Security, LLC — the security provider of the Cleveland Federation. Baratz’s leadership role with JFC Security, which is not only one of the most established initiatives but is widely recognized as one of the most sophisticated of any Federation in North America, will not change going forward. Similarly, he will continue to serve as a member of the Cleveland Federation’s senior management team.
 
Prior to joining the Federation, Baratz was Project Director for Atidim, which focuses on closing the socioeconomic gap among youth in Israel. He retired after 28 years of service from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in which he held a variety of positions. Baratz also served as the Vice Consul of the Israeli Consulate in Toronto for three years.

“Over the past six years, Jewish Federations, in partnership with SCN, have built professionally led security programs in every community serving every Jewish institution. We couldn’t be prouder of the commitment and diligence shown by Federation leaders and local and national donors in tackling this critical issue,” said Eric D. Fingerhut, President and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America. “Oren has been an invaluable partner in this effort, and we are excited to continue working with him in his new role at SCN as we tackle new and systemic security challenges to ensure that Jewish communities can gather without fear and continue to flourish.”
 
“I am honored to join the Secure Community Network in this critical role,” said SCN Senior Advisor to the CEO & Director of Special Projects Oren Baratz. “Having worked closely with SCN and within Jewish communal security at both the international and local levels, I know how vitally important our shared mission continues to be. I look forward to advising the CEO and working with the entire SCN team to further develop and implement comprehensive security strategies that will help protect our communities and institutions.”
 
SCN has expanded in recent years to support communities across the country in bolstering their safety and security posture, preparedness, proactive measures, best-practice approach, and training. This work is done in service of strengthening the proactive, protective shield SCN is building over the Jewish community in North America. Baratz will bring his expertise to bear in further enhancing SCN’s programs across the board.

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