Summerlin synagogue hosts community discussion on anti-Semitism

The day after the Metropolitan Police Department’s new Summerlin Area Command began operations, officers wanted to “set the standard” for the area by reaching out to the community, Sgt. Branden Schrag said.

Schrag, along with area command Capt. Sasha Larkin and other officers, took part in a discussion regarding safety and anti-Semitism on Thursday night, which was hosted by the Anti-Defamation League of Nevada.

Now that the new area command is up and running, Schrag said he wants the public to know that officers take hate crimes seriously, especially in the wake of several shootings across the nation and arrests in Southern Nevada.

Officers and those who spoke at the event mentioned the attack at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue in October 2018, as well as the arrest of Conor Climo in August after he was accused of plotting to attack a Las Vegas synagogue, a local Anti-Defamation League office and a downtown bar that Climo believed welcomed the LGBTQ community.

Also mentioned was an attack in New York where a man walked into the home of a rabbi celebrating Hanukkah and stabbed five people in December.

Crowd of 60

Police told the crowd of about 60 who gathered at the Temple Beth Sholom, 10700 Havenwood Lane, in Summerlin that the department would work to prevent attacks against the Jewish community in the valley.

“We wanted to take a stand and let the community know we’re not going to tolerate that kind of behavior here,” Schrag said before the event.

When Larkin addressed the crowd, she said she was proud to serve the Summerlin area, and that her area command encompasses four synagogues and numerous Jewish schools and businesses.

“This rise in anti-Semitic crime, I promise you it keeps us awake at night,” she said.

79 reports in 2019

Jolie Brislin, the director of the Nevada office of the Anti-Defamation League, said 79 anti-Semitic instances in Southern Nevada were reported to the ADL in 2019, but “we know that there’s always more” that aren’t reported.

According to data posted to Metro’s website, three anti-Jewish “incidents” were classified as hate crimes in 2018. Data wasn’t available for 2019.

Sgt. Ashton Packe, who works with Metro’s counter terrorism section, told the crowd that there has been a rise of anti-Semitic crime and reports in the valley. He emphasized that police need the public to report suspicious behavior, especially online.

Packe said that with more reporting, police can stop people like Climo, who has entered into a plea agreement where he intends to plea guilty in February on a federal weapons charge, court documents show.

Hate groups active

When asked about how active hate organizations are in the valley, Packe said Metro has documented a chapter of a hate group that used to operate in Southern Nevada called the Atomwaffen Division, which the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a neo-Nazi organization.

A detention order for Climo released in August described him as a member of Feuerkrieg Division, a splinter group of Atomwaffen Division.

Packe also said police in Southern Nevada have arrested members of the neo-Nazi group The Base.

But harder to track are individuals and determining if their behavior is criminal is difficult. Schrag said that’s where reporting hate speech to police or the Anti-Defamation League is important.

“We can’t do it along, we know that,” he said. “We want to make sure that we’re working together.”

Packe said if people can report hate crimes to the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center hotline at 702-828-7777.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.