What is CSG, the Jewish security group the premier wants armed more heavily?

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The Community Security Group has provided security services to the Jewish community for decades. After the Bondi shooting on a Hanukkah celebration killed 15 people, the government says it is considering giving the group more access to weapons.

Here’s what you need to know.

Community Security Group personnel can carry weapons to guard schools and synagogues.

What is the Community Security Group?

CSG employees and volunteers monitor threats to the Jewish community and provide security services at schools, synagogues and public events. It issues security advice and offers training services.

CSG NSW was founded in 1997 and is run by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. Last year, it recorded 1044 antisemitic incidents.

The group has, in previous years, sent members to security courses conducted in Israel.

Who funds it?

CSG is funded by the Council for Jewish Community Security, a not-for-profit operating in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland.

The council received $8.9 million in donations in 2023-24 and it spent $8.6 million on security in the same year. The council has also received state and federal grants to provide CCTV coverage and a security operations centre for CSG.

Flowers left in tribute at Bondi Pavilion.

Does CSG hold a security licence?

Yes. CSG holds the highest-level master licence, which allows it to provide more than 50 security personnel. The security licensing system is administered by NSW Police.

Can personnel carry weapons at the moment?

Yes. CSG personnel may carry pistols when performing security duties at schools and synagogues. However, the group’s licence does not permit them to carry weapons at public events.

What had CSG asked for before the Bondi attack?

Before the Chanukah by the Sea celebration at Bondi, CSG deemed the event “high risk” and requested police officers remain for the duration. Instead, two junior officers were tasked with monitoring it intermittently. Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, who registered the event with CSG, was killed in the shooting.

Premier Chris Minns at the Bondi Community Hub on Monday.

What has Premier Chris Minns said about further arming the group?

Minns first raised the possibility of providing CSG with a greater ability to carry weapons on December 16, during a Sky News interview. On Sunday, he said he was still considering the idea and on Monday he described the move as a “small price to pay”.

“We cannot have a situation where the solution to this horrible terrorism event is to have the Jewish community say, ‘well, we can only exist and celebrate our faith behind big walls’,” Minns told reporters.

Why can’t police provide the extra security?

The premier said CSG would continue to work with police.

“Operation Shelter [set up after the October 7 attacks] is one of the largest police operations the state has ever seen,” Minns said.

“But I don’t want, once the media goes and it’s not on the front page of the newspapers any more, and it’s not immediately front of mind for the majority of citizens in NSW, for this just to go and no longer be front and centre.”