Millions of Dollars Awarded to Jewish Schools and Synagogues for Security Projects

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, applauds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for this year’s allocation of security funds through its Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP).  This year, $13 million has been awarded, with nearly 90 percent of the 186 grants going to Jewish nonprofits.  Jewish institutions will use these grants for target hardening and preparedness training to ensure the safety and security of their buildings and communities.

The Orthodox Union helped many Jewish community schools and synagogues apply for the funding opportunity. Together with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the OU co-hosted an interactive webinar to share best practices about the grant application process with Jewish institutions across the country.

The Orthodox Union spearheaded the creation of the NSGP eight years ago in partnership with the Jewish Federations of North America and works to ensure Congress’ annual appropriation of these funds.

Nathan Diament, the OU’s Executive Director for Public Policy stated, “As we see anti-Semitism rising around the world, including attacks upon synagogues, it is imperative that our institutions are able to be safe and secure. We applaud the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Jeh Johnson for his assistance in maintaining this important program.  Similarly, we thank our Congressional champions Senators Mikulski and Representative Price for assuring that the NSGP remains in the budget year after year.”

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The Orthodox Union is the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization; the OU Advocacy Center is the non-partisan public policy arm of the OU and leads its advocacy efforts in Washington, DC and state capitals.