Brussels - European Jewish groups plan to train volunteers to protect their local communities from future terrorist attacks, the Brussels-based Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE) said Tuesday. The RCE said professional teams from Israel would be asked to train local members of the Jewish community on how to provide first aid to the injured and on how to handle situations involving deaths.
The RCE also wants volunteers to be trained as security patrols and on how to use weapons in self-defence in countries where weapons are legal.
An RCE official, however, conceded that it was still looking into the legal aspects of such a proposal.
The move follows last week's terrorist attacks in India's business capital Mumbai, in which nine Jews were killed at a local Jewish centre. At least 188 people died in concerted attacks throughout the city.
"The painful incident in Mumbai triggered us to take immediate measures to establish this organization," said Avi Chovev of the Jewish Emergency Rescue Organization (JERO), which is supporting RCE's initiative.
Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg of RCE said the "shocking" attack at the Mumbai Chabad House had raised concerns that acts of these kind may "deter a large number of Jews from attending Jewish community institutions throughout Europe".
The first European community to benefit from the volunteer training will be Moscow's, which has a population of over 100,000.
RCE eventually plans to set up similar groups of volunteers in 30 European communities, the largest of which is found in Paris, where some 300,000 Jews live.
