Jewish leaders, lawmakers seek funding to keep synagogues safe
“This is not a phenomenon that began over the holiday ... We have to recognize the scope of this problem and come up with real solutions.”
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, DConn.
WOODBRIDGE — Jewish community leaders called for increased funding for security at synagogues and more education to combat hate crimes at a discussion with Connecticut lawmakers Thursday in the wake of recent antiSemitic attacks in New York and New Jersey.
“Protection of places of worship and organizations like this one has to be all of our work,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, speaking to representatives of seven Jewish federations, rabbis, state representatives and state senators at the JCC of Greater New Haven.
Five people were stabbed at a Hanukkah celebration
in Monsey, N.Y. on Dec. 28, and three people died in an attack at a kosher supermarket in New Jersey on Dec. 10, in addition to a police officer and two attackers. There have been 10 antiSemitic attacks in New York since Dec. 23, according to the AntiDefamation League, and there were 30 incidents in Connecticut in 2019.
“This is not a phenomenon that began over the holiday,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said. “This has been a yearslong, nonanecdotal, statistically significant increase in antiSemitic activity and antiSemitic attacks all over this country. We have to recognize the scope of this problem and come up with real solutions.”
He and Blumenthal discussed the recentlyapproved $90 million allocation for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which is available for organizations including synagogues, mosques, churches and schools. That’s an increase from $60 million approved for 2019.
Some attendees said the formula for awarding those grants that should be reevaluated, as it was designed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and doesn’t reflect changes in the nature of threats now faced by organizations; others said smaller congregations haven’t been able to qualify for the grants.
Additional money could come from a supplemental appropriation this year, Murphy said, rather than waiting to increase the NSGP funding next December for 2021.
“We have a serious, heavy financial lift, and we’re going to need help,” said Judy Alperin, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven.
She said funding should be available to help congregations that have already spent money on improvements, suggesting that it be retroactive at least to the date of the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which spurred many of the changes.
Some congregations in the Stamford area have added security fees to their membership costs or made cuts to cover the costs of security, said Diane Sloyer, CEO of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien.
Rabbi Yossi Deren of Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich said that preschool parents who are “extremely anxious” after the most recent attacks demanded hiring an additional security guard.
“Instead of us doing the work of building Jewish life, celebrating being Jewish, bringing communities together in a positive way, we’re having to focus on hardening our facilities and protecting them,” Alperin said.
Leaders grapple with balancing safety needs and having “open hearts and open doors,” she said.
“We need to make sure that our organizations are given the flexibility to use the funding where it matters most,” said David Weisburg, CEO of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropy of Upper Fairfield County.
After the Pittsburgh attack, the federation hired a security consultant for assessments and training, he said. While there are physical changes that can be made at synagogues, such as cameras and alarm systems, there is “no substitute for human resources,” he said, and money needs to be available for hiring security personnel as well.
Other recommendations included working on best practices for local law enforcement agencies in working with houses of worship in their communities.
They also discussed working with other groups, including Muslim organizations and the NAACP, on broader efforts and education against hate, including antiSemitism, Islamophobiaandracism.
Rabbi Michael Farbman of Orange’s Temple Emanuel, said that after responding to antiSemitic issues at Amity High School last year, it became clear that a different approach to that education is needed.
In November 2018, students reported finding Swastikas around the school and hearing hate talk in the hallways, such as “We are the Nazis.” Some Jewish students said the climate of antiSemitic happenings had left such an impact on them, they feared walking to their cars.
The school had “constant programs and schoolwide assemblies” about diversity and racism, but those “only go that far,” Farbman said. “Until you can get the kids, or grownups, for that matter, in small enough groups into the room, and really engage them in the conversation ... then you begin to get somewhere.”
“Maybe it’s time to go after mandatory antibias education in schools,” said Michael Bloom, executive director of the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut. The ADL is working with Hamden High School to become the first “no place for hate” school in the state, he said. “What if Connecticut became the first ‘no place for hate’ state in the country?”