After museum shooting, Jewish groups call for $1bn in federal funding to secure religious institutions
Statement was signed by groups representing the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements as well as other major organisations.
After a gunman murdered two people outside a Jewish museum, a wide range of major Jewish groups in the US have asked the federal government to sharply increase its funding for religious institutions’ security to $1 billion.
The request is one of several made by the coalition in the wake of the attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday, when a shooter killed two employees of the Israeli embassy. In the wake of the shooting, Jewish security analysts are assessing what went wrong, and how such attacks can be prevented in the future.
One piece of that prevention, says the Jewish groups’ statement, is more government funding.
“The apparently targeted attack on individuals attending an event at a Jewish museum and hosted by a Jewish organization represents an elevation in the threat level to the Jewish community, broadly, at a time of already heightened threats and issues,” the statement says, adding that the threat “requires governmental action commensurate with the level of danger.”
The statement was signed by groups representing the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements, as well as organisations including the Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Zionist Organisation of America, the National Council of Jewish Women, Hillel International and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations. The lead signatory was the American Jewish Committee, which hosted the event at the museum.
They call for an increase to $1 billion for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which funds security for religious institutions and has historically funded a broad range of synagogues, Jewish community centres and Jewish day schools. There are annual negotiations over the size of the NSGP allocation, which was less than $300 million in 2024, and which was frozen for a time this year amid the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal government.
Jewish New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, in 2023 proposed an increase to $1 billion.
The statement also calls for the government to “dedicate funding to meet the urgent need for additional security personnel at Jewish institutions,” as well as for increased police funding.
The statement said the attack was “the direct consequence of rising antisemitic incitement in places such as college campuses, city council meetings, and social media that has normalised hate and emboldened those who wish to do harm.”
It called for more government emphasis on fighting hate crimes and monitoring domestic terrorism. It also called on the government to hold “social media, gaming, messaging, and other online platforms accountable for amplification of antisemitic hate, glorification of terrorism, extremism, disinformation, and incitement.”
In recent years, social media platforms including Facebook and X, which is owned by senior Trump administration official Elon Musk, have loosened their restrictions on hate speech.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
