Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday announced an increase in federal funding to strengthen security at places of worship in the United States, according to the Associated Press.
Schumer said the Federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program will receive an additional $400 million. according to To the Associated Press. The increase in funding is in response to growing concerns about threats to Jewish and Muslim communities, especially as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues.
The increased funding is aimed at increasing security at synagogues, mosques and other religious sites, and will allow them to hire security guards and install cameras and other protective technology, the newspaper reported. Schumer emphasized the need for these places of worship to operate without concern.
Increases federal funding for security at places of worship by $400 million https://t.co/yMXPTwJk1k
— Associated Press (@AP) May 6, 2024
“We will continue to provide funding to ensure synagogues and other religious institutions are not exposed to the horrors they are experiencing now,” Schumer said, the Associated Press reported. (Related article: ‘We are not a banana republic’: Netanyahu responds to calling Chuck Schumer an ‘obstacle’ to peace)
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program distributed $305 million to various nonprofit organizations in 2023 to protect their facilities from potential attacks. The need for increased security was highlighted by recent events in New York City, where three synagogues and the Brooklyn Museum received email bomb threats last Saturday, according to the Associated Press. The threat led to the evacuation of two of the synagogues, but an investigation found no explosives.
Religious groups interested in new federal funds have until May 21 to submit applications, according to the Associated Press.
